Nurse's Lounge: Vincy Soca Monarch Semi-Finals

Every time I'm in St. Vincent, I am amazed at how many people down there are singing soca. When you tune in to the radio stations, there are nuff songs to be heard, but you may not realise how many more are pumping out of speaker boxes, in ipods or just on other radio signals.

Now that I'm hear, I'm noticing that again. There I was, thinking I was up to date, just because a handful or producers are nice enough to forward their releases to my inbox, but yet again, I feel like I had no idea.

So tonight, the lime is Soca Monarch Semi-Finals. 35 artistes are vying for 20 coveted spots. Everyone is hoping to defeat 6-time soca champ Fireman Hooper from his perch as soca monarch. We'll see if this will be the year.


Here are three videos full of clips of the semi-finalists competing:












This year, the Monarch will earn automatic entry into the International Soca Monarch finals in Trinidad and Tobago 2009. So, the stakes are high. The winner doesn't just walk away with $20 000 EC, but also an additional $100 000 TT appearance fee once they grace the stage in Trinidad. That news brought former soca king Maddzart out of hiding, and brought soca monarch virgin, Problem Child into the ring for the first time.

It's been such a rainy weekend here in St. Vincent, so I suppose the moderate turnout isn't so bad for a Sunday night in Kingstown. None-the-less, the music community made sure to show up.

Here are a few of the artistes I ran into at Victoria Park.

Ras X

DJ Twenty

Fire Empress

Colin Peters from Mystik Vibration

Shaunelle McKenzie

Read more...

Nurse's Lounge: Jr Carnival and Vincy Insomnia

SVG Day Two, here's what's in store!

Ok, so my partner in crime has landed on the island. Let’s call her Slimmy. As for me, now Carnival is officially ON! We went up to this lil bar for Roti’s and Hairoun. At the bar, we met a sweet smallie who was very interested in learning about Canada. Turns out he was about to have lunch with the father he hasn’t seen since he was a baby. Big Poppa must of thought one of us was cute, cuz he ended up buying lunch for us and offering to take us out to Chappy’s that night. Mmmm….nice gesture and stuff, but Sir, spend some time with your offspring. I hope you didn’t wait 22 years to return home, just to holler at girls less than half your age. Well, I’m not sure. But I hope so. Thanks for lunch anyway.

Nelson Bloc Junior King

Kiddie’s Carnival…check! The crowd wasn’t the largest I’ve seen, but the costumes were CRAZY. My favourites were the fish and humming bird sections SVG players. Bounced up an old friend from the days when I used to write for The Vincentian (Duh, that’s a Vincy Newspaper). He was up in the VIP section video taping the event. Can I tell you that was the sweetest lime in a long time? Slimmy and I got caught up on the latest soca, we learned the 2 Knee dance, and we gave our livers a taste of better things to come. Um, Dragons placed 2nd at Junior Carnival…and my Junior King – bad man dat!

Insomnia: Well there’s good news and there’s bad news. I’ll give you the bad news first. The fete ended at 4 am. WTF? You know what I mean? That’s regular ending time, the sun was barely in the sky. Well, I was there long after sunrise, but the music done lock off.

Vincy people know how to make their own fun. Clips from Insomnia, Check it out!

Ready for the good news? That was a fete man. I had so much fun. Touching down in SVG is always a home coming for me. The performances were energetic and spirited, the drinks were too strong as usual, and bacchanal was the order of the day back stage and in the general crowd. Big up Hy Rollerz crew. Nothing better than fit men pelting waist! Yum yum.

So, I slipped back stage and ALL the characters were there. We are now entering the name dropping portion of the blog:

Skinny Fabulous

Blakie

Danielle Veira

Icon and his lady love, Tempress

Problem Child

Vyrus

Vincy Soca Dans:
Jamesy P

Fireman Hooper and Luta

Jalena

Hot 97 DJ’s:

Too Cool Chris

Scratch Master and Top Notch Swift. Swift... you real cool.

I like “chippin" by the way. The jury is still out on We Don't Care. LOL

Plus there was Bomani...(ever protecting his head from the rain)

Landlord

Maddzart

Kevin Sardine. He used to be called Shady in years gone by.

So Many artistes and industry types, I failed to mention Zoelah, Tabia, DJ Tarrus, Scratch Master from Hot 97, Afterdark, Kubiyashi. Oh, and I spotted Kevin Lyttle. He wasn’t peforming, but I caught him wining up in the crowd.

So Destra, I have to hand it to you lady...

