The Rounds - September 30, 2007

Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds. Lately, I’ve found mehself thinking about the life of a soca artist. Not anyone in particular…just what it’s like to sing WE music for a living. If you spend your weekdays chained to a desk, or changing poopy diapers, it sounds like the career of a life time. But there’s so much more to singing soca music than travelling the world and entertaining adoring fans.

On Friday, Trinidadian soca sweetheart Nadia Batson released a letter to the media bemoaning some of the not-so-fun realities that come with the territory. She seemed pretty ticked off about Show Promoters who negatively exploit artists they’ve booked. She echoed the feelings of so many artists I’ve met, who have not been paid for their time and work, or haven’t received OTHER things that were promised under contract.

It’s important to spend your entertainment dollar supporting promoters, like Dr. Jay who work tirelessly to set a standard of excellence. That will benefit the industry as a whole. If you’ve never been to a Dr. Jay party, get your tickets NOW for Soca or Die 7 on Saturday, November 3rd. Trust me, you’ll see the difference! Like Iwer George says in the second verse of Fete After Fete. Artistes want Dr. Jay…doh take no chance.

It was just announced that Alison Hinds long anticipated solo album will finally drop on November 6th. She is the undisputed “Queen of Soca” (write that down, IS de name of she Album - Soca Queen), but till now, she has never had the mainstream clout to produce a commercially viable album. So, now it’s happening…and I’m curious to hear what it sounds like. The collection is executive produced by Salaam Remi. He’s worked with Amy Winehouse, The Refugees, and fellow soca artiste Kevin Lyttle. Which makes me think, there sure eh go be anything sounding like Wine and Go Down and Stick.

Soca Music is a young medium that is still fighting for international respect and acceptance. So it’s a VERY hard road when artists can’t even expect their local radio stations to play their songs outside the Carnival season. So the pay off comes from a grueling tour schedule that takes some artists away from their families for months at a time…like Bomani, who’s spending his birthday on de road in Toronto tonight while promoting tourism as Caribbean Week comes to a close.

It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. And I’m so glad they do. It gives me the sweetest music to motivate me on the treadmill. Soca gives Dr. Jay and entire Kingdom to be prince of. And it gives YOU something to look forward to each and every blessed Sunday.

I’m nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. Tell us what you think about Living La Vida Soca by texting 9.3.5.9.3.5 . Now, back to de docta.