The top 100 soca songs of the 2000s
by December 23, 2021Intro
Ah yes, the 2000s. The start of a new Millenium and a period of new hope after we defeated the dangerous Y2K bug (it really wasn’t dangerous though). It was a period of great nostalgia for me as it was the decade where I really learnt what feting was and truly appreciated soca on a deeper level.. The memories formed during this period are so powerful that to even formulate this list I couldn’t trust myself to do it alone. Too much bias, allyuh woulda vex with me.
Anytime I hear Powder Puff I see giant mushroom clouds of powder emanating inside Boy Scouts fete. These clouds were provided by equally giant Jergens bottles that emerged from Jansport knapsacks opened in unison. Saucy Baby? I think back to Denise Belfon, in her prime of course, going limbo low while bouncing and balancing her thick, curvy frame on high heels going “Eh Eh Eh Eh” in front a transfixed crowd, men and women alike. And don’t talk about Bonnie & Clyde. Or any Destra song during that period. Destra’s rock inspired performances of Fly are burned into my brain, especially the outfits. Yooo, Destra was…ok let’s not digress.
Looking at it from a musical point of view, the 2000s were a period of intense experimentation for soca. A slew of sub-genres emerged; ragga soca, groovy soca, power soca. Ragga soca in particular didn’t really survive but was a significant force and many classics were released by important artists such as Dawg E Slaughter, Bunji Garlin, 3 Suns, Benjai, Gailann, Scar, Ninjitsu, MX Prime (then known as Maximus) and a few others.
Groovy soca was formed during this period, made official by its addition in soca monarch in 2005, and went on to become the most popular style of soca in the 2010s. Popularized by Destra, it influenced a greater emphasis on vocal ability, melodic structure and harmonies in soca music which has affected even the faster, more tempo-based “power” soca songs.
It was during this decade that the corporate elements put certain elements in place that we would recognize as “foundation” in the 2010s. Here are some of the more pivotal ones:
- The soca switch, a period when radio stations only play soca music, was initiated and popularized by the 96.1fm radio station and its owner Tony Chow Lin On aka Chinese Laundry.
- Fetes as a business – large promoters such as Island People and Red Ants emerged throwing multiple well known and well organized events that would become as popular as the artists themselves (arguably more so) – A lot of things we take for granted about modern fetes – clean toilets with sinks to wash hands in the middle of nowhere, a complimentary cup and rag as you enter a fete, good security and lighting, professional decor – can be traced to the rise of these promoters treating feting as big business
- Tribe was formed – The band broke away from Poison and formed the most popular carnival band and one of the most enduring brands in carnival
- Groovy was added as a category in soca monarch
- All inclusive and cooler fetes became popular – Middle and High class feting was standardized, segmenting feters for better and worse. In the 2010s this would become even more prevalent leading to a boy requiring a link to even be allowed to spend money on a ticket for the most premium events. Jah!
Luckily in the 2000s the effects of these elements were not yet felt and the music felt free. I must say, this list was way harder to construct than the 2010s version. It took a team of five of us and there were some serious fights over songs. In the end, all of us had at least one favorite song not make the top 100 list so if you feel some type a way… trust me, I feel worse; if it was up to me, there would have been at least four 3 Suns songs in the top 100 :(.
Methodology
In theory the process was simple but in practice it was a dog fight. It went like this:
- Assemble all the soca songs that meant something in the 2000s – This resulted in over 200 songs.
- Eliminate the songs that were not really the memorable – Memorable applied to both now and in the moment. We used memorable because we decided a song had to be “good” and “known”. If the song isn’t “known” to at least a certain degree, it couldn’t make the list. This carried us to like 130 songs
- We started eliminating by vote – In deadlock situations, someone would champion a song and make a case for it. We would play the songs to refresh the vibes and decide by vote.
- When we eventually reached one hundred songs, we worked on ranking them – We started with the top 20. The rankings had room for subjectivity but essentially we looked at:
- How did the song resonate in the moment?
- How has the song aged?
- Accolades? (road march wins, soca monarch wins and high finishes meant something… we agreed those things mattered more than billboard rankings…(sorry Kevin Lyttle)
- Popularity (this was used mainly as a tie-breaker)
- The final final ranking was done by me – I didn’t really change much things to be honest
And with that epic intro, let’s get on to the list.
100) Buffy – Anything
Buffy would never have another hit nearly as big as this but this song was a monster. Still has one of the most hype first verses in all of soca. Her aggressive delivery rode the whistles and drums of this jab jab type jam to perfection. Plus, man still wining on anything.
99) Bunji Garlin & Shami – Soca Bhangra
Chutney and Ragga soca had collided before. The Lotala remix with General Grant and Denise Belfon in particular is legendary. This song isn’t on that level. What elevates it from mediocrity however is a scorching verse by Bunji Garlin especially for the time. A few years earlier Bunji showed us that flowing on a soca beat was possible. Now here he was finding rapping pockets in a chutney beat. And the freestyles he did on this beat live were the stuff of legend. #ifyouknowyouknow
98) Fay-Ann- Focus
2000s Fay-Ann of the sexy dreadlocks and perfect abs could make a song with a sensually slow, pulsating tempo inviting you to “focus on her body” and it made perfect sense.
I mean, why not?
97) Machel Montano – Wining Season
The critics and haters will always say that these type of lists have too much Machel. And there may be a universe where another noteworthy song could have taken this spot. But should we punish Machel for being great? In Machel’s solar system of hits this is definitely Pluto but even an icy moon can resemble a planet in the hands of a master. Like Lil Wayne in his prime, Machel almost playfully shreds this beat, his signature baritone rasp ping pongs over the drums without breaking a sweat. The syncopated rhyme scheme is also special, sounding like the off beat licks in a rhythm section.
96) Patrice Roberts – Wukking Up
As good as Machel rode the beat on this same riddim, Patrice slyly gets the better of him with sticky sweet raspy melodies, sweeter than sugar caramelized for stew. From the first verse “Assume the position, start flickering your bam bam…” it was over. Machel may have had the more interesting flow but this song is way more “wine-able”.
95) Machel Montano – Push Bumpers
If you throw a lazy spin at Brian Lara in the 90s what you expect? A six right? Buss ball, loss ball, ball in the parking lot right? How you go give a prime Machel this type of beat and expect anything but a guaranteed wine in a sweaty dance? That’s like putting prime Machel on a small Synergy stage and not expecting pure shellings.
94) Militant – Hot and Groovy
Starting off with a beautiful guitar solo into Militant’s trademarked pitched delivery this song catches you from the start and never lets go. It’s stripped down intro is one of the best.
93) Militant – Passion
Just like coconut water fresh from an icy cold nut poured over Johnny Walker with two blocks of ice is the feeling this song gives in a breakfast party after two early drinks from the cooler. From the time you hear this coming out the speakers, all the ladies in the fete start converting their nonchalant side to side to a sensual “look back and bubble”. Militant has only two big soca songs but both are absolute classics.
92) Machel Montano – Insane (Craziness) *
Placed Third in Road March 2004
This was the second song in Machel’s quartet of madman songs. The first was “Madman – this was the second. The third was “Madder Dan Dat” and the fourth was the awesome Kerwin Du Bois remix to “Madden Dan Dat” called “Madology” which is a whole scene by itself… I have it in my dictionary under road mixes. Just like the Avengers movies, all four are fire but the second one is the weakest. But if this your weakest…well boy.
91) Machel Montano – Madman
What is this song about?
As a youtube commenter put it:
madmanmadmanmadmanmadmanmadmanmadmanmadmanmadmanmadmanmadmanmadmanmadman!!!! HUUY!!!
The type a song where you put your hand on somebody shoulder and just start to bounce. Don’t think too hard.
90) Onika Bostik – All Is Yours
One of the most tragic events in soca history was the untimely passing of Onika Bostik who died in a car crash just as her star was starting to ascend in the industry. They say dead artists get the best promotion but this song was a hit even before Onika passed; her passing only served to give the song a tinge of sadness. Her sweet vocals ooze vulnerability, a rare emotion in soca. Such tenderness over this zouk-ish beat is timeless.
89) Kes – One Day
As an early member of the Kes fan club I endured a lot of ridicule in the early 2000s. This president of the redman association was respected for his vocals, admired by the ladies for his looks but the common critique was that his music “wasn’t soca”. This song “One Day” was the first song where the haters resolve started to slip. By today’s standards, this song is almost like a ballad but for Kes this was an important chune. Vocals was never a problem but this proved that those smooth RnB-type vocals had a place on a soca hit
88) Peter C – Tay Lay Lay *
Placed Second in Road March 2001
With Machel sitting out Carnival in 2001, presumably due to some contractual agreement with a label, Peter C found himself the de facto leader of Xtatic. With that opportunity in hand, he decided to make a serious run for Road March. The run was unsuccessful but he came close; he finished second to “Stranger” by Shadow. Built off a well-known Kitchener sample, it would have been a disgrace if the song was garbage but thankfully Peter C did not let that happen. Don’t get tie up, this song doesn’t play much now but it will tear up a fete – those sweet guitars from Xtatic veterans Vincent and Joey are classic.
