It was the wee hours of carnival on Saturday when the soca legend Machel Montano and Nigerian American Afrobeats superstar Davido took to the stage in Port of Spain. By then, the audience of thousands had already been partying for hours, but when the two launched into their hit song Fling It Up , the crowd erupted.
This year’s Trinidad and Tobago carnival – which included the finals of the country’s steelpan competition and two days of hardcore reveling – highlighted a growing trend of collaboration between artists from Africa and the Caribbean, with musicians exploring the common threads of their cultural heritage at a time when the campaign for reparations has brought about a closer look at historical ties.
Montano, who has dominated soca for decades, said the connection with African artists was an important part of his message. “I’ve been on a journey trying to become spiritually in tune and sing Bob Marley-esque songs. He had songs of freedom. I want to sing songs of hope,” he said.
The video for his latest hit, Pardy, which won the Road March award – given to the song played most often along the carnival parade route – begins with a meeting between Montano and the prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, who has been at the forefront of the push for reparations.
Montano, who recently completed an MA in cultural studies, said the prime minister, who in January called for a historic realignment between Africa and the Caribbean, had a “clarity for the Caribbean, clarity for our people, clarity for who we are and where we are going and what we need”.
He added: “We have shared many conversations over the last few years, musically, culturally. We talk about lyrics. We talk about messages. We talk about the vibe of young people. We both love our people and care about what they need and what we can provide to help them reach their highest potential.”
Over the years, Montano has visited Africa, hoping to bridge the gap between the two regions through music.
Randall Mitchell, Trinidad and Tobago’s minister of tourism, culture and arts, said such efforts reflected a broader movement in the country towards musical collaborations with Africa.
A shared history meant there was a “natural fit”, he said, adding: “Our ancestral heritage, we trace it to west Africa … That’s where [our] music is from and there’s always been that natural connection … We are one people.”
Soca queen Nailah Blackman, whose grandfather Ras Shorty I was dubbed the “father of soca” and credited with the creation of the art form, also recently explored elements of Afrobeats in Miss Continental, a collaboration with Nigeria’s DJ Obi.
Referring to Africa as “the motherland”, she said Caribbean people “get that connection with African true culture and music”.
She added: “It’s who we are, it’s where we came from, and the connection in the 21st century has to come back bigger and better and stronger because now the world is more connected via the internet. Everything is a touch away – you know what somebody’s doing in Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica, everywhere else in the Caribbean, and here in Trinidad.
Looking to the roots of Trinidad’s national music, she said: “The sound is very similar as soca music is a mixture of Indian rhythms and calypso – which is an African rhythm. And it’s that blending that brings you a little closer.”
Newer soca artists are exploring musical ties with Africa, including the up and coming star Yung Bredda.
“I started off doing the dancehall. I do reggae music, and I do Afrobeats and now I am doing soca to be able to contribute to my culture,” he said.
Referring to his hit song The Greatest Bend Over, he said: “People actually hear in it something other than just soca, there are Afrobeats, so you are hearing that African influence and it appeals to people in places like China, like Japan, like Egypt.”
Montano, whose newest album, One Degree Hotter, includes collaborations with American, African and Caribbean stars, said: “Every island [in the Caribbean] has a flavor to offer. But we have been converging on each other in a way that we are becoming one in our sound, in our looks, in our taste and in our feel for each other. Our music and our people are based on unity.”
He added: “A lot of us were dropped off here from many places. But what we are introducing and sharing with the world is a unified force. So you’ll hear soca music with dancehall in it. You’ll hear dancehall with reggaeton. You’ll hear reggaeton with Afrobeats. We are giving you that music that feels like oneness, that feels like unity, that feels like love.”
