Over the last few years I am happy to report that change has finally started to come to the lineup of Jamaican DJ’s.
Jamaica’s general population has always had a different view of soca. To the average Jamaican soca is fast paced power tunes only (and I mean ONLY). Many of Jamaica’s best Dj’s in the past have also shared this view. I have been to soca fetes where power soca has played for an hour straight. Its fun for the first 20 minutes but after that you need a change of pace. Also many Jamaican Dj’s are trapped in a time loop centered in the 1990’s.
Finally a new breed of Dj’s is emerging. New guys fully immersed in the soca culture. Guys that goto Trinidad every year and DJ in parties in Trinindad as well.
DJ RICHIE RAS
RAS is, in my opinion, now the best soca DJ in Jamaica at this time. A veteran of Phuket and music trucks on the road in Trinidad he is known for his mastery of mixing Groovy soca, but is equally good with a balance of power and groovy. He plays in almost all fetes in Jamaica worth going and this year is no exception
This young man has been on the scene for a few years slowly building a reputation for great mixes. Being a medical doctor means that he has to manage his time carefully but hard work and discipline has paid off. He is quickly becoming known as one of the best new soca DJ’s in the island. I had the pleasure of hearing him play at the last edition of Island Mas Soca Village on my return from carnival and trust me he took me right back to Trinidad with the way he played. I was really impressed and the rest of my crew was too. Look out for him this year!
2 thoughts on “The new breed of Jamaican soca DJs”
There are several others as well. I just chose to highlight these 2 as examples:)
It’s good to see recognition being shown for those DJs who have really put effort into playing Soca the right way. I’ve heard both featured DJ’s recently and I totally agree; however, I think BloodlineFranco may have been over looked. Though he doesn’t seem to get many local bookings for fetes he has been putting out a solid Soca mix dubbed Soca Advantage over the years, this year Volume 4 is real good
There are several others as well. I just chose to highlight these 2 as examples:)
It’s good to see recognition being shown for those DJs who have really put effort into playing Soca the right way. I’ve heard both featured DJ’s recently and I totally agree; however, I think BloodlineFranco may have been over looked. Though he doesn’t seem to get many local bookings for fetes he has been putting out a solid Soca mix dubbed Soca Advantage over the years, this year Volume 4 is real good