To me, that was your best performance I’ve seen this year. So that includes 3 times in Trinidad and once in Toronto. I loved seeing you join in with your dancers. You looked and sounded great!

Tizzy, hope you know that the only reason no one moved during your first song is cuz de man dem were mesmerized by your outfit. WOW! And with that, I’m gone….

Read more...

Nurse's Lounge: All's Well that Ends Well

I'm stuck in Trinidad!!!

My flight to St. Vincent was to be early in the morning. As much as LIAT is known to be the source of much grief for many - this one isn’t their fault…well not entirely, anyway. So the flat tire issue of last night was easily resolved by borrowing a vehicle, so that getting to the airport would be no problem. What we didn’t realize is that somebody else had a key for the car we were to use – and they put it to use sooner. I can’t lie. I was sooooooo stressed. My travel arrangements for the Vincy leg of my “mission” were made by the generous sponsors of Vincy Carnival 360. www.toronto-lime.com/360 . The way, I see it, my role was to show up on time and get where I need to go, no matter what. I definitely didn’t want to have to make any calls asking for flights to be rescheduled or reaching for lame apologies.

In the end, I got to Piarco only 30 mins before the flight was set to take off. The passengers hadn’t boarded, and it actually left quite late, but they didn’t let me on anyway. (insert “steups” here)

I was put on standby (yet again) for the next flight 4 hours later. Little did I know that that flight would also be carrying Destra Garcia and Atlantik to St. Vincent for the Insomnia Fete at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex.

Destra Singing at Insomnia SVG 2008



Destra and I had a good chat about St. Vincent. She told be about her Vincentian Grandfather who passed away last year. I think she said he was 89. He never lost his accent. She shared the story of his coming to Trinidad to work as a fisherman, and her desire to reconnect with people from that branch of her family. If you’re an Alexander from Union Island or Sion Hill…you never know, you could be cousins with Destra!

That flight was uber late which just left some time to catch up with more members of Atlantik. I don’t mind that at all, considering that girl Destra surrounds herself with some very talented and GOOD LOOKING musicians!

Some of the exceptional "talent" in Atlantik.

Boys, I’ll be sure to get you some more Honey Roasted Soy Beans in time for Caribana! I promise.

I got to SVG and wasted no time getting up to the countryside to visit MY Grandpa. He’s not a Vincy, but he has been living there for more than 60 years, so I guess that counts for something.

I wasn’t quite ready to plunge right into the feting action, so I spent my first evening in St. Vincent helping out in the Dragon’s Cultural Organization Mas Tent.

"Third World" building the Junior King

Before you get all impressed with my involvement in Vincy Mas, I might as well tell you that one of my roommates this week is Andrew “Afterdark” Sutherland. He is the King ofhe band. If the name is familiar, that would be because he’s an upcoming soca producer.

He put together the Ragga Soca Monarch title-winner “Gimme Mo” for Dani-O.

This is Miss Dani-O wukkin de muscle at Soca Monarch Semis! Hot, eh?



Afterdark also produced Crazy Vybe for Skinny Fabulous ft Jamesy P.

I guess we can also blame him for enabling Top Notch Swift to make the transition from Hot 97 DJ to Soca Artiste.



(By the way, Skinny is one of our roommates too for the carnival calendar. He says he wants to throw a victory party in our big fat MTV-style crib after he wins soca monarch. Big talks skinny man, semi’s aren’t even over yet!

Introducing: Afterdark!

The Dragons are working overtime putting the finishing touches on the King and Queen costumes for Junior Carnival. Your nurse administer a little bit of her loving care to the Junior King costume. I’m officially a mas’ woman now! You better believe I’ll be in Park tomorrow to see it cross the stage. Nothing more exciting that seeing the future torch bearers of our culture, enjoying their first carnival experiences. Not to mention, the mas is usually amazing!

Nite Nite

Read more...

Nurse's Lounge: The Only Way to Fly

Video blog entry from the plane!

It’s here! For the next almost three weeks, I will be enjoying the Caribbean. It’s some kind of soca pilgrimage. A discovery mission let’s say. Staying positive is always the best bet. From past experience, I know that challenges are bound to happen when you’re travelling. That being said, I’m prepared for whatever may come.

The voyage began in Toronto. Air Canada had me a little nervous when I checked in and discovered there was no seat reserved under my name. It appears that the SVG Ministry of Tourism had me booked on a standby flight. None-the-less, I got a boarding pass and proceeded to the lounge, where another 6 to 10 people anxiously awaited the same news I so badly needed to hear. I met a couple of cousins from Calder, a predominantly Indian part of St. Vincent. They were heading home for carnival too….that is, if they would be lucky enough to be assigned a seat. And they were.