87) Rikki Jai feat Machel Montano – Motor Remix
In 2007, Machel was the king of Soca and Rikki Jai was the king of Chutney. What they created was a masterful fusion that left both audiences more than satisfied.
86) Kes & Ravi B & Hunter – Jep Sting Naina remix
Jep Sting Naina was a huge hit but the remix is superior in every way. The intro from Kes alone is like when you receive an OS update on your phone and realise you have 30% more battery life.
85) Machel Montono ft Pitbull and Lil John
The two best things on this song are: a) the beat b) Machel’s verse. From the time you hear “drop cause you know you got the wickedest/ shake cause you know you got the wickedest“, know that the party done shell down already and is just you eh realise what going on. As a Soca crossover song, this is one that we in T+T can be proud of.
84) Machel Montano – Down D Road
Give a prime Machel a riddim section beat with some drums and iron in the 2000s and loose waist must pass. “Iz a wining criminal, criminiminiminal”.
83) Peter Ram – White Pants Tight
There is no song in this top 100 better for a bicycle wine than this one. The chorus is sweetness but on the verses Peter Ram goes ragga and drops verses Bunji would be proud of.
82) Skinny Fabulous – Head Bad
This was one of Skinny’s first big hits in T+T and introduced us to the trademark deep voice full of vibes and bacchanalia.
81) Zoelah – Wine Up On Me
Listen, Soca is sweet music and at this time of writing in 2021 we’ve experienced many sweet songs from singers with beautiful vocals. But watch mih, this song is one of the SWEETEST songs in soca history. If this song doesn’t raise your calorie count check a doctor one time and hopefully you have a pulse.
80) Machel ft Kerwin Du Bois – Madder Dan Dat/Madology *
Placed Second in Road March 2005
Aye so Madder Dan Dat is a good song and all but the real soca heads know that the real stinger is the Kerwin Du Bois remix. You see the thing Bane does use to get ripped? That venom he does inject straight to he veins? Kerwin take three syringe full of that and stab this song straight in the heart. And we can’t forget the Intercol horns too. Classic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4nMKZAaJOs
79) KMC – First Experience *
Placed Third in Road March 2005
Even though this song placed third in Road March and really didn’t have a chance of beating Shurwayne’s Dead or Alive, it remains the true winner in a lot of hearts. KMC has a bit of an underdog reputation and this song is a big part of that. Thematically the song is genius. The way it builds from somebody playing mas for the first time to them graduating to a feting boss on the chorus both musically and lyrically still hits. “You see this year? Oh oh oh”
78) Blazer – Wrong Timing
Blazer’s premature death robbed us of a great artist. He was part of a new influx of artists like Destra, Umi Marcano and a young Kes who would push soca in a direction where smooth vocals was heading from an asset to a requirement. The unique thing about Blazer is that he would employ a smooth RnB style alongside a rough Ragga-style delivery and frequently mix and match the two. This song, an awesome track, was the first of these and surprisingly not even the best (that will come higher on this list). Lyrically this song is a treat with each verse targeting a different scenario where someone has wrong timing leading to a comedic clash of events that weren’t envisioned by the participants. To accentuate this, Blazer delivers the verses in a ragga style yet sings the hook in a smooth RnB style – the only artist I can think of that would do something like this in terms of mixing a lyrical and vocal style is Drake. It still remains a unique song in the socaverse.
77) Benjai – Over and Over
This was Benjai’s first hit and our first introduction to him. It contains all the things we would know and love over the years. His unique pronunciation and ability to contort vowel sounds to create unique rhythms and melodies is intact here and fully realised. “Over” is pronounced “over” except for when it’s pronounced “ovaaah”. “Thing” is pronounced “teeeeng” when the vibe hits him. The lyrics themselves are also very clever – a breezy social commentary about the repetitive nature of certain unwanted events in Benjai’s life and the country at large. The genius lies in the fact that he never makes it a lecture, the song remains light and comedic. Benjai would go on to have many hits but this was the seed.
76) Surge – In Your Timing
There has only been one soca boy band in history and just for this reason alone Surge will be remembered. But the song itself is also a banger, and not in an ironic, JJ Fish type way either. Girls was loving it and the fellas didn’t hate it neither. There was a dance and people was doing it. To this day the song remains a memorable time capsule and an enjoyable hit.
75) Bunji Garlin – We Doh Watch Face
In my humble opinion, and you can fight me if you disagree, 2000s Bunji was the best version of Bunji. Ras Bunji is what I speak of, the one who would rock green from the hat to the Adidas sneaks. Not talking about the exercising with Fay-Ann, Bunji; though that’s commendable and exercise is important as well as spending time with wifey. Yes crossover Bunji has enjoyed more success, but I way prefer the riddim-shredding, fire-spitting, ragga soca general. This song is from that Bunji, who shreds this bouncy beat to hi-hat fragments while also adding a spicy infinitely quotable hook – “we doh watch face, only waist”. And even in 2021 I can confirm that he didn’t lie.
74) MX Prime – Soca Train
If you never was in a congo line for this song then you still have a few more guava seasons before you can jump in big people conversation.
73) Natalie Burke – Weakness For Sweetness
Natalie Burke with her agonisingly sweet raspy vocals oozes sensuality over the very ragga dancehall-inspired beat. Now it’s pretty common for soca songs to have a dancehall bounce but in the 2000s this song stood out.
72) Shadow – Stranger
It isn’t breaking any new ground to say that Shadow is one of the geniuses of T+T music. He is one of the few artists to have ever won both the Calypso and Soca monarch demonstrating a lyrical mastery and popularity that few artists have achieved in their careers. Stranger, a thematic masterpiece told from the point of a view of a stranger observing and attempting to participate in our infectious but nuanced rituals, has the distinction of being the most laid-back song of the 2000s. The clever part about the song’s construction is that it enabled Shadow, an elder statesman and outsider to soca at that time, to come in as an outsider and make his mark on the young ppl ting. And when I say make his mark, I mean totally dominate the road in 2001 and win Road March.
71) Machel ft Benjai – Amnesty
The first words from Machel on this song is “this is a message”. Whattt? A message? Other than “raise yuh flag”, “stamp on the road”, “jam a bumper” and other such lofty platitudes you won’t find much of a conscious message within the soca genre. This song however is the exception. The interplay and chemistry between Machel and Benjai is exceptional but the emotional anchor and tone setting for this song is the superb post chorus from the one and only Benjai delivered like only he can – “and gun men gone astray…Rah Rah Rah”. What makes this song classic is the fact that it is delivering an important message without being preachy and most importantly, without interrupting the wine.
70) MX Prime – Soca Warrior
In 2006, the dreams of our blessed nation would be realized when we narrowly beat Bahrain to sneak into the finals of the World Cup. This was a big thing for us as we had previously experienced soul crushing disappointment when we failed to make the mark in 1990 with the odds in our favour. Soca Warrior perfectly captures this moment with regal aplomb and bombast, you can’t ask for nothing better. As a football fan himself, MX peppers the song with poignant metaphors – “we will attack, we will defend, we going to pressure them to the very end” – this adds to the atmosphere which works equally well in a sports arenas and feting grounds. From this song our national team received its current name, Soca Warriors.
69) Snake Oil
Bunji was so in the zone in these timings that even the gyal songs was hitting hard like concrete bricks. From the opening lines is three plumes
“Gyal yuh in charge like a great sarge
Ah want tuh wine on you but I ‘fraid ah go discharge
Still one of Bunji’s biggest gyal chunes.
68) Patrice Roberts – Sugar Boy
There was a moment in time when this was Patrice’s signature hit. Hard to believe right? This fever-pitched, ear-worm buried itself into your brain’s pleasure centre and refused to be dislodged for the whole of Carnival 2007. I remember I had an old “Me Too” Nokia that couldn’t support mp3s so yuh boy recorded the song off the radio and set it as the ringtone! Real evil ting. My co-workers were so annoyed. But that melody was inescapable. This was the solo hit that really put Patrice on the map and added her voice to the national ‘socadex’. Now when these raspy, high-pitched, dramatic vocals emanate from the speakers we know what time it is.
