With an acknowledgment upfront of having music as ‘part of her DNA’, 20-year-old singer and songwriter Nailah Blackman is certainly not shy in expressing the diverse rhythms of her family legacy and Caribbean culture. Just take a listen to her song ‘Sokah’ and feel the infectious homage to her late grandfather Ras Short I, also known as Lord Shorty, to understand why this upcoming songbird is soaring and going places with her talent.

While Nailah’s most recent release is the reggae infused ‘Dangerous Boy’, it is the ‘Sokah’ title track from her album of the same name that currently speaks to me as Barbados begins to gear up for its annual Crop Over Festival Season, which will culminate with the Kadooment Day carnival of revelers dancing on the road to calypso and soca music on August 6. According to her 2018 tour schedule, Nailah will be adding to the mix of sweet sounds in Barbados from August 5 -7.

A mélange of genres could well describe Nailah’s music, which infuses soca, reggae, hip hop, African and East Indian rhythms into danceable songs such as O’Lawd Oye, Baila Mami, Badishh, and Dame Lorraine. The multi-talented singer, whose mother is Trinidadian Calypso singer Abbi Blackman and whose grandfather founded the musical genre of sokah, the original spelling of soca, also plays the guitar and other instruments.

Nailah, who works with producer Anson ‘Pro’ Soverall, currently has several videos of her songs, some featuring collaborations with other Caribbean artists, on YouTube racking up views and positive comments.

In the video for ‘Sokah’, clips of her grandfather Lord Shorty are prominent, and it also features well-known Trinidadian artists, steelpan player Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe and sitar player Mungal Patasar, as well as carnival scenes. The lively video begins with a snippet of her late grandfather explaining that sokah is a “combination of East Indian and African rhythms” whose purpose when founded around 1969/70 was to “bring the East Indians and the Africans in Trinidad together”.

When Nailah sings the lyrics “feel the soul, feel the love, feel the unity” one gets the feeling that she will continue to share her family’s positive legacy and ‘soul of calypso’ wherever her creative path takes her. In addition to Barbados’ carnival, Nailah’s quest to keep moving the direction of her career toward international stardom includes 2018 tour stops in other Caribbean islands, the United States, Canada, Europe and England. By taking her talent on the road and beyond her home market, it’s not hard to imagine Nailah Blackman becoming an international household name in the not too distant future.

1. Sokah Nailah Blackman 0:41

2. Baila Mami Nailah Blackman 0:45

3. O Lawd Oye Nailah Blackman 0:45

4. Badishh Nailah Blackman 0:45

Sources:

1. Nailah Blackman Facebook
2. YouTube (JulianspromosTV)
3. iradiott.wordpress.com