As for me - No worries, I’m now writing this to you from Trinidad. I don’t have a lot of time here, so I didn’t want to spread myself too thin. I decided to make a call to Mista Vybe. Our paths never crossed during Trinidad Carnival, so I thought it would be cool to check in while I blew through his stomping grounds.

The plan was the hit the Avenue, and check out Port-of-Spain’s buzzing nightlife. Seems I landed on a bit of an off night. We probably should have figured that out after we were struck with the misfortune of a flat tire….within an hour of my arrival in T&T.

Don’t get me wrong all the regular haunts were open, but nothing to “write home about”, so instead, I got up-to-date on Vybe’s current projects. He’s pretty excited about his contribution to Studio 758’s Gladiator Riddim for St. Lucia Carnival. He’s in great company on that one. Listen out for tracks from his sister, Ms. Alysha (T&T), Danielle Veira (SVG), Ilah Man (SLU), and more!

Read more...

The Nurse's Lounge: The Night Before the Flight

The Nurse's Lounge: The Night Before the Flight

June 25, 2008

Why does packing take me sooooooooooooooo long?

Read more...

Nurse's Lounge: Going to Vincy Mas!

Going to Vincy Mas!

Click to find out more...

Read more...

The Rounds: Red Hot Flames album about to drop...SCYATTAH!!!!

Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I'm Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay's Rounds. The calendar says it's summer now, and all attention focuses on the Caribbean. If you're looking for me this time next week I will be in sweet St. Vincent and the Grenadines preparing the place for Dr. Jay's arrival.


Belated birthday greetings to Sheldon "Shel Shok" Benjamin. of the big band Atlantik. I missed you last rounds, but we'll catch up next weekend at Insomnia in SVG.

Some of Atlantik liming at GLOW SVG last year.

(Shel Shok is the long one in the back!)

Last week's ragga soca monarch competition proved to be a big upset at Victoria Park. Zoelah fans: if you haven't heard by now, your girl's performance of Wine Up On Me simply did not cut it for the judges, leaving her out of the top 3. From all accounts Zoelah, who had performed at Wet Fete (in the rain) the night before was sounding PRETTY hoarse. So top marks went to Dani-O instead, who shocked onlookers with a stellar performance of Gimme Mo. Next up was Skarypon with Forever, and Galanaire in third place with "Do YOU"


Summer time means summer music, so if you haven't already picked up your copy of Soca Gold 2008, now would be the time to make that happen. It's currently ranked #1 on the Billboard Reggae charts (Dah don't really make sense to ME, but whatever!) VP records chose big tracks from Big Artistes like Mr. Dale's Soka Junkie, Faye-Ann Lyons – Get On, and Ricky T "Pressure Boom!"

2008 TT Road March Queen Faye-Ann in Toronto last month

Right around Caribana time, our friends in Antigua will jumping up in the hot sun as well. So, naturally, that means a new batch of jam band music is cooking up as we speak. Look out from a new album from Red Hot Flames. Oungku is real excited about the CD. The title will either be called SHAOLIN TEMPO (you know how West Indians love dey Kung Fu) OR it may be called "SCYATTAH"! He says this album is going to be a musical bomb – A weapon of Mas' disruption, so that's what people will do when it drops! Look for it the first week of July!

I'm Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay's Rounds. Take a moment to check out (Nurse) Karen (Etc) at Mustard Seeds dot net over the next three weeks, as I keep you up to date with my Vincy Mas diary. I'll also be taking in St. Lucia's soca monarch finals, to stay tuned for pictures and video from that! Now, back to de docta...

Read more...

The Rounds: Germany's Soca Twins make their Toronto debut

Good Evening Soca Lovers,







I'm Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay's Rounds. It's big carnival weekend right now in the States. With Philly, Tampa and West Palm Beach revelling in the sun, it's no wonder there's so much weet soca music in the air.







The Luminat'eau festival is heating up the Harbourfront Centre this weekend. Last night, hundreds of fans got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see live FREE performances from Calypso great David Rudder and Reggae Rude Bwoy Jr. Reid. That was the lime for me yesterday before I rode east for "The Buzz." Big up Soca Sweetness...for a fete that can only be described as HAWT!!! Soca Twins ripped it. X-caliber mashed it up...and KOS dunned de place for good measure.