67) Allison Hinds, Destra, Denise Belfon – Obsessive Winers
Destra is the QoB, the Queen of Bacchanal. Denise Belfon is Saucy Wow, the wining queen. Allison Hinds is the Caribbean Queen. This track is a joy because it’s an awesome show of unity from three powerful queens while they were still in considerable command of their respective kingdoms. The joy they must have felt in the studio is evident. It’s delirious fun to hear these distinct personalities and voices bounce off each other and hype each other up. It was especially great, especially at the time, to see Saucy and Destra bury the hatchet – a year or two prior they were involved in a small dust up backstage. On this track we hear Saucy hailing Destra in her throaty rasp and Destra answering back with “they cyah wine line weeeee”. And the live performances…oh lawd. I would describe it but you had to be there. Bam bam for so.
66) 3 Suns – Carnival Darling
Allyuh I trying. It’s ridiculously hard for a youth like I to keep on stay unbiased when speaking about some these songs. Juhhh! Where do I even start? Ok let me start with what I believe are some the greatest lyrics ever spoken on a soca track. These lyrics should be finger drawn after two sips of puncheon into a cement tablet on the POS jouvert route and enshrined for all revellers to ponder on from now till carnival costumes are air-conditioned:
“It seems like killing sprees and festivities,
Carnival changing in the West Indies
Bring back the fun
Put down the gun
Dis Carnival you better listen Treason
Cause is only gyal we on
From Dusk till Dawn
Dis Carnival is only gyal can perform
From night until morning
Cause we looking for we Carnival darling
The biggest axe soca detractors always grab for to grind is “buhhh, it doh ha no lyrics”.
You see this song? This song is the axe I pull to behead their argument one time. It’s literally artistic perfection inno. The beat – I still don’t know who produced it – is the most un-soca thing in concept. It is beautifully minimalist and drops backs to let the words do the heavy lifting. But despite this, or maybe because of it, it still works wonderfully bursting from the speakers of a jouvert truck. The flows and the authenticity of these guys voices are just so captivating. When they say “Is Gyal we on, from dusk til’ dawn“, we believe them. The lyrics are perfectly poignant without being preachy, without killing the vibe. It’s an anti-violence anthem so cool and smooth the rude boy with the ice pick in he pocket and all looking round the fete for something to rock back with.
65) Machel Montano – Cock Back and Roll
Two things does roll regularly. Thunder does roll. The waves of Maracas does roll – a little rough but the waves will give you a tumble. But watch any gyal waistline when this come on in a fete. Rolling like the loading icon when data sticking..
64) Machel Montano – Miss Good Reputation
You see peak Machel? It’s a hard concept for the haters to overstand and visualize. Those people who go say “another Machel bai?” – they really don’t get it, pray for them nuh. In the 2000s this man used to just drop hits in he sleep. You see how you might forget a $20 in a pocket, that’s how his hits used to come. They have songs you might not even remember that was shellings. The riddim this song was on “the Stinging Nettle Riddim”, was a KMC project and I remember it getting a good run on radio. I also remember boy was the last to touch it and after that well boy, the ladies in my crew like they did forget anything else was on it. It was just “show me yuh handdddd, cause you no run no relaaaaayyy” and close eye, hand on head wine to the ground. Just looseness.
63) Machel Montano – No War
In 2004, Winer boi Machel briefly transformed into Bobo Machel and grew out his beard to nutsman levels. He even wore the bobo shanti headwrap on stage to the disapproval and chagrin of real rasta men and rasta adjacents. The song to epitomize this phase would be “No War”, the closest we’ve ever had to a ‘conscious’ soca song. And when I say conscious, I’m referring to the type of music Sizzla and Capleton would have been dropping at the time. This makes sense because, as Machel himself has revealed at his live shows, the song is built around a Bob Marley sample of the song “War“. The result is t one that resonates strongly as the surprisingly thoughtful and grounded lyrics mesh perfectly with the rootsy sound of the instrumental – the backing vocals are also gorgeous. This would grow to be one of Machel’s most iconic songs in his category.
62) El La Kru – Expose
Expo-oh-oh-ohohohoh-oh-ohoh-oh-oh-oh
If we talking about songs sticking in your head…you see this song? Yes it has a verse, but all you remember is the chorus and that beat.
61) Scrunter – Bachelor
Men like Crazy and Scrunter are national treasures. You can put down those two for at least one major hit song every decade. Scrunter in particular is iconic for his lavway-ish drawl, the slow, slightly Spanish-tinged cadence we South people know well. On Bachelor, Scrunter has the perfect canvas to operate and doesn’t disappoint. Like a practiced batsman, he hits it out the gate at the perfect angle – optimally behind the beat which gives the song a relaxed feel.
“Gyal I always had you on my mind,
I have been watching you fuh some time,
Yuh know you set my eyes on fire,
Gurl you are my heart’s desire”
The combination of the slow tempo bass and Scrunter’s relaxed, every-man delivery makes this the perfect chipping tune. Play this too much and I guarantee your sneakers will need to re-sole. #rollonrolloff
80) Machel ft Kerwin Du Bois – Madder Dan Dat/Madology *
Placed Second in Road March 2005
Aye so Madder Dan Dat is a good song and all but the real soca heads know that the real stinger is the Kerwin Du Bois remix. You see the thing Bane does use to get ripped? That venom he does inject straight to he veins? Kerwin take three syringe full of that and stab this song straight in the heart. And we can’t forget the Intercol horns too. Classic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4nMKZAaJOs
79) KMC – First Experience *
Placed Third in Road March 2005
Even though this song placed third in Road March and really didn’t have a chance of beating Shurwayne’s Dead or Alive, it remains the true winner in a lot of hearts. KMC has a bit of an underdog reputation and this song is a big part of that. Thematically the song is genius. The way it builds from somebody playing mas for the first time to them graduating to a feting boss on the chorus both musically and lyrically still hits. “You see this year? Oh oh oh”
78) Blazer – Wrong Timing
Blazer’s premature death robbed us of a great artist. He was part of a new influx of artists like Destra, Umi Marcano and a young Kes who would push soca in a direction where smooth vocals was heading from an asset to a requirement. The unique thing about Blazer is that he would employ a smooth RnB style alongside a rough Ragga-style delivery and frequently mix and match the two. This song, an awesome track, was the first of these and surprisingly not even the best (that will come higher on this list). Lyrically this song is a treat with each verse targeting a different scenario where someone has wrong timing leading to a comedic clash of events that weren’t envisioned by the participants. To accentuate this, Blazer delivers the verses in a ragga style yet sings the hook in a smooth RnB style – the only artist I can think of that would do something like this in terms of mixing a lyrical and vocal style is Drake. It still remains a unique song in the socaverse.
77) Benjai – Over and Over
This was Benjai’s first hit and our first introduction to him. It contains all the things we would know and love over the years. His unique pronunciation and ability to contort vowel sounds to create unique rhythms and melodies is intact here and fully realised. “Over” is pronounced “over” except for when it’s pronounced “ovaaah”. “Thing” is pronounced “teeeeng” when the vibe hits him. The lyrics themselves are also very clever – a breezy social commentary about the repetitive nature of certain unwanted events in Benjai’s life and the country at large. The genius lies in the fact that he never makes it a lecture, the song remains light and comedic. Benjai would go on to have many hits but this was the seed.
76) Surge – In Your Timing
There has only been one soca boy band in history and just for this reason alone Surge will be remembered. But the song itself is also a banger, and not in an ironic, JJ Fish type way either. Girls was loving it and the fellas didn’t hate it neither. There was a dance and people was doing it. To this day the song remains a memorable time capsule and an enjoyable hit.
75) Bunji Garlin – We Doh Watch Face
In my humble opinion, and you can fight me if you disagree, 2000s Bunji was the best version of Bunji. Ras Bunji is what I speak of, the one who would rock green from the hat to the Adidas sneaks. Not talking about the exercising with Fay-Ann, Bunji; though that’s commendable and exercise is important as well as spending time with wifey. Yes crossover Bunji has enjoyed more success, but I way prefer the riddim-shredding, fire-spitting, ragga soca general. This song is from that Bunji, who shreds this bouncy beat to hi-hat fragments while also adding a spicy infinitely quotable hook – “we doh watch face, only waist”. And even in 2021 I can confirm that he didn’t lie.
74) MX Prime – Soca Train
If you never was in a congo line for this song then you still have a few more guava seasons before you can jump in big people conversation.
73) Natalie Burke – Weakness For Sweetness
Natalie Burke with her agonisingly sweet raspy vocals oozes sensuality over the very ragga dancehall-inspired beat. Now it’s pretty common for soca songs to have a dancehall bounce but in the 2000s this song stood out.
