by Nigel Telesford
2023 Road March King and Soca superstar, Bunji Garlin (Ian Alvarez) showcased the amazing engaging and compelling power of Soca music live on stage last Saturday night, when the legendary freestyler was called out by Dancehall megastar, “Popcaan” (Andre Sutherland) during his headlining set as part of the Soca and Dancehall Music Week’s grand finale “Stage Show” concert event.
Staged at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain, it was just around 2 am and Popcaan had just performed one verse of his Soca-esque single, “Wine For Me” when he called on the four-time Soca Monarch and two-time Road March champion to sing something on the same riddim:
“Level… Me wha call out mi bruddah Bunji Garlin fe sing something pon da riddim dey, ah which part inna de crowd Bunji dey?”
Whilst not billed to perform, Bunji did not hesitate to respond in his world-famous extemporaneous fashion, chanting:
“Welcome from Jamaica, to sweet Trinidad and Tobago, yeah. I’m here to chill out backstage and relax and catch this flow/ I’m not paid for performance but ah gonna give de fans an endurance, whoa! Lemme see yuh hands in de air right now from the back to the front to rear right now/ Everybody from left to right, right now, Popcaan, Garlin on the stage right now/ Popcaan… Take back yuh tune, let me leave de stage, sweep out like ah broom, right now we singing under de full moon, everybody look up when I say… Boom!”
A screenshot of Bunji freestyling on stage alongside "Popcaan" at the S&D Music Week "StageShow" grand finale. Click on the image to see the video on our IG page!
Sutherland delivered an extensive performance packed with all his hit singles to pull the curtains down on an action-packed “Soca and Dancehall Music Week” full of healthy, informative an engaging discourse at the Caribbean Music Conference as well as early-morning fun and performances at the Stink N Dutty event last Wednesday. See photos from Stink N Dutty by our lensman, Akil Pegus in the slider gallery below.
“Pull up! Bunji is ah Trinidad legend! Nuff respect! Make some noise fi mi bruddah Bunji Garlin, one time. Say woi-yoi!” Popcaan said in conclusion before completing his song.
The moment epitomized the evolution of the two genres to this point, where two of the leading practitioners were not only able to stand alongside each other without missing a beat, but additionally, the stand-out symbolism of a leading dancehall artiste calling upon his contemporary in Soca to share some of his energy exemplified the positive strides made by the Soca industry over the past two decades. To be sure, the crowd responded positively with uproars of approval and an extra output of energy for the rest of the night, effectively signalling their satisfaction as well.
“It was definitely a great moment,” SCORCH Limited Founder, Kwesi Hopkinson declared, “and a great show overall to end off an amazing week of activities. Of course, it was the first one so we had some hiccups and learnt some valuable lessons which we will apply going forward, but now that this door has been opened, SCORCH, Air Committee, Illusions Mas, Voice, along with our kind and generous sponsors and partners will continue to create industry solutions and tourism products to effectively serve as vehicles pushing our music and culture and industry forward into the global mainstream markets. We must thank the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and The Arts especially and the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service, Caribbean Airlines, the Inter-American Development Bank, Connect Americas, Audiomack, Collabr, Digicel and all the rest for supporting this initiative and enabling us to bring these industry leaders together for the greater good of the Caribbean music industry and Caribbean music and culture as a whole.”
Popcaan greets Bunji onstage. Click on this image to follow Bunji Garlin on IG
Tourism Minister, Randall Mitchell addresses the gathering at NAPA during the closing ceremony for the Caribbean Music Conference. Click on the link to follow the Tourism Ministry
Tourism Minister, Randall Mitchell (second from left) takes a photo with Jamaica Dancehall star, Shenseea (Chinseea Lee) at centre, Air Committee Executive, Shane Baird (at left), SCORCH Founder, Kwesi Hopkinson (second from right) and Illusions Mas Executive, Damian Baboolal during the closing ceremony at NAPA for the inaugural Caribbean Music Conference as part of the Soca and Dancehall Music Week
Shenseea shares a light moment on stage during her performance in Trinidad. Click on her image to follow her on IG.
At the closing ceremony for the Caribbean Music Conference, Tourism Minister, Randall Mitchell saluted the initiative and its organisers for focusing on the collective good. He said:
“Congratulations to the SCORCH team and all the affiliated committees for setting aside individualistic ambitions to bring everyone together for the greater good and understanding that a rising tide lifts all boats. We hope that lasting relationships were built and valuable learnings would be taken away and taken forward into promoting our music and culture to the world. We have a culture of competition here in Trinidad and Tobago and sometimes competition is healthy, but we must also be mindful that by collaborating and coming together, we can achieve so much more.”
The four-day Caribbean Music Conference, “Stink N Dutty” and “Stage Show” events which comprised the Soca and Dancehall Music Week attracted scores of industry personnel and stakeholders from around the globe, as well as thousands of younger, fun-loving patrons and aspiring artistes, musicians and entertainers.