The Soca Twins: Boone Shatta and Frankie Fyah

It was good to see Boone and Frankie Germany's Soca Twins sound on their first appearance in Toronto. And to Mr. Slaughter, nice to see your bamsie back in Toronto after too long! But dahlin' Germany is not NOW and has NEVER been an island. Please take note:

Mr. Slaughter

Big weekend in St. Vincent and the Grenadines! Last night was the annual H20 Soca Wet Fete. This year Machel Montano HD was the headline entertainment alongside a stellar cast of energetic local performers.

At 8 o'clock tonight SVG will make history as theCarnival Development Corporation will stage the ever Ragga Soca Monarch competition during the carnival calendar. Ragga Soca in St.Vincent and Barbados is what the Trini's and Grenadians refer to as groovy. In years gone by this competition was held in the month of October as part of the nation's independence celebrations. Tonight 15 finalists will vie for the crown. The competitors were selected from44 entrants. The last winner was Skarpyon, he's back with a sweetlove joint called Forever. Hoping to stick it to him is Zoelah, Dani-O, Karen Veira, KC, Tabia, Skinny Fabulous and Blakey, Bomani, Dennis Bowman, Squitty, Bam, Shady, Fullclip, Shaunelle and Galanaire. Dah show go be nice!

St. Lucia's Carnival officially opened about ten days ago with the largest launch in its history. Organizers are hyped that this is going to be the biggest year yet, with a record 12 competitive mas bands including a brand new entry called Toxik. That was the inspiration for Ricky T's song of the same name…so you know where to find him onde road carnival Tuesday. Wham to Dem!

I'm Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay's Rounds. Please share yourcomments online at the Nurse Karen Etc Blog at triple w dot mustardseeds dot net…and make sure you download the podcast. Now back to de doctor!

Read more...

The Rounds: Big Fetes, Big Fun!

Good Evening Soca Lovers, I'm Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay's rounds. It's one hot weekend here in Toronto and that makes me think about Car-ni-val! Over at Queen's Park the Muhtadi International Drumming Festival is wrapping up its 2008 Year of the Steel Drum. There's only about two hours to go, so if you missed it, you missed two days of amazing performance from Afropan, Silhouettes, Pan Fantasy , Symphonyx and the Toronto All Stars…plus individual performances from some of the city's top pan men and women!

Drum Roll Please! last week the nominees were announced for the SAO Soca Awards. The event will take place in picturesque St. Kitts on October 18th. Congrats to our own Dr. Jay for his 5th straight nomination…and big up to Ms. Boomerang for being the first female to make the international DJ category. Jester, I see you too.

Nurse Karen with Jester at Tribe Ignite (Trinidad 2K8)

He earned X-caliber International a nod for his 2008 groovy soca mix. Voting is open…Log on to socaawards dot com, and make your mark, then hit me up online and let me know what you think.

Last night, "X" marked the Spot on the Palazzo patio for the KOS official start to the soca summer. This is we time soca people, so get out and enjoy it.

Down in Bermuda there was an all out Bajan Invasion last night with a big show featuring the likes of Mr. Dale, Lil Rick, Peter Ram, Biggie Irie and Krosfyah. Very big show for a nation of 65 thousand people.

Nurse Karen with Mr. Dale at Soca or Die 7, (Toronto 2007)

Meanwhile over in the big fog -- London, England got its turn to experience de Gyal Farm Fete. The UK version featured Patrice Roberts, Problem Child (Yes dahlin...I can see you blushing from here), Rupee…and of course Shal Marshall & Kerwin Du Bois.

Problem Child and Nurse Karen out for pizza (St. Vincent, 2006)

Speaking of Kerwin Du Bois….be sure to pick up the June issue of WE magazine. Kerwin's between the covers…and your Nurse Karen wrote the article. I got you lots of juicy info about the artiste-producer, both inside and outside of the music.

Nurse Karen and Kerwin Du Bois at the Return Fete (Toronto, 2008)

If you're planning to make a trip to Barbados for Crop Over, you'll be happy to hear that top Kadooment Band, Baje International FINALLY launched their 2008 presentation on Friday. The costumes are looking lovely…but the prices have soared this year…starting at more than $210 US, which is an increase of about 50 bucks.

In Trindad there's a little talk about a new mas band for 2009. The presentation is called Spice! I can't tell you much, as the identities of the collaborators are being kept quiet…but I can tell you one this: This band is entirely headed and managed by woman: 8 sisters in mas who will be revealed in a local REALITY TV SHOW.