72) Shadow – Stranger
It isn’t breaking any new ground to say that Shadow is one of the geniuses of T+T music. He is one of the few artists to have ever won both the Calypso and Soca monarch demonstrating a lyrical mastery and popularity that few artists have achieved in their careers. Stranger, a thematic masterpiece told from the point of a view of a stranger observing and attempting to participate in our infectious but nuanced rituals, has the distinction of being the most laid-back song of the 2000s. The clever part about the song’s construction is that it enabled Shadow, an elder statesman and outsider to soca at that time, to come in as an outsider and make his mark on the young ppl ting. And when I say make his mark, I mean totally dominate the road in 2001 and win Road March.
71) Machel ft Benjai – Amnesty
The first words from Machel on this song is “this is a message”. Whattt? A message? Other than “raise yuh flag”, “stamp on the road”, “jam a bumper” and other such lofty platitudes you won’t find much of a conscious message within the soca genre. This song however is the exception. The interplay and chemistry between Machel and Benjai is exceptional but the emotional anchor and tone setting for this song is the superb post chorus from the one and only Benjai delivered like only he can – “and gun men gone astray…Rah Rah Rah”. What makes this song classic is the fact that it is delivering an important message without being preachy and most importantly, without interrupting the wine.
70) MX Prime – Soca Warrior
In 2006, the dreams of our blessed nation would be realized when we narrowly beat Bahrain to sneak into the finals of the World Cup. This was a big thing for us as we had previously experienced soul crushing disappointment when we failed to make the mark in 1990 with the odds in our favour. Soca Warrior perfectly captures this moment with regal aplomb and bombast, you can’t ask for nothing better. As a football fan himself, MX peppers the song with poignant metaphors – “we will attack, we will defend, we going to pressure them to the very end” – this adds to the atmosphere which works equally well in a sports arenas and feting grounds. From this song our national team received its current name, Soca Warriors.
69) Snake Oil
Bunji was so in the zone in these timings that even the gyal songs was hitting hard like concrete bricks. From the opening lines is three plumes
“Gyal yuh in charge like a great sarge
Ah want tuh wine on you but I ‘fraid ah go discharge
Still one of Bunji’s biggest gyal chunes.
68) Patrice Roberts – Sugar Boy
There was a moment in time when this was Patrice’s signature hit. Hard to believe right? This fever-pitched, ear-worm buried itself into your brain’s pleasure centre and refused to be dislodged for the whole of Carnival 2007. I remember I had an old “Me Too” Nokia that couldn’t support mp3s so yuh boy recorded the song off the radio and set it as the ringtone! Real evil ting. My co-workers were so annoyed. But that melody was inescapable. This was the solo hit that really put Patrice on the map and added her voice to the national ‘socadex’. Now when these raspy, high-pitched, dramatic vocals emanate from the speakers we know what time it is.
67) Allison Hinds, Destra, Denise Belfon – Obsessive Winers
Destra is the QoB, the Queen of Bacchanal. Denise Belfon is Saucy Wow, the wining queen. Allison Hinds is the Caribbean Queen. This track is a joy because it’s an awesome show of unity from three powerful queens while they were still in considerable command of their respective kingdoms. The joy they must have felt in the studio is evident. It’s delirious fun to hear these distinct personalities and voices bounce off each other and hype each other up. It was especially great, especially at the time, to see Saucy and Destra bury the hatchet – a year or two prior they were involved in a small dust up backstage. On this track we hear Saucy hailing Destra in her throaty rasp and Destra answering back with “they cyah wine line weeeee”. And the live performances…oh lawd. I would describe it but you had to be there. Bam bam for so.
66) 3 Suns – Carnival Darling
Allyuh I trying. It’s ridiculously hard for a youth like I to keep on stay unbiased when speaking about some these songs. Juhhh! Where do I even start? Ok let me start with what I believe are some the greatest lyrics ever spoken on a soca track. These lyrics should be finger drawn after two sips of puncheon into a cement tablet on the POS jouvert route and enshrined for all revellers to ponder on from now till carnival costumes are air-conditioned:
“It seems like killing sprees and festivities,
Carnival changing in the West Indies
Bring back the fun
Put down the gun
Dis Carnival you better listen Treason
Cause is only gyal we on
From Dusk till Dawn
Dis Carnival is only gyal can perform
From night until morning
Cause we looking for we Carnival darling
The biggest axe soca detractors always grab for to grind is “buhhh, it doh ha no lyrics”.
You see this song? This song is the axe I pull to behead their argument one time. It’s literally artistic perfection inno. The beat – I still don’t know who produced it – is the most un-soca thing in concept. It is beautifully minimalist and drops backs to let the words do the heavy lifting. But despite this, or maybe because of it, it still works wonderfully bursting from the speakers of a jouvert truck. The flows and the authenticity of these guys voices are just so captivating. When they say “Is Gyal we on, from dusk til’ dawn“, we believe them. The lyrics are perfectly poignant without being preachy, without killing the vibe. It’s an anti-violence anthem so cool and smooth the rude boy with the ice pick in he pocket and all looking round the fete for something to rock back with.
65) Machel Montano – Cock Back and Roll
Two things does roll regularly. Thunder does roll. The waves of Maracas does roll – a little rough but the waves will give you a tumble. But watch any gyal waistline when this come on in a fete. Rolling like the loading icon when data sticking..
64) Machel Montano – Miss Good Reputation
You see peak Machel? It’s a hard concept for the haters to overstand and visualize. Those people who go say “another Machel bai?” – they really don’t get it, pray for them nuh. In the 2000s this man used to just drop hits in he sleep. You see how you might forget a $20 in a pocket, that’s how his hits used to come. They have songs you might not even remember that was shellings. The riddim this song was on “the Stinging Nettle Riddim”, was a KMC project and I remember it getting a good run on radio. I also remember boy was the last to touch it and after that well boy, the ladies in my crew like they did forget anything else was on it. It was just “show me yuh handdddd, cause you no run no relaaaaayyy” and close eye, hand on head wine to the ground. Just looseness.
63) Machel Montano – No War
In 2004, Winer boi Machel briefly transformed into Bobo Machel and grew out his beard to nutsman levels. He even wore the bobo shanti headwrap on stage to the disapproval and chagrin of real rasta men and rasta adjacents. The song to epitomize this phase would be “No War”, the closest we’ve ever had to a ‘conscious’ soca song. And when I say conscious, I’m referring to the type of music Sizzla and Capleton would have been dropping at the time. This makes sense because, as Machel himself has revealed at his live shows, the song is built around a Bob Marley sample of the song “War“. The result is t one that resonates strongly as the surprisingly thoughtful and grounded lyrics mesh perfectly with the rootsy sound of the instrumental – the backing vocals are also gorgeous. This would grow to be one of Machel’s most iconic songs in his category.
62) El La Kru – Expose
Expo-oh-oh-ohohohoh-oh-ohoh-oh-oh-oh
If we talking about songs sticking in your head…you see this song? Yes it has a verse, but all you remember is the chorus and that beat.
61) Scrunter – Bachelor
Men like Crazy and Scrunter are national treasures. You can put down those two for at least one major hit song every decade. Scrunter in particular is iconic for his lavway-ish drawl, the slow, slightly Spanish-tinged cadence we South people know well. On Bachelor, Scrunter has the perfect canvas to operate and doesn’t disappoint. Like a practiced batsman, he hits it out the gate at the perfect angle – optimally behind the beat which gives the song a relaxed feel.
“Gyal I always had you on my mind,
I have been watching you fuh some time,
Yuh know you set my eyes on fire,
Gurl you are my heart’s desire”
The combination of the slow tempo bass and Scrunter’s relaxed, every-man delivery makes this the perfect chipping tune. Play this too much and I guarantee your sneakers will need to re-sole. #rollonrolloff
60) Rum Till I Die
Most people would be surprised to know that the most influential chutney soca song of the modern era did not win the Chutney Soca monarch title. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t even released during Carnival. “Rum Till I Die” dropped and immediately took over radio during the July/August holidays of 2003. When it hit, the response could be described as what we would now call viral – it blasted from homes, taxis and illegal cd vendor stands for months and maintained a vice grip on the public’s consciousness up to and after Carnival of the following year. Adesh did place third in Chutney Soca Monarch in 2004 but it was with a song that no one remembers – the judges and crowd was probably singing “Rum Till I Die” in their head during his performance.
