International Stars with Caribbean Roots

With everything that’s going on the world today, we sometimes just want things to be simple and a bit carefree. I know how it is, I get it, so I’ve decided to make things light and entertaining…but you’re still gonna learn something…I guarantee that!


The Caribbean seems to have done a lot more for music than we think. There are so many artists that you never knew had Caribbean roots and some of the bigger names in music of the '70's and '80's came from right here in T&T. The entire world knows that artists like Rihanna came from Barbados and Nikki Minaj was born in St. James, Trinidad, but there are so many more artists that came out of these tropical islands.

Haddaway's, "What is Love," went on to be the number one club song of the eighties and is still considered so to this day.

It was also the soundtrack for Saturday Night Live's full length movie, "Night at the Roxbury." Remember these guys...

Billy Ocean was born in Fyzabad, Trinidad and was the most popular R&B singer in the 1970's and 80's. He won a Grammy in 1985 for "Caribbean Queen," was made a companion of the Liverpool Institute for performing Arts and is an active member of the Rastafari movement. He's the voice behind hits like "Suddenly and "The Long and Winding Road."

Harry Belfonte was born to a Jamaican mother and Martinican father. He was a singer and actor (starring alongside Dorothy Dandridge in the movie "Carmen"). This is the guy that sang "The Banana Boat Song," you know, "...Day-o, me say Day-o, daylight come and meh wah go home."If you think it's familiar, that's because you may have heard it in numerous movies. Another of his hits, "Jump In The Line," became an instant history maker and was also featured in many hollywood movies, most notably, BeetleJuice.

For all you R&B lovers, you may be happy to know that Alicia Keys has some Caribbean roots. The singers father is Jamaican.

And making the cut is... the lovely Melanie Fiona! She has collaborated with artist like Ceelo Green and Stephen Marley. She also wrote songs for artists like Rihanna, was in a band with Drake and toured with Alicia Keys. Melanie's parent are from Guyana.

Lianne La Havas is a folk and soul singer with a distinct, soothing voice. She became a household name through her song, " Is Your Love Big Enough," out of the album of the same name. Lianne's mother is from Jamaica.

Surprise, surprise, bet you didn't know Beyonce had some caribbean roots. That's right, Mrs. Carter has ties in the Bahamas through her father who was born there.
                                                        

That's it...there's nothing else I can tell you about Beyonce that you don't already know...oh! Except...did you know there's actually a religion formed around her? Man I tell you...move over Christianity! That was completely off topic, I know...moving along...

Another offspring of the Bahamas is rock star Lenny Kravitz. Known for hits such as, "Again," "American Woman," "Are You Gonna Go My Way," and "Chamber." Kravitz is also an accomplished actor and you may have seen him in The Hunger Games movies. He's also the father of Zoe Kravtiz, so that would make him 52-years-old and looking like that...#blackdontcrack.

Ladies, I gave you Lenny, now I give you Maxwell...*swoons* ...

Maxwell is a singer, songwriter, producer and actor. He's credited alongside De'Angelo and Erykah Badu for shaping the genre Neo Soul into what it is today. Maxwell is also one of the headline acts at the Tobago Jazz Festival this year (look out for more on that next week, same time, same place). Maxwell is half Spanish, half Haitian.










Will.i.am, Rapper, producer and judge on The Voice, has strong caribbean roots as both his parents are from Jamaica.

So it seems like we have a Jamaican takeover...Rapper Busta Rhymes parents are from Jamaica...

The late and ever so great rapper Biggie Smalls parents are from Jamaica...

Singer Mya's father is Jamaican...

Oh man, this list can go on and on and could take forever...the Caribbean has produced many artists that have made great contributions to music. Even in Trinidad and Tobago, right at this moment, there are talented individuals working under the radar as singers, musicians and writers for international artists. If we won't accept and appreciate them here, then the rest of the world will and we'll be left wondering what would be the state of our music at Carnival next year. So let's not limit ourselves...this just shows you that no matter where in the world you are from, if your music is good, no one can deny you.

Before I go, I'll leave you with a small list of actors that you didn't know had Caribbean roots.I know it's not music, but let's recognize our Caribbean brothers and sisters!

Lorraine Toussaint- "Orange is the New Black"

Born in Trinidad

Karyn Parsons- "Fresh Prince of Bel Air"
Born in Trinidad

Kerry Washington- Mother is Jamaican

Tia and Tamara Mowry- Mother is Bahamian

Corbin Bleu- Father is Jamaican

Romany Malco- Only American in his Trinidadian family

THE DEATH OF THE GRAMMYS...A Revolution through Art!

Kendrick Lamar delivered what is now one of the most controversial performances ever at the 2016 Grammys, creating one of the most beautiful moments in music history. There were pyrotechnics both of the actual kind and of the emotional sort. But what was Kendrick saying?

At the start of the performance he came out in chains along with fellow inmate as the band crooned while locked in cages. Every jerk and twitch of his body matched the rhythm and beat of the music.

In front of a massive bonfire, Lamar turned the performance into a powerful message. Starting with the lyrics of “Alright” a song written as a part of the Black Lives Matter movement. As the portrayal showed celebration of who they are, there was undoubtedly a double meaning as fire can mean both love and hate, life and death, peace and war, after all it is a duality.

It was like the spirit of the underground burst through and took control of every word, phrase and movement, the man was a beast! No apologies!  And like all big things going on in the world…there was a piece of the Caribbean in the mix!

His name’s Assassin and this is the verse that had the audience of the Grammys gasping in horror!

            

Assassin

          

“Ah say them treat we like ah slave cuz we black

We feel whole heap ah pain cuz we black

And what we say, them put we in ah chain cuz we black

And watch here now, we gold chain full ah rocks

You nuh see the wip leave scar pon we back

But now we have ah big wip park pon the block

Them ah say we doom from the start cuz we black

But remember this, every race start from the black”

But allow me to digress for a moment…there seem to be a pattern here.

Join me for a quick flashback will you…

Beyonce made a bold statement at the 2016 Superbowl through her performance of “Formation”. Coming on the heel of the 50^th anniversary of The Black Panther Party, the performance paid tribute to the Panthers, as Beyonce and her dancers could be seen wearing black leather and sporting natural hairstyles...I think it was the day that white Americans realised Beyonce was...wait for it...black!

I may know what you’re thinking right now, I’m supposed to be talking about #allthingsunderground …but the message that is being sent right now has been in the making for years, mainstream music wasn’t protesting but the underground music scene has always been. We all know mainstream artists are censored, once you’re mainstream you have to follow strict orders, that’s why so many artists practice their craft under the radar. They get to keep their identity, but these recent activities are creating a change within some mainstream artists. They're starting to speak up and reclaim their identity.

So I’m asking you now…do you think that there could possibly be a gorilla movement through music? Could it be a revolution through the arts?

Take a look at Kendrick’s performance, and tell me if you think there could be something happening under the radar, or do you think it’s just another protest that will soon be long forgotten?

"If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music."

                                                                                                                - Jimmy Hendrix