Do you want Soca to really go International?

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curiousgirl

i couldn't agree with you more. I think whether or not soca gets a lot of worldwide recognition, it is important for us to keep our name on it becuase it was born in Trinidad. I also think that if we have to modify the music, like slow down the beat and lyrics in order for us to see Machel's video on MTV's TRL, why not? it won't be so bad for the international audience to get a "taste" of our upbeat cultural music. But at the same time, i think we should keep the real soca in the caribbean region.
And i know this is pretty far fetched but i think that Trinidad has so much to offer in terms of our diverse culture, our food, our resources etc. and if we can build a little more on tourism, it will contribute to helping the crime situation becuase there will be so much more jobs and opportunites for the youths available. The reason I'm saying this is because I recently went on a cruise to some of the other caribbean islands and the tourists among us were amazed at the little things that these countries show them which was nothing compared to what Trinidad has, and they still make lots of money off of them. And i was wondering, if these people come to Trinidad and visit places like the pitch lake, what will they think?
So i think making soca go international will be great but at the same time, we don't need it to,becuase it will never die in the caribbean region.

That was a very interesting question though. I must say.

Geneva P

I am not from a trini background, I have a Haitian background, but I do like soca music.

Jouvert

I would love our music to be exported internationally, once it remains pure and undiluted. We owe it to ourselves to be ourselves.

Tracie P

Soca is already worldwide

Gibbsy girl

Ideally, I guess what we want is to break into international markets without compromising our music. Will soca as we know it ever grace the airwaves in DC, who knows? I think we're on the right road though. When you consider that Machel has his finger on the pulse of countries from the States to Japan, performing with people like Dougie Fresh, Wyclef and Sting, we can't really say soca has had no international exposure. You really think Machel could even get his foot in the door if they didn't know his work? Yes, he has experimented with and stretched the boundaries of soca and made it somewhat more mainstream, but still he has managed to remain true to what soca is at its heart.

Go out and do yuh ting by all means, but I think what is most important, is staying true to the music and the people that you already know support you.

degree

why should we change the soca music to appeal to international audiences? have we ever asked the american rap or pop groups to change their music to appeal to us? international audiences should accept our soca music as it is, this is tnt's culture we should be proud and should't have to change it to please other people.

Sunnyvale_Girl

anything changes once it expands from it's original region. chinese food in america is a far cry from chinese food in china. same with mexican food, etc.

same applies to music. one day - someone will "discover" it and introduce it as "new" to the rest of the world...but true hot soca will be trini forever.

and i would love to see pan expanded too. nothing beats the beauty of a steel pan. i would love to have my wedding music played by a beautify steel pan band.

hottawarrior - win lose or draw

I agree with you, Soca is we ting, and we like it so, if it have to be changed to be noticed then i feel is best it ent get noticed. Soca is great the way it is!

Nikki

To be honest I'm not sure if I care that much if it goes international. I think we need to just love up what we have and don't look outside for confirmation that we're doing a great job.

As for changing the music, just search for Buster Poindexter's version of "Hot, hot, hot." it's sooo sad

â™¥Caseyâ™¥

yes it should not only we alone could hav ethe wounderful music!!!

Sa_San

I would love for soca to crossover here in the states, that's if and only if they can keep the same material they use. Some of the soca artists that I does listen too, I feel like if they did crossover, without any adjustments to their music, they would be very successful (Bunji Garlin, Edwin Yearwood).

What I am against is that if they were to make some adjustments in the music in order for them to gain recognition, then I see it's pointless in a way, and the question would be, where is the originality in the music? It may or may not be a disappointment to those of use who already loves soca, because it would seem like if the artist is a "sell out," and then some of us would question loyalty. And I am pretty sure that many soca artist had received offers to crossover, and that they would have to adjust their music. This may have been the case with Machel Montano who for one is very talented.

As long as soca is soca, then I am good.

Æ’Â®Ã®gg ÃœÃ¾ Â©hÃ®Â¢ Â®â„¢

YES YES YES.. I hope it does go international cuz I reall tired of people comparin we to Jamaica and thinkin the entire Caribbean is all about reggae music.. dey doh even know what soca music is..

Virgo27

Yes. Every loves reggae, but alot of people don't know about Soca. We West Indians know Soca is the Shizazz.

Trinisoccer

I think it is just the charts thing. I hear Soca at top clubs in London East end (Not Caribbean clubs). When I went Germany them Germans was having a ball with Soca music and yes they know the lyrics.

So the Music out dey. Check Machel HD in MSG. Trust me is not all West Indians was dey.

naj3032

I understand exactly what you are saying...i love Soca and I love it the way it is....However as a person that live in the United States....it gives makes me feel 10 feet tall when people are enjoying anything Trini.......So yes i would love to see it go international........

kweenebaby

i would like soca to go international so when people hear it they can stop calling it reggae and become more familiar with it, but at the same time I don't bekuz main stream will change it and make it sound horrible. Just look at Rupee. His songs don't sound the same anymore

sultrykp

In my opinion most of those people that think that soca never leaves the region are either somewhere in a remote uninhabited country or down in a hole. Where I live, there are more people from the east (India, China, Pakistan) than from any other part of the world and now that it's summer more and more I hear cars pulling up with soca or soca derivatives 'ponging' in the air. It's a great feeling to hear our music being appreciated.

Our soca music is already international, and if in doing so Machel, David Rudder and the others had to adjust a few lyrics, syncopate a bit differently, slow it down a tad - it's all good because Trinidad is being showcased to the world and the world is loving us!

Soca artists aren't the only ones having to modify their music in order to reach a wider audience. You'll find that many artists have a vast repertiore of songs that cater to varying audiences but that doesn't mean that they have compromised on their original tunes. On the contrary, it shows that they want to remain fresh, contemporary and cutting edge.

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