Rum Till I Die was a combustible meteorite and had an instant lasting impact, not only on the Chutney scene, but the entirety of Trinidad and Tobago music. Similar to the “Big Truck” effect in soca, there is a clear demarcation of Chutney music before “Rum Till I Die” and after, much to the chagrin of the purists and the “daiz all dey could sing bout???” crowd. It became the anthem for the rum flies who falling down drunk daily, for the people who take a little ting now and then, for the people who don’t even want to drink LLB because of the 0.002% alcohol content and even little children who barely know what rum is. If you had a pulse you liked the song. It wasn’t the first popular song about rum by any stretch but it was the first of many that juxtaposed love with alcohol. The part that its successors never captured, or maybe weren’t bold enough to was the nihilistic sadness and mournfulness of the lyrics. Only maybe Radica did. I don’t know Adesh Samaroo or the story behind the song but to this day, the way his vocals sound, I believe that his girlfriend really did break his heart and that’s why this song sticks in my head more than the million rum songs that followed.
59) Rupee – Blame it on the music
There was a point in the early 2000s after Jump and Insomnia when Rupee was living rent free in the minds of the sexy females in the Caribbean especially Trinidad and Tobago. I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest lover of this song but I know a few gyal who go fight me if I bad talk it so what I go say is, is Rupee, issa breezy beat so once the redman lace it with some chill vocals it bound to score.
58) TC- Who the hell is Kim?
Man does still call gyal by wrong name? If this still happening in 2021 (far less for when future generations read this) with all the reminders and Google Calendars and note apps that we have now then I call shame on the shifty men of this generation. In 2006 however, TC was very concerned about this issue. I don’t give her wrong, TC sounds nothing like Kim…how a man go make that mistake boy? The beauty of this song is how understated the beat is – it gives TC an opportunity to sound truly pissed off and vengeful…she always had a commanding voice. And command she did. Had all the women pausing they wine in the fete to turn around and give the man behind them fatigue. Even if that man is their faithful boyfriend. Sigh.
57) The Soca Boys – Follow The Leader
Not much is known about the The Soca Boys and they never had another hit but if you’re one hit is going to be this big then you really get through in life.
You know in those movies where the protagonist has vague flashbacks to memories of a murky past and then the villain mentions one word and it just activates a bad vibes in the hero? Like Bucky in Captain America? Well this song is the same thing. When that infectious ragga soca drums hit you combined with the brain dead call and response melody, jusso you find yourself shambling like a zombie left and right until you collapse too exhausted to move.
This song dropped like a nuclear bomb but just like the one in Hiroshima it’s been years and nothing like it has dropped since. It also led to the annoying trend of soca artistes calling for groups of people to move in different directions and perform actions during their performance – this is not primary school big man…perform your song and let me vibes in my corner with my scotch, ok?
56) Benjai ft Scarface – Tanty Say
When I hear a afro comb scratching on a rough iron in a riddim section beat for a Jouvert song, you basically win already. But Benjai being Benjai, seals it as a classic with “Tanty say doh go dong dey, is too much bacchanal dey go take mih life away…” and somehow fits a whole discourse of social commentary without sacrificing relatability into one couplet that is so catchy it repeats throughout the majority of the song and you eh mind neither.
55) Patrice & Zan – Always Be
In the 2000s groovy soca was officially recognized as a genre in acknowledgement of the fact that artistes such as Destra, Blazer, Patrice and even Machel himself were leaning into harmonies and introducing an increased focused on melody to carry the vibes similar to what one would expect in RnB. It was surprising when these things were first introduced but as someone who grew up on Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, I was a strong supporter of the early movement.
When this song was released, the idea of a “soca love song” was pretty novel for the time – groovy soca songs were still treading the normal tropes with an eye for winning soca monarch. This song leans heavily into and commits to the concept of puppy love with confidence that the wining soca consumers would get it.. and they did…because it’s a quality song.
There is narrative, an argument, a back and forth thematically and it’s cute without being sappy. There is not one outta timing, eye rolling lyric in the entire song and that’s what makes it a smooth listen even to this day. Have you ever been love?
54) Kevin Lyttle – Turn Me On *
Number four on the billboard charts
At the time of this writing, “Turn Me On” has a whopping 59 million views on YouTube. That’s more than any soca video ever. The runner up is “Hello” by Kes with 35 million. “Turn Me On” peaked at number four on the Billboard hot 100 chart and remained there for four months. It was also a huge nit internationally and peaked in the top ten in fifteen countries. Going by the numbers, it’s the biggest soca hit of all time hands down, even bigger than Hot Hot Hot by Arrow.
However, let’s put things in context. Before “Turn Me On” was released internationally, it was only a minor hit during Carnival 2002. It was a notable release but it wasn’t a scorcher. Nobody was going crazy over it. Just to take you back, “It’s Carnival” also dropped that year. Need I say more big man? Nobody was really checking for the song like that.
I say this to address the people who will say that “Turn Me On” should be number one. No it shouldn’t. I’m not say it’s not a good song. It has a nice groovy vibe that leans heavily on the 112 melody that it borrowed but still has a sound that is a smooth listen, even today. Kevin Lyttle isn’t the greatest singer but he does his thing on this one. But if an alien came to earth and wanted to know what this soca thing is about and needed a few songs to get up to speed, lewwe be real – we not giving we alien brethren “Turn Me On” as the first song. Not even as the tenth song. We probably giving the alien “Its…” ok lemme not get ahead of myself. The point is, we go give the alien “Turn Me On” as the 54th song at best and that’s where it belongs. And no Kevin Lyttle, “Turn Me On” is not worth 30 or 40 Machel and Bunji hits.
53) Jamesy P Nookie
This beat! My word!!! There was little Jamesy P could do to mess up this song. Not only did he understand the assignment and rode the beat easy easy, he crowned the chorus with an infectious new slang – “I looking for Nookie tonighhhht…juicy juicy”.
52) Tic Toc – Mr Slaughter
I grew up knowing Dawg E Slaughter as the deejay. Then he became an artiste. But then at some point he changed his name to Mr Slaughter. Now I think he goes by Tron or something. For the purpose of the 2000s, I go keep it as Mr Slaughter, the Deejay tun Soca Artiste who is the bar I measure all Deejay tun Soca Artistes by and there has not been one who has surpassed him yet though Shal is breathing dong his neck.
Mr Slaughter is one of the most talented soca artistes ever to have graced our shores and whispered “low!” on a soca stage. When God was crafting soca artistes, he blessed Slaughter with a deep, commanding and simultaneously melodic voice and then reflected for a second and thought that wasn’t enough and tacked back to also provide him with the skills to wield his instrument expressively on tracks as well. With this abundance of blessings and an ear for good beats and songs it’s evident that if Slaughter didn’t stop releasing music for unknown reasons after the mid 2000s, he would have been one of the greatest Soca Artistes of all time.
Ok back to the song. This song is a banger from front to back and side to side and is one of the songs on this list I’m fully confident will mash up any fete even in 2031. But that’s not what I love most about this song. What I adore about this chune is the fact that it’s the forgotten big chune. When the beat comes in and Slaughter’s voice comes on, a work office lime turns into a sweaty dance instantly. From the time I run this track the response is “wayyy, but I didn’t realise he did this song. Oh goooood” – talk done!
51) Bunji Garlin – Fete is Fete
The story is that Army Fete didn’t want Bunji Garlin to perform in their fete because he said “Army promotions cheap”. In retaliation, apparently they tried to blacklist him because he allegedly felt like they weren’t paying him enough. Usually it takes years for a bad decision to be reflected but early that Carnival it was clear that trying to blacklist a lyricist of this magnitude was a bad business decision. Oh, did I mention Bunji also was a member of the army before?
On Fete is Fete, Mr Garlin spends the verses eloquently detailing the beef with Army Fete – from the first verse you get basically the entire story…I didn’t even need to google this. With each verse, he expertly builds to the chorus taunting Army Fete, letting them know that if they eh want him, every other fete want him – “Who them calling….dem want Bunji Garlin, Fire Fete calling…dem want Bunji Garlin, Wasa Fete calling…dem want Bunji Garlin”. Social commentary was common in Calypso but non-existent in soca. We had never heard anything like this. Forget dissing an artiste, Bunji was dissing an entire fete.
And to make it worse, he was right. He was in every fete and this song tore every fete in two. In the uptown fetes he had the place moving it but in the downtown? You see dem downtown fete dem – the Youth Fest, Licensing Fete, Fire Fete – and trust me I was there – this song was a problem. This was the downtown Road March.
But let’s not forget the beat. This Barnyard Riddim produced by Jason Lee is a thing of beauty. My only beef is that it’s difficult to find a quality version of this song to truly enjoy it. Mr Lee, I would like to shake your hand. This beat sounds like a grimey-ed up sesame street sample that was carried to a mud volcano and dirtied up some more and given laser-tuned drums. It’s deliriously playful without losing the ragga menace, like sharpening a glittery light saber into a shank.