Interesting...! I'm Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay's Rounds. Please drop me a line at the Nurse Karen Etc blog @ Triple W Dot Mustard Seeds Dot Net. Check out the recap of my interview yesterday on Barbados' Mix 96.9 and of course, grab the rounds podcast for yourself. Now, back to de docta!

Read more...

Nurse's Lounge: Interviewing the Interviewer

I just got off the phone with Armadillo and Buddha Lizard from BoomTribe Radio in Barbados. I wanna big them up for a great little interview with Yours Truly. It's not every day that someone is asking me the questions...but today it happened twice.

We'll get back to BIM in a second, but another special shout out in order for Mark Seow of Broken Dolly Productions for featuring me in the first episode of Island Style TV on Rogers Cable 10 in Toronto. The segment was shot last month and aired this afternoon at 3p.m. Ah tell you, I wasn't sure what they kept from my long-winded mouth...so I was a little nervous about hwo it would come together. No stress though...they did a wonderful job. If you get to catch a repeat, you'll hear me discuss my work as a journalist, my passion for creative writing as a performance poet, and all about the book I co-edited called T-Dot Griots. Say what? Yeah...if you don't know about all those things, peruse my website www.mustardseeds.net

So, Dillo and Buddha Lizzard...allyuh want to know if I can wuk up? Is that a serious question? Like you asking answers. I think I'll have to arrange a little visit to Mix 96.9 FM to prove my skills. I may not have any Bajan in me, but I know what to do when I have a Bajan on me. LOL.


So, the interviews are out the way. Both were great experiences. Thanks to all of you who came along for the ride. Let me know if you got to watch or listen. And if you watching my next step...check for me tomorrow evening and every Sunday on Soca Therapy for Dr. Jay's Rounds at www.flow935.com or www.socatherapy.com @ 6:45 pm

Karen out!

Read more...

BOOSTER SHOT: 2008 SAO Soca Awards Nominees Announced

Copied below is a press release, just posted from the Soca Awards Organization. Congrats to all who are nominated! Before allyuh get vex with me for bad grammar and spelling and all dem odda ting dey...understand, all I did was cut and paste. I'm giving you my two cents before you read on. I respect the SAO for taking time out to recognize achievement in the genre of soca. However, I urge all persons involved in the business of Caribbean Entertainment to stand up and take some pride in what they do. The first step would be...making an effort to spell the names of the artistes correctly.

Tell me...who PROBLUM CHILD be? EDWIN YEREWOOD? MACHEL MOTANO???? Allyuh serious?

Dat nah mek it dread!

How do we expect the rest of the world to learn their names if we don't?

So many more comments...but I'd rather see yours...

Anyhoo....this was yours truly at the 2007 SAO Soca Awards in Queens, NY. The handsome dude next to me is Atlanta's DJ Tony Tempo ( Note: I can't find his name on the list)

The 2008 Soca Awards list of Honoree Recipients and Nominees

As promised here is the eagerly anticipated list of Honoree Recipients and Nominees for the 6th Annual International Soca Awards, this information was officially announced this morning at 10:00 am live on - ZIZ TV, ZIZ Radio, Win FM 98.9, Sugar City Roc 90.3 FM, Radio One 94.5FM - St. Kitts. Red Hot Radio 98.1FM - Antigua, thefrontlineradio.com, socaawards.com (iSA RADIO).


This year's awards will be held at the St. Kitts Marriott Center under the kind patronage of the Honorable Minister of State for Tourism, Sports and Culture, Senator Richard "Ricky" Skerritt. This red carpet, star studded gala will bring Soca entertainers and Soca lovers from all across the world together to pay accolade to those deserving of the honor.

Voting is scheduled to begin on Friday June 6th.
We encourage you to stay linked to http://www.socaawards.com/ for up to date information and more exciting news on the 2008 International Soca Awards.


Support for iSA6 is provided by St. Kitts Tourism Authority, St. Kitts Marriott Resort & The Royal Beach Casino, b Mobile, HYPE TV, Royal St. Kitts Hotel & Casino ZIZ TV, ZIZ Radio, socaawards.com, socatvonline.com, Win FM 98.9, Sugar City Roc 90.3 FM, Radio One 94.1FM, Red Hot Radio 98.5FM, sknvibes.com, Club Kactus, sknentertainment.com, Shabeau Magazine, Shabeau Style TV, Pour Moi – Cognac, JTE Spirits, W4 Tours & Promotions, tropicalfete.com, thefrontlineradio.com, toronto-lime.com and wukupnuff.com, http://www.socaordie.com/, caribbeanmecca.com, tswradio.com, Soca Mix, Turner Video Productions, V.I.P Connected.




