The Rounds - January 15, 2006

Dr. Jay’s Rounds
Karen Richardson
January 14, 2006

Good Evening Music lovers. I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds.
Here at Soca Therapy, the good doctor and I work tirelessly to do one thing. We want you gain a deep and crucial love and appreciation for Soca music. Now music makes the world go round…and if you think I got the saying wrong - think again! Music is music…and it’s all love!

First stop this week is to the lush island paradise of Jamaica. There in its salubrious hills, reggae veteran Freddie McGregor is getting set to take his grammy-nominated career to the world of reality TV. The television docutrip aims to educate people on the similarities in the music, culture and festivals of Jamaica and Trinadad. “Freddie’s first” is an effort to unify the two island nations. He’ll begin taping during Carnival in Port of Spain next month. And it’s all about the music people. McGregor will be releasing his first ever soca collaborations as he hits the road with Poision, in their mas’ section called dreams.

As we travel south through the bubbly blue Caribbean Sea, we encounter a sandy gem called Barbados. There, just last week, the glitteratti converged on Bridgetown for the Barbados Music Awards. For a tiny little place, that country produces more than its fair share of great music. Some of BIM’s brightest stars ascended the stage to get their shine: Joseph Niles in Gospel, Rihanna in Pop, Rupee in Soca…and the Queen of Soca herself, Ms. Alision Hinds took home the hardware for best R&B recording. Errks! Yeah, you heard me right. Roll….roll it gyal, roll it gyal…is only considered to be Soca north of Miami…but we love the music same way!

Last stop this week is the twin island cultural mecca of Trinidad and Tobago. Long considered the New York of the Caribbean, it’s air waves blast musical styles that kiss every corner of the globe. For our purposes here we love Trini bad because it’s the birthplace of Soca and Pan. As they warm up for carnival, Dr. Jay promises to keep you in the know with the latest releases and blazing soca monarch contenders. This year’s theme is the World Cup of Soca. When the Monarch is crowned he or she will take home $400 thousand TT, tickets to see the national football team at the FIFA world cup in germany and a BRAND NEW CAR. Ah tell you, if that is not reason enough to love this music, I couldn’t tell you what is.

I’m nurse Karen and Those are Doctor Jay’s Rounds. Send your comments to Soca at FLOW 935 DOT COM. Ah gone.