The Rounds - April 2, 2006

Dr. Jay’s Rounds
Karen Richardson
April 2, 2006
Good Evening Soca lovers! I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds.
After giving you all the latest in the world of soca last week, I decided to take a little vacation. The world is small, and life is short…so there’s no time like the present to get out there and see what’s lays beyond your doorstep, nuh true?
I’m coming to you from Washington D.C., so naturally, I have travel on my mind.
Problem Child got the travel bug too. You remember that song “Mad”? It’s the crazy stampede-like party tune that relaunched Problem Child’s soca career after about an 8 year absence. Well, that song became a huge hit in Europe…and next Sunday, Problem Child will be headlining a big zouk show in Paris France. If you don’t know what zouk is…think again. Predominantly, It comes from Martinique and Guadeloupe and it shares similar rhythmic patterns with soca. The main difference is language. Zouk songs are sung in French or creole. So next time your at Dr. Jay fete and you hear Kassav singing “Zouk-la-se sel medikaman nou ni”. Remember, you who told you what’s what!
Travelling back to Jamaica. It’s carnival time there right now! The Bacchanal Jamaica carnival road parade coincides with Easter Weekend. So that means two more weeks of none stop soca in reggae land. Jamaicans can look forward to performances from Denise Belfon, KMC, Shurwayne Winchester…and so on…and so on…and so on.
Soca fans are up in arms about the so-called official tune for the Trinidad and Tobago Soccer team. Two men in Leeds, England (neither of whom have ever lived in TnT) claim that they will be responsible for the official Soca Warriors Anthem. Here’s the deal. The team we loving call the Soca Warriors comes from the land of…Soca and Pan of course! Trinidad and Tobago has a rich musical heritage…and has a host of brilliant soca stars who have already recorded songs in support of the team. Enter Choque Hosein…a forty-something musician in the UK who called up the Football Association in Trinidad to find out if there was an official song. Well guess what, there’s not. So, he and his partner have renamed themselves the TnT soca boys to get the job done. If you ask me there’s already an anthem..and it goes a little something like this… “I’m a soooooca warrior, I say win or lose, I’m a fighta. I’m a sooooca warrior. I come to shine meh nationality brighter.” That’s the Maximus Dan tune. But Bunji’s got one, and Toronto’s own Kabulus has one too. So, if you ask me relying on a dude in England who thinks soca music has only been around for ten years is a baad move. No worries, your Nurse has de solution. Why don’t all the artists get together and release a CD with all the unofficial tunes. And the proceed can go to buying me a ticket to the world cup in Germany.
I’m nurse Karen and those are Doctor Jay’s Rounds. Send your comments to Soca at FLOW 935 DOT COM. Now back to de doctor…