50) Blaxx – Dutty
This was the start of the Blaxx string of memorable hits as a soca artiste. Initially known as one of the lead singers in the band Roy Cape (yeah soca bands was a big part of the early 2000s), this Nadia penned hit really put him on the radar as a solo artiste.
49) Mr Slaughter – Pokey
You see this song here? This is the greatest intro ever in soca. And the song that follows is even harder. Slaughter’s voice on the stuttering bass line is like roti and a red solo, a match made in heaven. The pattern he employs on the riddim is immaculate – there is no way he could have flowed better and there is no soca artist I can think of that would have done better justice to this beat. To this day. To this day. TO THIS DAY, this song will wreck any formal establishment. It WILL turn your church service into Dad’s Dan.
48) Bunji Garlin & Onika – Get On Bad
Oh Onika. Anybody who saw Onika perform and was able to witness her light and see her on stage knows how much this growing talent meant to the artform. That year was set up to be a huge for her and it’s sad how tragically it ended.
Onika’s vocals on this are special. It was already a minor hit before Bunji touched it and the chemistry between her and Bunji is immaculate. But what makes this a classic is what Bunji did to the final verse. We had never heard an artiste eviscerate a soca beat with such ferocity, relentlessness and purpose, like he was trying to prove a point. And he did it live too..in every fete…it was more impressive live in fact. For what he did here I think police are still looking for him.
47) Timmy – Bumper Catch a Fire
This song was trouble eh but the thing I remember most is how loose Timmy waist used to be on a stage. It was like being in a bachelorette party. The gyal dem had no behaviour. At alllll.
46) Fay Ann – Get On *
2008 wasn’t the strongest year for Road March songs. Blazing d Trail, a Machel Montano song that would have even boy fans struggling to remember came in third. But if is one thing, Fay Ann has a special talent for crafting in the moment ear worms – the “waveee, hold it” is a fun command that no doubt was crafted with live performance and Carnival Tuesday masquerading in mind.
45) Machel Montano ft Dougie Fresh – We Not Giving Up
Machel Montano and Dougie Fresh? The best soca artist in the world at the time riding the beat boxing of a hip hop legend? What you telling yourself? This was sell off before you even hear the track. And the fact that the song was actually meaningful and inspirational…boyyy. It did something to you. I could barely even type fuss my pores raising, this song takes me back.
44) Allison Hinds – Roll It Back
The younger ones might not understand why Allison Hinds is the queen because in the late 90s was when the Bajan beauty really impaled her stilettos in the neck of soca. But if you thought she lost it in the 2000s, this big chorus singalong let everybody know that the queen was back. Anything that getting all the sweet Caribbean gyal rolling they waistline has my vote by default.
43) By De Bar
The 2000s is when Ragga Soca really shined and nobody was flying that flag higher than Bunji Garlin and the 3 Suns family. So what you expect when you them together on track? Put Benjai to add a classic chorus and you know the ting sell off.
With a playfully serious nasal tone, he hits you a memorable melody one time on the amazing Courvoisier Riddim (the way them drums set up….jeeez) – “if you/ looking/ for me/ baby/ you could/ find me/ by de/ bar/ (last line delivered an octave high for maximum vibes)”. It was instantly catchy.
In the moment the winner was Scarface, a member of Bunji’s crew the Godfather’s Asylum (if she don’t know bout this group she too young). His fiery, high energy verse was a crowd pleaser. But if you ask me, in four lines Menace takes it – “Waw…woman grab me and run like relay/Say dem wah Menace without delay/I’m the bad boy the honey dem … see meh/I’m the bad boy…you never going to be mehhh“.
42) Destra – Wey Yuh Want
Ok so I don’t know if you know but I just getting you prepared early. Destra…well she basically run the 2000s so you going to get a lot of Destra from here go up. I don’t know Destra personally but she has a spicy personality in interviews and on stage so anytime I listen to this song it’s so surprising to hear how vulnerable she sounds. It’s sweet and it melts you like anchor cheese in a microwave. Always great for a soul touching slow wine.
41) Tallpree – Old Woman
I don’t know if this is the first time Grenadian music started making a glorious subculture with the Jab Jab popularized by the Super Blue hit in the 80s. They may have been refining it for some time. But I do know that this song is the first time it was brought to our shores and it was a massive hit. The beat, the ridiculousness of the concept, Tallpree’s voice and live performance (I feel like there was a dance too) made this song inescapable. This song really put Grenadian soca on the map and would be the direct link to later success from artistes like Mr KIlla.
40) Naya George – Trinidad
So fun fact. Naya George and Fay Ann were both frontline singers of a band called Invasion in the early 2000s. Both would go on to win back to back Road March titles; Naya George in 2002 with this song, and Fay Ann the following year with “Display”. The title of this song ensures that this song will creep up in fetes (at least in trini) till the end of time.
39) Rupee – Insomnia
In the compedium of Jouvert songs, Insomnia is one of them ones. I mean, a fete named after the song has endured for close to 20 years, must be good right? The production cleverly leaves ample space for Rupee’s vocals which sound beautiful and haunting over a beat tailor-made for chipping.
37) Shal Marshall & Kerwin Du Bois – Gyal Farm
It’s crazy to think how this song became just a footnote for these two artistes both of whom have had way bigger solos hits since. At the time it was the biggest hit for both of them. Also, this is the second best soca song with “Farm” in the title.
36) Machel Montano – Congo Man
As great as this song is, it not touching the original. Let’s get that out of the way. But, the fact that it comes sooooo close is why I have to give it its flowers. In fact it’s so good, for the generation after me, this is their Congo Man.
35) Blazer – Be Mine Tonight
There are a few songs I remember where I was when I heard it. I was in a car, I think my parents were driving so we were kinda silent. I was in the backseat. We weren’t troublesome chirren eh so on rides like this my siblings and I would talk relatively silently…ok maybe the occasional wildness might occur but that day we were relatively quiet. And jusso in the silence I heard the intro, the vocals almost acapella cutting into the quiet with some strokes tunes lyrics: “Baby you, know/ That I always love you and I won’t, let’ gooo/ I will always love you baby…girl/ Be Mine Tonight”. It was even more impactful because the song doesn’t waste time – as soon as the track starts the vocals begin. No intro. No producer tag. No artiste talking nonsense on the track. Just immediacy.
It hit me for six one time. I was of the age where I was looking for gya, not love yet, but you see this tune? This song almost make me do a course correction. Almost. And of course, Blazer being Blazer, he well rough it up for the chorus:
“Hold on tight, oh, Baby doh let go, Bounce it fast and bounce it slow, hand on the ground in a wheelbarrow…”.
So you get that smooth build and the wild vibes for the live performance. But if I had to pick I love the smoothness. Blazer had a real talent for singing – it was more than technique, his vocals sounded earnest like the RnB of the time. It’s a shame he isn’t with us anymore. I’m sure he would have been at the top of the game especially now that groovy soca is one of the biggest things.
34) Hunter & Bunji Garlin – Bring It Remix
It’s a toss up between this and the original; both are excellent. But I little more partial to the remix because of Bunji verse – is bare hard lyrics bouncing on the tabla and rut tut tut tassa production from the legendary Pongoloonks factory.
33) Blaxx – Tusty
In an alternate version on Trinidad & Tobago on Earth prime where we have a white Pitch Lake with pink toolum but the paratha is black, I sincerely believe Blaxx wins Road March in 2009 with this song. Unfortunately he had to contend with a peak Fay-Ann who completed the rare hat trick – Power Soca Monarch, Groovy Soca Monarch and Road March so that dream was snuffed out quick. However, this song is a very important touch point in the road map of Blaxx’s career and you can see it represented in the DNA of later hits like “Hulk“.
32) Ricky T – Pressure Boom
Yo-oh-oh-oh-ohhhh…wham to dem? From the shores of St Lucia, this song was raising everybody pressure in 2008, especially the ladies. Looking back it was a song definitely before its time; it was Dennery Segment before Dennery Segment.
31) Rupee – Tempted To Touch
Like Kevin Lyttle’s Turn Me On, this song was also a sizable international hit. It peaked at number 39 on the Billboard hot 100 and hit number 44 on the UK singles chart. However, unlike Turn Me On, Tempted To Touch was also a smash hit in our Carnival as well (sorry for the shade Kevin but doh come for Bunji and Machel again jed).
At this point, Rupee pretty much knew he had the gyal and dem in the palm of his hand so from the intro he addresses them one time – “to all the ladies in the dance…”. The slow, pulsating BPM gives this jam a sensual feel and made it the go to for a steamy slow grind in Zen.
