Soca Inspiration

Voice has found an ingenious way to interweave our typical “wine and wave” soca songs with positively inspirational lyrics. Now, after becoming the youngest Soca Monarch winner in 2016, he has returned to defend his title in 2017 with a vocal, visual and lyrical masterpiece entitled “Far from Finished”.

Although Voice has written many hit songs for other artistes, he spent a couple years singing his own lyrics without major success, but with persistence, he eventually found the right formula when his breakthrough came in 2016 with “Cheers to Life”, which reminded us that we wake up every morning as winners for the mere fact that we have life. And some of us need to remember that we must be thankful for every little thing that we have and that chasing after brands, bling and other material possessions is never the way to live a happy life. The message in 2016 was about love, life and vibes and it had us all belting out the lyrics at the top of our lungs, but as we’re hearing from his 2017 catalogue of music, Voice is no one-hit-wonder.

“Far from Finished” is not just a soca song, it is a seriously positive message that many Trinbagonians have experienced, and it is that relatability that makes it a certain winner. Many of us did not have it easy as our parents sacrificed everything to ensure that we had food, clothes, shelter and an education.

For many people, the most valuable thing our parents gave us was advice and knowledge; and as Voice said, his piece of advice was to work hard enough to achieve goals and bring dreams to reality.

At age 23, Voice accomplished something that many great consistent soca artistes have failed to do and that is not because of a lack of ability, but really due to strong competition. Maybe now with Voice’s success, more artistes may incorporate new positive vibes into their lyrics because we need more inspiration and God knows there are many people out there who are desperate to hear something positive while still enjoying great soca music.

Voice’s journey should inspire everyone, especially the youths in our country, to continue working hard because success is not an accident.

With that being said, I have always been conscious of the fact that opportunities vary and the prospects for a young man from San Juan can be very different for a young person from rural south areas like Barrackpore and Penal, or crime-ridden communities of Port-of-Spain and environs, and because of that, a lot of talent is overlooked and wasted. For example, I recently saw a rap music video of a young man who was murdered in Laventille and although I really despise rap music, I had to admit that he was very talented lyrically and the production of the music video was of such high quality that it could rival many BET and MTV rap videos, notwithstanding the clothes hanging on lines in the background. We must be able to find these hidden gems and provide opportunities for them to get that chance to succeed.

Calypso, soca and chutney are all our music as a people, but each genre has its own message; whether it is political commentary, wining and waving or plenty rum, none are intrinsically inspirational.

Soca music is evolving and I am extremely happy to see what it’s becoming. Rodney “Benjai” Le Blanc, back in 2002 sang about being tired of hearing the same songs “over and over”, and many soca lovers will admit that the recycling of ‘riddims’ and lyrics have become overbearing.

In all fairness, Voice is not the first to attempt the positivity in his lyrics because Edghill “Maximus Dan” Thomas has dedicated his musical career to sensible lyrics, and 2016 also saw St Lucia’s Teddyson John’s “Allez” dominate the airwaves, while his 2017 collaboration with Kerwin Du Bois called “New Day” is gaining traction. But despite the others plying the same trade, Voice has been able to inspire us a little more than the rest and now he is in a league of his own. So, let us use our music for the betterment of society because at this stage, it seems like it is the only thing we have remaining.

This is my 100th column milestone and I cannot begin to thank the Newsday for this incredible opportunity to be the youngest recurring columnist in Trinbago.

Thanks to God and cheers to life because I am far from finished! Signed: Dr J.

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