SAO Lifetime/ Achievement Award McLean “King Short Shirt” Emmanuel
SAO Hall of Fame Ellie Matt
SAO Legend Award Winston “Gypsy” Peters
SAO Technical Award Eddie Grant and Leston Paul
SAO Trustees Award Ignatius "De Invader" Tisson




Best New Female Soca Artist

• SHEKERA

• JULIETTE MILLS

• MARIE ANNE

• KIMBERLY DOPSON

• ZOELAH

Best New Male Soca Artist

• Sizwe C

• KAMAU

• DON TRENT

• PROBLUM CHILD

• SKHI

Female Soca Vocalist of the Year

• GO DOWN BY LIMA CALBIO

• CHEATERS BY MARIE ANNE

• LOVE OF MY LIFE BY NADIA BATSON

• MO WUK BY PATRICE ROBERTS

• GO DOWN LOW BY ZOELAH

Male Soca Vocalist of the Year

• IT FEELS LIKE AM HOME AGAIN BY EDWIN YEREWOOD

• FIRE BY KEVIN LYTTLE

• NEVER LEAVE YA BY KERWIN DU BOIS

• CARNIVAL PLEASE STAY BY SHURWYNE WINCHESTER

• ME & YOU BY DON TRENT

Female Soca Performer of the Year

• NNIKI FRANCIS

• DESTRA

• FAYE-ANN LYONS

• TIZZY

• ZOELAH

Male Soca Performer of the Year

• BUNJI GARLIN

• EDWIN YEREWOOD

• MACHEL MONTANO

• RIKKY T

• LIL RICK

Soca Duo or Group of the Year

• 2NTRIGUE

• 3 CANAL

• 3 SUNS

• LUNI SPARKS & ELECTRIFY

Soca Song Writer of the Year

• KERNEL ROBERTS & MACHEL MONTANO - (UNCONDITIOAL LOVE, BLAZE D TRAIL, MAKE LOVE)

• KERWIN DU BOIS - (BREATHLESS, NEVER LEAVE YA, GYAL FARM)

• NADIA BATSON - (MIND YUH BUSINESS, LOVE OF MY LIFE, CONFUSION)

• FAYE-ANN LYONS - (GET ON, ROAD CALL, WHO STANDING)

• BERBICE - (TRAFFIC, WATER, CARIBBEAN GIRL)

Best Soca Collaboration Grove

• PROBLEM CHILD & JADINE - SECRET AGENT

• KERWIN DU BOIS & SHAL MACHEL - GYAL FARM

• JAMESY P. & CECILLE - DO ME BABY

• MR. VEGAS ft. DESTRA - ON THE FLOOR

• MACHEL MOTANO ft DAVID RUDDER - OIL & MUSIC

Best Soca Collaboration up Tempo

• SHURWAYNE WINCHESTER & JONNY KING - WHOLE DAY

• PATCH & DA MA$TAMIND - DE TAIL GONE

• MACHEL MOTANO & MIGHTY SPARROW - CONGO MAN

• DESTRA & SEAN PAUL - FREE IT UP

• LUNI SPARKS & ELECTRIFY

Over All Female Soca Artist of the Year

• DESTRA

• FAYE-ANN LYONS

• NADIA BATSON

• NNIKI FRANCIS

• ZOELAH

Over All Male Soca Artists of the Year

• KERWIN DU BOIS

• BERBICE

• MACHEL MONTANO

• RIKKY T.

• MR. DALE

International Soca DJ of the year

• BACK TO BASICS

• DJ SPICE

• MISS BOOMARANG

• DR. JAY

• SOCA TWINS

Best Soca Compilation Album/CD of the Year

• DE RED BOYZ PRESENTS - SOCA BONFIRE - VARIOUS

• BEST OF THE BEST - SOCA HITS 08

• SOCA .758.

