Well...most of them were over 25. Mike City was 31.

$52? USD?! I'm over here doing the TT conversion like...

And there were challenges getting the sample cleared. It didn't stand a chance lol I always wondered why it didn't make the deluxe edition back then.

The producer who put it on Soundcloud years ago mentioned that it was probably because it was similar to Stay the Night, Circles and Your Girl, and Mariah wanted more variety. It was a close race between that and Stay the Night and she chose the latter.

Trinidad is the central soca market. There's a reason why most of the music is released during our Carnival season: It is tied to our cultural expression.

The leading artists in the genre are all Trinidadian.

If you can't accept that then go argue with the ghost of Ras Shorty.

Facts are facts.

There is a glaring level of ignorance among people in the diaspora regarding soca music.

Many don't know its history or cultural significance in Trinidad. Some even attempt to separate it from Trinidad, claiming "no one island can claim soca."

That is bullshit.

Soca is a Trinidadian genre.

Jamaica's carnival of today was started by Trinidadian people in the late 1980s. It doesn't have a cultural or historical foundation that makes it distinctly Jamaican. Regarding soca, it's a Trinidadian genre; invented in Trinidad by a Trinidadian for Trinidadians and it spread to include others.

Then I say keep it simple and focus on genres that are considered primarily African American in origin - jazz, gospel, doo wop, hip hop, disco, funk, house, go-go, etc. They may have wider diaspora influences and participation but the social, geographical and cultural contexts are African American.

It's an interesting challenge because Caribbean people were also involved in the development of hip hop, etc. It's undeniably American but can't be divorced from the wider diaspora. Then there's salsa that is Caribbean but it took form in America, specifically NYC, thanks to Puerto Rican musicians.

Might be. There's also the cultural divide between Jamaica and Trinidad; the long history of competition and rivalry between the two. And the difference in the rhythms. Soca, especially music from Trinidad, is generally very different from dancehall and reggae. PS: Some Jamaicans love soca!

Salsa and merengue are Caribbean genres.

It's also important to understand that Caribbean musics as well as releases from the rest of the diaspora influenced what those in America. It's a big exchange of ideas and culture. There would be no reggae or even hip-hop without calypso, for instance, which has roots in Africa.

The joy in that title track and the way she uses her upper register. I wonder if it was the structural template for Mariah's Emotions single? The way it builds higher and higher with each chorus.

The name of the book is Capitalism and Slavery, and Dr Eric Williams never ran for President. He was our first Premier in 1959 then first Prime Minister when we became an independent state in 1962. He later led us to became a Republic in 1976 when our first President, Sir Ellis Clarke, was appointed

She worked with them again + Layzie Bone and Bow Wow on Lil L.O.V.E. in 2007. She also had Krayzie with Brat on the I Still Believe/Pure Imagination remix in 1998 youtu.be/xj8npgf0BRc?...

(And I can teach it too)

If we are going to discuss black musics and culture in America or otherwise, it is important to acknowledge the existence and significance of the wider black diaspora.

All of our contributions are valid and none of them were created in a vacuum.

And I have heard instances when non-American black music is mentioned - usually by guests on said podcasts - and it is either brushed aside or mocked as somehow less important.

I listen to several podcasts discussing black music and I find the glaring omission of black Caribbean, South and Central American, British and continental African works to be incredible.