Dear Fay Ann...

Soca is a relatively new form of music that is still trying to figure out what it is as a genre.  Artistes like Fay Ann, Bunji, Kees, and Machel are experimenting with different sounds to define soca and carry it beyond Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, and its Diaspora.  The most recent trend is the fusion with EDM led by Major Lazer and other soca artistes, which they hope will carry the music “international”.

But what does “carrying soca international" mean? It means making the music popular outside of its current space.  Popular in this sense, is selling as much of it as possible to a mass heterogeneous audience outside of the Caribbean.  So Bunji performing on BET’s 106 and Park or having his song played on Grey’s Anatomy did not position Differentology in mainstream popular music.  In the same way, the use of Destra’s Bonnie and Clyde in a Parrot Bay rum ad did not give the song mass appeal.  However, soca did make its presence known in the past. The first major hit for calypso internationally was the Andrew Sisters’ version of Lord Invader’s  Rum and Coca Cola which spent 10 weeks on the US Pop Billboard charts in 1944. Harry Belafonte’s album, Calypso (1956) and Arrow’s single, Hot! Hot! Hot!, which was later redone by Buster Pointdexter )(1982/1987) were also classified as popular. And in recent times, Kevin Lyttle’s Turn Me On (2001), Baha Men’s version of Anslem Douglas’ Who let the Dogs Out (2000), and Rupee’s Tempted to Touch (2004) made their way to the mainstream market.  Although these were proud moments for the Caribbean, the artistes were one hit wonders and failed to keep soca on the global popular music scene. 

Now on to Fay Ann and the Raze music video...Fay Ann Lyons is a great soca artiste, not because she is Super Blue’s daughter or Bunji Garlin’s wife, but because of her songwriting, particularly her ability to create a hook, her strong vocals, and her stage presence.  She is the third woman to capture the Road March title and the first to capture the Soca Monarch title.  She is also the first artiste to win all of the categories in the Soca Monarch competition and win the Road March in the same year. With these achievements, Fay Ann is committed to taking soca out of its seasonal nature and making it a truly popular music genre.  Recently, she has been experimenting with the EDM sound in an attempt to carry the music international.  Her signing with VP records is also a step in that direction. Now, why a successful soca artiste would release such a mediocre music video for the song that she wants to cross musical borders? 

Although Fay Ann believes that Trinbagonians are too small minded and unintelligent to appreciate the production of a music video, there were many small minded wanna-be experts who failed to see the artistic greatness of the video and in true Trinbagonian style, did not hold back their views.

                                                                                                                                                                    

But I don’t think Fay Ann was ready for her own people to share their feelings on the video and she took to traditional and social media to respond:

 “As far as I am concerned I am happy with the video and have no time for negativity”

“Lol thank you, being different has always been ok in my book. Even if no one else thinks so”

“Ok off to bed...but I hope all these experts on videos can point me in the direction of the place where they are in rotation in Trini! TNX”

“Problem is yal say things and think because we artiste we must not respond or say anything. But guess what you wrong”

“Dont know who say vids must depict song, take me to church song watch the vid? All these experts! Locally!! Lol”

“I wonder where these "experts" does be hiding I did the vid I like the vid that's it. Stueps!”

“No sorry, to Trinidad the song old. Don't know why they pretending to care. When they let soca mostly play for carnival:”

“Vids are done with many purpose my dear, do you think I did it with you in mind? Lol nope. The ppl it was done for got it!”

And my personal favorite:

“Lol the vid was not done for a carnival Trini audience, so I am on target with them not getting it. Plus the RIGHT ppl like it”

I really don’t believe that after Fay Ann read the thousands of comments, she literally Lol-ed.  It must have been very hurtful to get such negative feedback particularly when she felt the self directed video was up to international standards. 

So Dear Fay Ann, instead of taking your precious time to read and respond to every single comment from those you perceive as ‘haters” (and we know Trinbagonians can carry it too far), acknowledge the feedback and redo the video. As an artiste, it is important that you do not insult your audience because without the local, there would be no international.

So here are some suggestions from a non expert:

• Get a GOOD video director and videographer

• The most powerful hook in the song is “wake up everyone who sleeping” which is a call to subvert or to unmask within the Carnival.

• Keep the basic concept with the snow, but it needs to be contrasted with something darker like the oil and mud of Jouvert.  Jouvert (“a new day dawning”) represents this awakening and transformation.

• The call to put “all hands in the air” is a significant part of the spirituality of Carnival- a reaching to skies, coming off the earth…it’s all a part of the revelry. We need to see this portrayal.

• These dark scenes would complement the winter scenes, which is a significant image of social forces that restrict freedom in our everyday lives (ok ok, I hear you laughing so I’ll stop).

• I am no expert on fashion so I’ll leave the styling to those who are, but K2K could have done something fabulous here.

• A great editor, producer and director would be able to put all of this together to tell a critical story of getting out of our comfort zones and achieving liberation despite the status quo.

Raze captures so much of the spiritual and physical aspects of Carnival, but the video fails to do the same.  This depiction does not have to be literal in terms of the stage, big truck, mas costumes, or a night club.  So I’m confused about Fay Ann producing a song and a video for 2 different audiences.  Moving from the periphery to the center or carrying the music international is no easy task, but don’t alienate the local audience – don’t tell us that the video is not for us. We are your audience and we know when your work is mediocre, so stop taking it so personal…
Raze is a great song and the video should target anyone who experiences this waking up and transformation that defines the Carnival. 

A Minister of Soca...

A while back I asked my Facebook friends to identify their favorite Machel Montano songs.  I was surprised that so many people responded and many called out songs that I had long forgotten about. With a career that spans almost thirty years, there's no denying that Machel is one of the greatest soca artistes in Trinidad and Tobago and that his Soul Train Music award for Best International Performance is well deserved, particularly for his 2014 hit, Ministry of Road (M.O.R.)

