Soca King, Machel Montano says no to competition!

Story and photos courtesy Overtime Media

Five-time Power and two-time Groovy International Soca Monarch Winner, Machel Montano believes that the time for competition has passed and that more collaborations are needed to take Soca music to greater heights. Montano was asked about the recent announcement of a new Soca competition coming on stream for Trinidad Carnival 2025, while at the official launch of the Pineapple Riddim held at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad on Wednesday morning. The veteran entertainer took his time to respond, starting with the quip:

“What gets you here wouldn’t get you there! Ahm, there is a desire by some people to go back: to go back to the glory days of the Soca Monarch competition, but in life, we doh get to go back. We only go forward. I must commend Mr William Munro for his contribution, so give him a round of applause.

“In my humble opinion, Soca Monarch has done a lot for us as artistes who were rising, but in this time of MONK - The Movement of Now Knowing, we need to know what we need to do now and in my humble opinion instead of competing against each other, we need to collaborate more.”

The Pineapple Riddim marks the first-ever partnership between Dwayne “DJ” Bravo’s 47 Productions and Machel Montano’s Monk Music and features powerhouse artistes: Machel Montano (“Wah We Doin”), Patrice Roberts (“Tun Up”), Lyrikal (“Carnival Meeting”), Rupee (“My Kinda Gyal”) and rising star, Ronicia “47Ronzy” Joseph (“Come Here”). A release from Crystal Clear Solutions given to media at the event stated that “the riddim delivers a fresh yet nostalgic sound, blending groovy Soca with irresistible Carnival energy”.

Montano referenced the rise of Afrobeats and Reggaeton music, which are both comparable to the sound and speed of Soca and advised “in his humble opinion” that our focus needs to be on making Soca a global product. He said:

“I dont personally feel we need a competition right now to take us to where we need to go. It will happen organically again at some point, but right now we have Afrobeats becoming the most popular music in the world and it sounds like Soca. Afrobeat is right behind Reggaeton music, which is doing some of the biggest numbers in the world with artistes like Bad Bunny, J Balvin and others - and it sounds like Soca! So what are we missing to take our music to the next level?

“We need to focus on making Soca music a global product.” He advised, answering his own query. “Beyond the competition, we should be focusing on the quality of our music; the quality of our writing; the quality of our marketing and most importantly, the quality of our message - to inspire the young people, to inspire the nation and we know that where two or more are gathered in HIS name we can accomplish a lot.”

Montano joined Bajan bard, Rupert “Rupee” Clarke; Cricket Icon, Dwayne Bravo; US-based talent, Devon “Lyrikal” Martin and rising star, Ronicia “47Ronzy” Joseph. Joseph was discovered via Bravo’s digital app investment, Collabr and is being managed by him also. Soca Queen, Patrice Roberts is also featured on the riddim, but was out of the country and sent a short video recording which was played at the event. The launch attracted a number of industry professionals, stakeholders and media personnel and featured pineapple cocktails by Verve Creations for Angostura White Oak, as well as tasty edibles by Shafek’s Catering and an open bar courtesy Armando Bar Services, LED and graphic printed promotional tees, luminous signs, digital screens and trendy decor by Strictly FX. Montano and Bravo engaged in a friendly arm wrestling contest refereed by acclaimed producer, Kevin “Stadic” Charles to close the event and the elder singer defeated the younger cricket star and was knighted as the new “Champion” by attendees in reference to Bravo’s hit single of the same name.