30) Denise Belfon – De Jammette
Me eh know if I just ole but most of the memorable soca riddims come from the 2000s – Trample riddim, Pot oh gold riddim Courvoursier riddim…the list goes on and on. The riddim this song is on is a classic in itself, a Benjai song from it is also on this list.
But padna, watch meh, Saucy take this riddim hands down. She hold this riddim and wuk it like a 48 hour shift. The melody, the way she ride the beat…perfect. There was no better melody line to take for the instrumental. How big was this song? In the era this song was released, no gyal wanted to be called a jammette yet when the chune drop, all gyal was summoning her inner jammette like they was battling Sephiroth.
29) Destra & Shurwayne Winchester – Come Beta
This is one of the sweetest Chutney songs ever. Shurwayne does a great job but it’s the QoB herself Destra who bodies the track effortlessly – her voice oozes saccharine like she have shares in KC. You can hear the mischievous delight in her voice as the self proclaimed bacchanalist assimilates the role of a coquettish trini beta with full aplomb.
28) Fay-Ann – Heavy T Bumper
In 2009 Fay-Ann became not only the first woman, but the first person to perform the hatrick – Power Soca Monarch, Groovy Soca Monarch and Road March. Well, it was a beaver-trick because she did all that while also being pregnant with her first child.
Heavy T Bumper, the groovy soca of the two songs, is a raucous, call and response number. It elevates past the normal trite cadre of songs built around metaphors of comparing women and their rear ends to vehicles for two reasons; it has sharp lyrics (“cock back and upload your heavy structure gyal” is hilarious) and the fact that singer, Fay-Ann, is a woman, which gives her license (see what I did there). This song is often forgotten but it’s one of the Fay-Ann songs that has aged well.
27) Iwer George – Carnival Come Back Again
* Road March 2000 (tied with Super Blue)
This song is peak Iwer. Whatever you like or hate about the big man in the business is here on full display – repetitive catchy lyrics, entralling baseline, uber fast bpm (165 to be exact) and a sheer Iwer audacity – who else go tell you francoment if you leave your flag home to just wave your hand?
26) Destra – Bacchanal
In the year two thousand and nine AD, Destra’s fiery alter ego “Bacchanal” was born and henceforth she would forever after be known as the “Queen of Bacchanal”.
25) Machel Montano & Patrice – Rolling
It’s not quite B.O.D.Y. (that coming later) but it’s a solid and often underrated collab from the duo.
24) Machel Montano – Dance With You
“Baby girl…bring out my dancing shoes.”
What more can be said about this track? It’s a landmark song in soca hisotry, a pop soca confection that was too smooth to just flatten like most soca tracks so initially it didn’t cause a big fuss. Not for me though. I first heard it on the album “The Xtatik Experience” and I almost destroy the replay button.
When you listen to Machel speak, he often refers to two main soca markets; uptown and downtown. With this track he hit the ball straight through the middle and down to the boundary. Of the many excellent versions of this song, including the excellent Vegas assist, I still partial to the original.
23) Xtatik ft. Machel Montano & Farmer Nappy – Water Flowing
“This man really put three Machel in a row on this list boy? Steups?”
Wah you wah me do boy? Is the 2000s and Machel basically owned a good portion of it. You see when Machel was in he “doh care about winning road march” bag? You see when Xtatik was still together and mashing up fete with Joey and Vincent and dem boys? You see when Nappy was still penning chune? It was insane. It wasn’t about bpm and finding a catchy slogan. The boy had room to operate…to experiment. Instead of just electricity, of which the song have plenty, we get groove too. Tell me they have a better chipping tune than this? No way. Imagine yourself just drifting away under the water truck with over a thousand other revellers both hands kilkatay.
22) Machel Montano – Higher Than High
This song is designed to raise pores, raise spirits and save souls. If any soca song deserves a twenty, thirty piece backing orchestra (with steel pan too eh), is this one.
21) Krosfyah – Sak Pase
* Road March Barbados 2001
The iron in this riddim so infectious eh. After Edwin Yearwood and Krosfyah invade us with some sweet groovers in the late 90s, they come early in the new millenium with a hard hitting one for the streets.
19) Machel Montano – One More Time
If this song is quite number 19 you done know the fight for the top 20 was brutal.
Trust me, feelings were hurt, egos were shattered and everyone on the panel was left feeling like a vital organ was missing as treasured songs we held dear either didn’t make the list or weren’t as high as we wanted. Anybody who was a fete jumbie in the late aughts know this song right here – it’s a downright smash, scorcher, heat seeking missile that detonate with the force of a thousand suns. Nobody had anything bad to say about this chune. Even the most hardcore Machel haters was like “Aright nahhhh…lewwe see if he could make a next one like it”.
Machel had been listening to trends and you could tell. For a few years he was listening to the pops hits and experimenting, incorporating dance elements, electro hooks and shifty euro song structures. The results before were mixed; they were appreciated by the musical heads but the real carnival babies just wanted to wine and didn’t want too much elements confusing them on the road. With this one, he got the alchemy pitch perfect. From the intro, when the kick hits you in your chest, four times to be exact, you done know what time it is. When the horns start, punctuated by some “Huh!” ad libs, the thing dead already. And the concept was fire.. RnB-like about a jilted loving needing one more chance except…Machel need just one more wine. He pleading. He begging. And in 2007 the ladies was eager to give it.
18) Sean Caruth – Coal Port
Nobody going to forget about this song under my watch nah. The beat too hard, the melody too good and the concept too original. There has been no soca song since that sounds like this, with this vibe – it has a direct connection with your body that bypasses your brain. Jusso your shoulder and neck moving and you eh even no why.
17) Allison HInds & Square One – Bazodee
Hear me and hear me well. This song woulda take Road March in 2000 if Allison was trini. That iron on the road? It hit different boi let me tell you.
16) Fay Ann – Meet Super Blue
*Road March and Power Soca Monarch 2009
We already spoke about the Fay-Ann trifecta when we addressed Heavy T Bumper. I think it has become cool recently to dismiss Fay-Ann but for the young-uns, ahmm, show a little respect. Admittedly this song has not aged well but the performance to win Soca Monarch will forever be etched on the mud and paint stained walls of soca history. Mashing up a stage with a riotous power soca song while pregnant? That alone would have given her the win but that fact that the song linked to her legacy with her father the legend Super Blue in a clever way just blew the doors off the Tiida.
15) Machel Montano – Jumbie
Before this song was released, Machel famously piece-mealed the song across different live performances as if he was testing it in real time to see which parts worked and which didn’t and if you attended those different fetes like I did, you actually experienced the track being constructed. The final result sounded like a good song with many great sections stitched together but those sections were so great they could have easily been their own songs.
14) Rupee – Jump
*Won Road March 2000 in Barbados
Imagine putting lighter fluid and fish grease on a flambeau and throwing it inside your gas tank. That is what this song was when it dropped on the airwaves – pure energy distilled and converted to soca form. At the time we were used to the slower, groovy hits from Krosfyah so we were slightly programmed that anything from Bim was ah easy-going, “hold your head and wine” kinda vibes. When Rupee dropped this asteroid we were not prepared. We were not ready!
13) Shurwayne Winchester – Dead or Alive
Two things. One, iron in a soca song is never a bad thing. Two, if you use iron and win Road March in 2004, well doh play stupid nuh. Use it again.
12) Destra – I Dare You
At this point, the fans and the haters alike are familiar with Destra as an artiste and her personality; she comes across as aggressive, feisty, brash, dramatic, commanding…definitely not subdued.
The irony is, some of the her best songs are the ones where she assumes a submissive albeit flirtatious character. Is like she waiting on you to make your move and you not getting the hint so now she giving you an invitation. She just playing the good girl role but since you coward she ha to come out and let you know. Not only has this song aged well, it still is one of the finest groovy soca songs ever crafted.
11) Destra – Fly
Full disclosure – I am incapable of being objective about this song but I will try…it going to be real hard dan.
If this was my personal list…like what I like the most…this would be number one on this list. As a matter fact, this is the best song ever released from the QoB in my opinion. It’s perfect! What you want again?
Lyrics you say?
Deliver us from ignorance
Black and white we jump together
Stop de war stop de hate
Show dem dat we love each other
Every word in the song is patriotic without being corny and makes sense. Let your flags fly. Your flags as in rag and your flag as in national pride. It celebrates everything that makes us… us.
Don’t talk about the pre-chorus. This song has the best pre-chorus in soca for sure. After “start the jamming” into “one thing about my country” (is how my pores raising as I writing this) when the song takes a turn and rockish, electric guitars skate and turn the hype to one hundred… daz instant vibes there.
