Caribbean Entertainment Hub has named Sokah Princess, Nailah Blackman, the Female Soca Artist of 2023.

One of the biggest soca anthems of the year “Come Home” was partly written by Nailah Blackman, and sung by her and Skinny Fabulous. Although, its lyrics is an apology for not appreciating how important carnival is and a promise to never again take it for granted, the song has a global appeal because at its core it’s a love song with feelings that are seldom found in soca music. The impassioned vocals delivered by both Nailah and Skinny pull on the heartstrings of listeners and can evoke feelings that transcend the original meaning of the song.

Riding a crest of  popularity, Nailah Blackman throughout the years used her now elevated broad appeal to propel the acceptance of soca and Trinidad’s culture beyond the Caribbean diaspora.

In an interview on SiriusXM and Pandora’s newly minted show ‘Island Time,’ Nailah explained: “My music kind of paints an exact picture of where I’m from, because a lot of my music is either happy or sensual or festive or high-energy… All those things are descriptions that I would use to paint Trinidad and Tobago, because they’re all of the above. It’s extremely beautiful, extremely rich with culture and history,”

Together with the Queen of soca Alison Hinds, Nailah Blackman brought the amazing energy and passion of soca to a diverse audience at New York City’s multicultural Lincoln Center. “Last night at the @lincolncenter was Amazing!! Energy out of this world and I’m truly blessed to be basking in it, Manhattan NYC and there was no stushness! The NaiArmy always shows out! Thank you” Nailah said on her Instagram.

In partnership with West Indies Cricket Nailah Blackman and Skinny Fabulous released ‘WI Home’ an adaptation of  ‘Come Home’. The song ‘WI Home’ will be the series anthem for the white ball matches against India and the visit by England, scheduled to take place in December 2023.

As one of the most sought-after artists in the Caribbean for collaborations, Nailah Blackman besides her numerous soca collaborations has lent her uniqueness to many cross-genre collabs throughout 2023. In a story-book match-up, Nailah Blackman, the granddaughter of the father of Soca, Garfield Blackman joined forces with Mystic Marley, the granddaughter of the father of Reggae, Bob Marley on the single ‘Jump’.

In 2023, Nailah Blackman continued to demonstrate her creativity and entrepreneurial skills with the launch of her clothing line called Sokah. This closely followed the launch of her beverage brand ‘Sweet and Loco’ the previous year.

The inaugural Caribbean Music Awards which took place in September saw Nailah Blackman nominated among the best of the best artists in the Caribbean.

We at Caribbean Entertainment Hub congratulate Nailah Blackman for such a stupendous year in soca and for her tiredness efforts in pushing the boundaries of soca and Trinidad & Tobago’s culture. We earnestly look forward to covering her continuous evolution in 2024 beginning with her concert ‘Sokah Origins – EDEN’ on 7th January.