So, a few fun facts about me:
- I was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. A city where you needed to find your clique and immerse yourself in your culture to make it through.
- If it wasn’t for a Caribbean upbringing, summers spent in either New York City or St. Lucia and the youth centre where I spent a good amount of my time learning about my culture and participating in Black community programs, a good chunk of what makes me amc would be missing.
- Every weekend the soca, calypso and reggae vibes took place at the rec hall in a school (don’t judge, that was the flex then!) which turned into what we affectionately called Soca Village. If you weren’t there, you missed out.
I know we all have stories of our upbringing and the many puzzle pieces that come together to form who we have become as adults. And as much as soul and R&B are at the core of my being (and blog for the past 9 plus years), it should be a no-brainer that soca, calypso and reggae are right up there too.
Fond memories of sneaking out of bed to watch adult basement fetes come to life with “Doh Rock It So” by Baron and “Someone Loves You Honey” by J.C. Lodge. Parents two-steppin’ and catching a wine under the hue of the dimmed lightbulb emitting from the corner lamp. Being taken to “Jump Up” as a kid in my dashiki and afro puffs and finally being of age to take my own trips to de Parkway every Labour Day to either attend parties, barbeques or play mas. It’s all just the tip of the iceberg, but all of these experiences are an integral part of my being.
Fast forward to the here and now – I am a mom, co-parenting and raising a 2-year-old half Lucian, half Jamaican son. And y’all already know that music will be a big part of his life. Now knowing all of the aforementioned, you can surely understand how excited I was to be asked by SocaMom herself – Mrs. Eva Greene Wilson, to speak on a panel at the first SocaMom Summit. I sat on a panel with 3 other phenomenal women (shout out to Dyschick, Socasayso and Styles and Vibes!) to speak on the future of Caribbean music after the pandemic. It was such a great convo and we could have honestly gone on for hours, but alas, things had to come to an end. But without going into all of it, why don’t you check it out for yourself? We dropped some nuggets for artists, DJs and promoters alike! Don’t sleep on this!
I am really honoured to have had the opportunity to moderate and speak on this panel during the SocaMom Summit. I’m sending a huge thank you to Eva Greene Wilson aka SocaMom for creating a space for women of the Caribbean diaspora to share their stories and expertise with everyone. From cooking, networking and building upon your community to doctor’s insights on COVID-19 and more – there is a little for everyone to discover. I can’t wait until the next one! If you happened to have missed the summit, don’t fret! You can catch the replay over on the SocaMom Summit website. And, I’m happy to announce there will be another summit coming your way from Friday, June 12th to Sunday, June 14th! Keep your eyes locked and make sure to sign up for Eva’s newsletter to find out more about what’s on the horizon. I’m sure I’ll have some news for you too, so stay tuned!
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Until then,