And we cyah talk vocals? 2000s Destra and vocals? Doh even play that. No soca singer since has touched this level. Destra today will sing this song live and flawlessly. As a big man I try and sing it too, doh laugh. The melodies so catchy I feel I could do it too. The way she riffs, swoops and envelops without EVER losing pace or timing. It’s magical. This song is magic. Ok ok… I done.
10) Denise Belfon – Saucy Baby
If you ask people to name a Denise Belfon song, 9 outta 10, they will attempt to sing “Saucy, baby…I wah you wine up on him…woooo…Saucy Baby“. Denise Belfon aka Saucy Wow is one of the most important soca artistes to ever grace our shores and her persona and style of performance remain indelible. From her aggressive sexual persona, the iconic short pixie cut, God-level wining skills – her balance, control and flexibility dwarfs women one third her size, the way she control each butt cheek like if by remote control – what Lady Saw was for dancehall and Lil Kim was for rap…Saucy Wow was similarly iconic for soca.
If you bottle all that essence up, put it in pro tools and give it a quick mix, Saucy Baby is what you get. It’s the definitive Denise Belfon Saucy Wow song that will never die.
9) Blaxx – Breathless
* Placed second in Road March 2008
If Blaxx didn’t flop in Soca Monarch in 2008, this song would have been Road March for sure. Have nothing more to say dey.
8) Iwer George – Water (People Want)
Neil Iwer George has made enough water songs to supply WASA during a forty year drought with still a few tanks left over.
But of all the million and one of them, this one is the seed and still reigns supreme. Iwer tends to go down rabbit holes, grinding them again and again until the returns diminish like your disposable income after Imbert stare at it. First was bottom (Time to wine, Bottom in the road), hand (Let me see yuh hand, Carnival come back again) and later of course, water. This first in the water series is still guaranteed to mash up a water fete TO THIS DAY!
7) Machel Montano & Drupatee – Real Unity
You will never find a Chutney Soca fusion better than this one. The chemistry between Machel and Drupatee on the track – her high pitched Hindi with Machel’s raspy baritone is something to behold. Of course the lyrics call for greater unity between the two largest ethnic groups in T+T but the ‘real unity’ is not so much in the lyrics but in the music and its reception. There wasn’t a person with a pulse who didn’t love this song.
6) David Rudder – Trini 2 de bone
This song is not just a classic, it’s a standard. It’s part of the cultural songbook. Destined to be learnt by choirs for years. The greatest patriotic song to be chipped to on the road. A masterclass in packaging a message in sweet melody and inspiring without preaching. Another example of the genius that is David Rudder. Shoutout to Carl Jacobs who is also on the track and delivers one hell of a second verse.
5) Bunji Garlin & Patrice Roberts – The Islands
Many incorrectly believe that Sugar Boy was the first hit song from Patrice when in fact, it was this collab. The Viking does a great job but it’s Patrice that makes the song in a star-making performance. You don’t even think about this song without hearing those high pitched raspy expressive vocals.
4) Shurwayne Winchester – The Band Coming
A lot of people like to make fun of Shurwayne but you see when it comes to this song…all laugh done. This was a seriously big Road March. How big was it? It beat Bonnie & Clyde, arguably Destra’s greatest song, into second place. It wasn’t no runaway Road March…the song had to do work!
The concept itself is pretty ingenious. It seems simple now but the idea of adding a rhythm section like feel to songs wasn’t really all that common at the time. At every point the music sounds bouncy and punchy…nothing but constant hype. And it still sounds hard to this day.
3) Machel Montano & Patrice Roberts – Band of the Year (B.O.D.Y.)
Regardless of the year, it’s common for soca lovers like myself and others, to debate what we think could win Road March way too early in the season. Of course we know that early in the season it’s basically impossible to tell which song will win – the unpredictability of a song’s response is one thing but additionally some artists hold onto their missiles until a few weeks before Monday and Tuesday to avoid killing the hype.
In 2006 (2005 it released to be exact) though, when this song came out we all watched each other with a knowing nod…this was Road March. Expeditiously.
2) Destra Garcia. – Bonnie & Clyde
Earlier in this list I said Fly was my favorite Destra song. Well allyuh, I lie. I didn’t remember this song was coming up. This right here, is not only my favorite Destra song, it’s arguably my favorite soca song of all time.
Every time this song blesses my ears, I remember where I was when it first released. I was either in form 4 or 5 and we didn’t have a radio for years. Why? me eh know. Eventually my sister and I got fed up of the situation and we resurrected an old radio – we connected some wires to a pin or screw deep in the rusty box and lo and behold…sound belched forth. Surprisingly clear music emerged. From there we got up to speed with everything – 96.1 WEFM was on lock, Tweez on ah afternoon, Jugglers, Excalibur on a Saturday, the hardest dancehall riddims and of course the latest soca.
At this point I was familiar with Destra but I wasn’t a fan yet. “Tremble it” was a vibe but I was more wowed by her wining abilities than the song. “It’s Carnival” had already dropped the previous year but you have to understand…that song dropped so close to Carnival in 2003 that we hadn’t really internalized it yet. It would take years for that song to be solidified the way it is now. Everything changed with this song. This is when I became a true fan.
This song hit me like a jump kick to the chest. I had put Destra down as a “winer” (them days plenty bands had a frontline female singer who was fit and could wine), then realized she had ‘some voice’ but this song blew the doors off the hinges. Not only could she ‘soca sing’ but this gyal could ‘RnB sing’. Like riffs and swoops with harmonies. In soca? From the intro this point is made with a double exclamation mark.
The lyrics were also a revelation. Personifying a rag as a lover, she is Bonnie and the rag is Clyde. Two outlaws battling the fete together. And the beauty is how understated it is. The metaphor not beating you over your head. You don’t have to ketch it to enjoy the song but when you do is like somebody putting two extra bacon in your sandwich. I’m your Queen, your my King, My dar-arl-lingggg. She is speaking to the rag but it feels like she’s speaking to you. I’m your buddy baby – Is it buddy as in friend or body as in she is the body and the rag is just the rag? Heights.
All of it together makes an incredible song. And the knockout punch of course is the live performance. To this day, not only can Destra reproduce every incredible note of this song flawlessly…she adds in extra riffs and melodies so hearing it live is a treat. Because of this song, I will be in every Destra concert from now till the AI machines take over and harvest our brains for energy.
1) Destra & Machel Montano – It’s Carnival
Well this is no surprise right.
Still the greatest robbery in the history of Road March songs – ironic because Machel is reputed to have the soca mafia under his thumb. The song that beat it, “Display” by Fay-Ann Lyons, is not even one of Fay-Ann’s ten best songs. Maybe people weren’t ready for it. You have the two biggest soca artistes in their primes combining – it’s like Lebron and D-Wade on an alley-oop except the dunk was never completed. But being the most recogizable soca song of all time isn’t a bad consolation.
It’s so interesting to see how the popularity of this song has increased in recent years. Maybe it was the title – “It’s Carnival”. Maybe it was the explosion of groovy soca – this song is groovy and melodic as hell for a power soca. Of course we can’t discount the sampling of the immortal pop smash Time after Time which surely played a role though Destra is a way better singer than Cyndi Lauper. Maybe it’s the way both artistes exploded even more in popularity since then. Destra would release “Bonnie and Clyde” the next year and “Fly” after that basically releasing the holy trinity of her discography in three blistering years. Machel was huge since then but would go on to win Road March a whopping nine more times.
There is also an interesting sub-plot. These artistes would go on to have a mini-beef, a cold war of sorts for years. It involved Kernal Roberts, famed son of Lord Kitchener….you know…one of our greatest calypsonians ever. Kernal or “Kitch” as he is known, defected from Destra to Machel and delivered a few Road March hits for boy – Destra has never won Road March. Understandably, Destra was mad vex and this simmered for years even bubbling on to the stage once or twice. Regrettably we couldn’t get a live performance with the two ah dem sharing a stage for years.
Somewhere around the 2010s, when they realise they getting too old for the fighting the two of them made up. The first time they performed together was the Beyonce concert in 2010 and it was amazing…yes I was there. The emergence of Destra was like clouds parting and it was refreshing to see them together. In 2014 it was again a watershed moment when Destra came through on Machel Monday and they detonated together with the same song.
Over the years this song just kept building and becoming more of a thing. I mean, we have the greatest male and female soca performer respectively performing it over and over and beating it into our heads – what you expect right? It’s an instant party starter and it has crossed generations. It probably is the song millennials will consider the greatest soca song ever and my old ass will tend to agree. If the aliens challenge us to a soca sound clash and I need to pick one song in my crate to sure done them off then this one getting put on wax. And despite what Covid or anything else has to say, every year, It’s Carnival.