Machel Montano at the 2014 Soul Train Awards

In my opinion, M.O.R. (written by Jelani Shaw, Kasey Phillips, Nikholai Greene and Machel Montano) is one of Machel's best compositions to date.  In a time when power soca tunes were on the decline, M.O.R. was a sure winner for Soca Monarch and the Road March.  The song demonstrates how much more writers can do with the jump, wave, and wine themes that originally defined the power soca genre and like calypso, it can also take on contemporary socio-political issues in Trinidad and Tobago.

His persona as a Minister, whether political or social is the main message in the composition.  His self-presentation is an obvious play on his presumed association with the People's Partnership ruling government and the benefits that he allegedly receives from this association (with specific reference to the TT$5 million payment by the government for the creation, production, marketing, and performance of the Going for Gold album in 2012).  The Minister could also be an ode to Junior Sammy, which is obvious in the video, and as all Trinbagonians know, Mr. Sammy has been the real Minister of Road long before Machel.  This feature forces us to question the financial relationship between Montano and Sammy, Sammy and the Government, or all three.  Could it be that Machel is making a statement on the age old ploy of road construction to gain electoral support?  Or as another blogger pointed out, is he supporting the construction of the Debe-Mon Desir leg of the highway and throwing shade at Dr. Kublalsingh and the Highway Reroute Movement?

But what is obvious in the lyrics is Machel's discontent about the annual congestion to cross the savannah stage on Carnival Tuesday and possibly throwing support behind the socadrome as a source of relief.  And like a true politician, he uses the fix-the-road ploy to gain the support of his constituents (the masqueraders) because they too, are fed up of the route issue:

See fuh dis Carnival, nobody waitin long
Cyah stay in de traffic jam
Or wait by de hospital
Help me tuh make ah mas
De trucks dem Line up in town
People ready tuh run
One million comin down

It's no secret that Machel has some issue with authority, which really came to light with the guilty verdict related to an assault incident back in 2007. The song scoffs at this charge and he seems unremorseful when he boasts that even that set back couldn't keep him down:

Nobody cyah stop we,
If it's not ah charge tuh pay money,
Kill de road we have authority.

In essence, the song is a big up to Machel by Machel. And why not? He deserves it.  He has a long list of hits and titles, a longstanding position in the soca industry, and a vision for the genre that makes him a true Minister of soca...but like our government Ministers, he has his shortcomings, which are hardly recognized by his voters...

Thoughts on Tribe's Wings of Desire

Firstly, I am no fan of Tribe so note that there will be biases in this post.  For instance, I had a smh moment when I saw that their promo video for the band launch featured no soca. Really Tribe? Sometimes I wonder how much are these bands and their cult following concerned with promoting and preserving Trinidad Carnival, but again, that's my bias speaking. They are not.  I also don't like that you have to get past a gatekeeper to register withTribe, but I don't blame the band for that, I blame these soul-less masqueraders.  Now if you think I'm being too harsh here, try observing a Triber or a wannabe Triber around registration time...the devil makes a mint off of them...

Anyways, I am not completely anti-Tribe, but will give them credit where it's due. According to costume guru, Saucy, Tribe does literal interpretations well for the bikini and beads crowd.  If you remember Ole time Something Come back Again (which was my absolute favorite), Birds of a Feather, Butterflies, Beasts, and Bacchanal, and Tribe 10, these were all fabulous overall presentations.  For this reason I thought 2015 's Wings of Desire, which was supposed to be inspired by the Victoria Secrets' angels, would be brilliant.

Overall, Wings of Desire is simply, boring.  I expected more of the Victoria Secrets-esque wings with more vibrant and new color combinations.  I do not agree with the tired arguments that the designs are not original, they look too Brazilian, they are too skimpy...blah blah blah.  These critics need to remember that Tribe's model is not based on being cutting edge or producing Minshall type costumes.  They are satisfying their market, the same way that Poison did several years ago.  And while I'm on the Minshall and MacFarlane type costumes, a lot of them weren't original interpretations.

My main criticism of Wings of Desire, is that overall, the presentation is boring, but if you look closely, there are lots to applaud.  I think it's superficial to say that all the costumes "look the same". If you are of this opinion, I urge you to look closely at Solange Govia's designs. Vice's body wear where the sleeve and the illusion panty are remarkable concepts.  Although I'm not a fan of the color combo on Crave, she got the wings right and the details on the bra and necklace cannot be ignored.

Another costume where the body wear stood out is Raw. Oh em gee, do you see that bikini cut???

My overall favorite costume is Anya Ayoung-Chee's Luxe.  She captures the Victoria Secrets' wings and her signature fabric cape is the ish.

Source: Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Costume Photos

But these specific details on some of the designs do not help with the overall look of the band. More importantly, these are Frontline costumes and they make up a minority on the road.  Furthermore, at this point we have no idea what the backline will look like, but I predict they will all be lackluster and a poor scaled down version of the Frontline.  Over the years, Tribe's basic backlines have deteriorated and look like little or no effort went into them.  And for the males, just accept that board shorts and armbands will forever be your destiny in Tribe....

Finally, I would just like to point out to people, especially those outside of Trinidad and Tobago, that Tribe is not the be all and end all of the Trinidad Carnival experience although it is represented as such.  There are lots of other bands that do not require so much effort to get in and offer more for their backlines. If you are not into the bikini and beads, there are other bands that offer more creative representations.  If you don't want to play mas with 5000-6000 people, there are smaller bands.  If you want a more elaborate male costume, there are bands for you.  If you want to pay less, you can.  The Trinidad Carnival is not as insular as it may seem to be...