• SOCA GOLD - VARIOUS ARTISTS 1 2008

• THE REAL DEAL - STRAIGHT FROM BIM

Best Soca Compilation Rhythm

• SLU RIDDIM

• BANJO RIDDIM

• BARBER SHOP RIDDIM

• GYAL TOUCH RIDDIM

• RESPONSE RIDDIM

Soca Humor of the Year

• PHONE CARD - (REPLY) BY SILVER

• DE TAIL GORN BY PATCH & DA MA$TAMIND

• STRANGE NAME BY BLACKIE

• PHONE CARD BY CRAZY

• RAMCONPONG BY PETER RAM, CONTONE & PONG

Favorite Groove Soca - Female

• GO DOWN LOW BY ZOELAH

• SADDLE BY DESTRA

• MO WUK BY PATRICE ROBERTS

• KICK IT OFF BY TIZZY

• WUKKING UP BY PATRICE ROBERTS

Favorite Groove Soca - Male

• WHINNING SEASON BY MACHEL MONTANO

• OUT ON DE ROAD BY ZAN

• SOKA JUNKIE BY MR. DALE

• NAUGHTY SHAUTY BY SMALL AXE BAND E.K

• PARTY ANIMAL BY PROBLEM CHILD

Favorite up Tempo Soca - Female

• GET ON BY FAYE-ANN LYONS

• LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION BY CLAUDETTE PETERS

• MAS BY NNIKI FRANCIS

• MY POSSE BY NADIA BATSON

• FLY AWAY BY ZOELAH

Favorite up Tempo Soca - Male

• BREATHLESS BY BLACXX

• PRESSURE BOOM BY RICKY T.

• TRAFFIC BY BERBICE

• BOOM BAM BAM BY GRAND MASTER FT. SMILEY

• FIREY BY BUNJI

Soca Artist Album/CD of the year

• WATER BY BERBICE

• UNSTOPPABLE BY CRAZY

• WORK OF ART BY JAMSEY P.

• CARIBBEAN GIRL BY NADIA BATSON

• FLAME ON BY MACHEL MONTANO

Soca Song of the Year

• GET ON BY FAYE-ANN LYONS

• SOKA JUNKIE BY MR. DALE

• PRESSURE BOOM BY RICKY T.

• GYAL FARM BY KERWIN DU BOIS & SHAL MACHEL

• PARTY ANIMAL BY PROBLEM CHILD

Favorite Soca Info Website

• www.tropicalfete.com

• www.toronto-lime.com

• www.bajanfuhlife.com

• www.socaordie.com

• http://www.trinijunglejuice.com/

Over All Soca Band of the Year

• RED HOT FLAMES

• EDWIN YEARWOOD & KROSFYAH

• SMALL AXE BAND

• NU VIBES BAND

• MACHEL MONTANO HD

SOCA PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

• RED BOYZ - (BAND ON FIRE, ME & YOU, CHIPPIN’)

• KASEY PILLIPS - (ROBOMAN, MY POSSE, MIND YUH BUSSINESS)

• PARRY JACK - (AH NOT GOING, BASHMENT FREAKS, DO ME BABY)

• NEIL BERNARD - (GET ON, HAVING AH TIME, PELE PELE PA)

• KERWIN DU BOIS - (BREATHLESS, 2 DAYS, GYAL FARM)

Best Soca Music Video

• ROLIN‘- BLAZIN' D TRAL MEDLEY BY MACHEL MONTANO & PATRICE ROBERTS

• SOKA JUNKIE BY MR. DALE

• DESIRE BY SKHI

• PUMPIN‘ BY PETER RAM

• CAN’T WAIT BY LIL RICK

• PASSA PASSA BY CASEY

• WINE DOWN LOW BY DEVON MATTHEWS

• STRANGE NAME BY BLACKIE

• MONIKA – SOCA ELVIS

• THINK IT OVER -TERRY SEALES

Best Soca Re-Mix Collaboration

• PATRICE ROBERTS ft MACKA DIAMOND - WUKKIN’ UP REMIX

• FARM P ft KERWIN DU BOIS - SEXY CHOCOLATE GIRLS - REMIX

• PETER RAM ft AIDNIA - PUMPIN REMIX

• FARMER NAPPY ft ANHONY B. - CHIPPIN’ REMIX

• RICKY T. ft. MR. VEGAS - PRESSURE BOOM (REMIX)

