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St.Lucian Music is praised but not recognized

The Caribbean Music Awards aired for the first time on August 31 in Brooklyn, New York. Hosted by Haitian musician Wyclef Jean at Kings Theatre, this was the first award show to be solely for Caribbean music. Musicians from all Caribbean islands attended though some islands had more attendees than others. Honorary Awards were given to a few artists from the islands of Jamaica, Trinidad, and Haiti. Some of the winners include Buju Banton, David Rudder, Mikaben, and more.

Soca, Dancehall, Kompa, and Reggae music were the focused Caribbean music genres at the awards. Within these genres, each island makes its style of music. Many other genres in the Caribbean were not represented such as Bouyon and Dennery Segment. These genres can be found in Dominica and St.Lucia. Dennery segment and Bouyon are forms of soca music.

Many well-known Caribbean artists attended the awards as well as new artists. Only one artist from the island of St.Lucia was present. Teddyson John, well known for his hit Vent, attended the awards and performed alongside Nailah Blackman and Jada Kingdom. Teddyson John doesn’t sing St.Lucia’s Dennery segment but he does sing soca music. Some of St.Lucia's biggest artists like Motto, Umpa, Mata, Shemmy J, Ricky T, and many more were not even invited to the event. St.Lucian music was even played during the award show but no light was shed on the genre's achievements.

The Dennery Segment originally came around in the late 2010s. The music genre grew in popularity in St.Lucia and spread throughout the Caribbean. In 2017 the genre got lots of recognition when a single called Split In Di Middle was released by Freezy. West Indian islands all over the Caribbean began to play Dennery segment at parties or events on the island and internationally. The genre continues to produce more artists and great soca hits for the Caribbean islands. Some Dennery segment hits include Split In Di Middle by Frezzy, Plat by Umpa, Fire by BlackBoy, and Big Ride by Motto featuring BlackBoy and Ezra.  

Motto Lashey Winter has made one of the biggest impacts on St.Lucian music. Motto has produced and recorded many of the Dennery segment hits from the past to the present day. He spreads St.Lucia's music culture yearly performing in all Caribbean islands, Europe, and America. Motto was not invited to the Caribbean Music Awards which was eye-opening to many soca music lovers. When I asked Motto why he thinks this happened his answer was simply “I don’t know”.

Here is one of Motto’s hit songs:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeGsSjhkXa8   

Elmo Norville, a young rising musician, born in St.Lucia also was not invited to the awards. Norville has produced hits for artists in many different Caribbean islands. Elmo also plays many instruments including the ukulele and bass. His instrument playing has been featured on many tracks in the Caribbean. Although he wasn’t in attendance, Norville still celebrated, a track he performed bass on called “Down Dey” by GBM Nutron, and DJ Spider won the Collaboration of the Year Award. Norville said, “The fact that I didn’t know it was nominated and it won an award was shocking”. The win brought emotions for him and he was proud of himself for the achievement.

Both Norville and Motto wasn’t even aware of the awards. St.Lucian music was even played at the award show but the musicians who made these songs were not present. St.Lucian music has been mainstream for a few years now. Norville even said, “All soca songs now have an element of the Dennery segment in the beat”. If the music from St.Lucia was able to make such an impact why are the musicians not respected like others?

Norville believes the problem begins with the St.Lucian people. “St.Lucian people don’t support St.Lucian people like other islands like Jamaica and Trinidad do,” said Norville. Envy and fear are the root of why some St.Lucian artists fail to grow. Norville said, “If we don’t respect and uplift each other, how can other people”. Not all artists are like this and it shows through their work and progress. Many artists respect themselves and their craft and push hard to reach their successes.

Desray Desir, a St.Lucian going to school in New York, tuned into the Caribbean Music Awards and was excited to see all her favorite artists. Desir saw that Teddyson John was at the awards and was excited saying “ I saw him and I was excited because it was my first time seeing an artist from my country on a platform like this.” Desir was hoping to see more artists and was confused when she didn’t see Motto present, “ I thought he would be there after I saw Teddyson there because they are a part of the well-known artist but I was looking for him”.

This was the awards show's first airing, maybe next year they will bring more people to represent St.Lucia. The island has created a big influence on soca music while growing in the last nine years. Some St.Lucian people may have toxic views causing other islands to reflect these views onto other Lucian people. On the inside, you can see the truth more than you can from the outside. This may be why misconceptions are created. St.Lucian artists working internationally like Motto and Elmo Norville have found ways to push through these toxic habits and reach for their biggest dreams.

Soca and Dancehall music are continuously evolving and for Caribbean people, this is nothing new. All Caribbean genres and subgenres should be celebrated because the standard style of the genres is not the most known in the present day. Hopefully next year, The Caribbean Music Awards will be more inclusive and bring more of St.Lucia's biggest artists to represent St.Lucian music. The award show has the platform to help push these artists to the place they should be based on their talent and streaming numbers.