Best Dj Soca Mix CD of the Year

• DJ MIX BY THREEKS SOUND BERLIN

• SOCA FEEIN” 2008 pt2 BY DJ REE

• 2008 XPLOSION MIX 2 BY DJ STEPHEN

• WE GOT THE FLAVOR BY LeXXXus SOUND & CENSORED

• 2008 SOCA MIX VOLUME 1 BY DJ SPICE

• 2008 SOCA MIX BY DJ CHOICE-ONE MD

• UNITE DE SOCA 2008 MIX Pt 1 BY MISS BOOMARANG

• ADDICTED 2 SOCA BY SOCA TWINS

• 2008 GROOVY SOCA MIX EXCLUSIVE BY JESTER X-CALIBER SMASH SQUAD DJ's

Over All Soca Chutney Artist of the Year

• HUNTER

• RIKKI JAI

• DE HITMAN

• RAVI B

• RAYMOND RARNAIN

Over All Soca Chutney Band of the Year

• DIL E NADAAN

• GEMINI BAND

• JMC TRIVENI

• KRAMA BAND

• SUPER TONES BAND

Soca Chutney Song of the Year

• FIRE WATER BY DE HITMAN

• INTOXICATED BY RAYMOND RARNAIN

• BRING IT BY HUNTER

• AKLA RUM IS MEH LOVER BY RAVI B

• MONIKA – SOCA ELVIS

Favorite Soca Online Radio

• WWW.THEFRONTLINERADIO.COM

• WWW.RADIOBAJAN.COM

• WWW.SOCA919.COM

• http://www.wackradio901fm.com/

SOCA ROAD MIX OF THE YEAR

• FARMER NAPPY - CHIPPIN’ (ROAD MIX)

• KERWIN DUBIOS & SHAL - GAL FARM (ROAD MIX)

• LEHGO ME RIDDIM - RICKY T - PRESSURE BOOM (ROAD MIX)

• FAYE-ANN LYONS - GET ON ROAD MIX

• ROY CAPE ALL STARS FT. BLAXX – BREATHLESS (ROAD MIX)

Best Soca Chutney Collaboration of the year

• HUNTER & BUNJI GARLIN - I WANT MEH Rum (RE MIX

• D HITMAN & BUNJI GARLIN - BRING D RUM

• D'HITMAN & BLAZER DAN - BHANGRA PARTY

• DIL - E - NADAN Ft. BUNJI GARLIN - BAND ON FIRE

• RIKKI JAI & SHAWN NOEL - PAGAL

Read more...

The Rounds: Machel Mania...

Good Evening Soca Lovers,



I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds.



As the countdown to Caribana continues, a delegation of Toronto’s Carnival Elite are packing their bags to represent our city at Chicago’s Sister Cities Festival, tomorrow through Wednesday. In the crew you’ll find the likes of Steel Panist Earl La Pierre Jr, Calypsonian Macoomeh Fifi and Tribal Knights Bandleader Dexter Seusahai. They will be taking to the stage for three days hoping to urge our friends to make the trip north for North America’s Largest Outdoor Festival.




Trinidad’s Mr. Slaughter celebrated his 31st birthday last Wednesday after a memorable weekend at the best of the best show in Miami. The DJ turned soca artiste has also been trying his hand at reggae in recent months, lending his voice to the Devil’s Angel rhythm on a track called Highest Grade. Sticking to his original DJ roots, you can look forward to hearing DAWG-E on the 1’s and 2’s in Toronto on June 14th at the next edition of Soca Sweetness’ signature party – THE BUZZ.

In Toronto, we're wishing a happy belated b-day to soca artiste Slammer Cutter, whose big day was yesterday. Also celebrating a birthday TODAY, is the lovely and talented Alison Hinds. Now 38, she’s showing no signs of slowing down as she prepares for the Square One Reunion Concert in Barbados on July 26th.

Farm P, Nurse Karen and Slammer Cutter at the Flow 93.5 studios in Toronto.

For those of you Machel fans out there. He seems to be focused on Barbados these days too. Mr. Montano was heard on a popular bajan radio station announcing his plans to perform on the road with the Kadooment Band - Cable and Wireless Contact for the next 3 years. Most likely, that means there’s pretty much no chance that HD will be gracing any stages for Caribana any time soon. Speaking of HD...time for a new lingo. Caribbean Planet! You heard it here first, High Definition is soon to be a thing of the past. The Xtatik family are setting their sights on world domination with a brand new theme for 2009.

Still didn’t get your Machel Montano fix? Well last week, the trial finally began for that alleged assault incident at Zen night club involving Machel, Zan, Benjai and Kernal Roberts. It was delayed a few days due to his engagements in Miami. And boy were the courts unhappy about that, even though Montano’s lawyer says that a letter was issued on March 5th saying that he would not be available for the scheduled date. So, it finally kicked off on Thursday and continues throughout this week. I’ll be keeping an ear to the ground as until we can finally lay this thing to rest.




I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. Please send me your comments at the Nurse Karen Etc blog at triple w dot mustard seeds dot net. And don’t forget to grab the Rounds podcast at soca therapy dot com. Now, back to de docta!

Read more...