Carnival songs are being penned, recorded and released even as many of you are focused on upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas, as both holidays come way before Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.
However, to Masqueradars, Mas Designers, Soca Artistes and the avid Carnival lover, signs of those approaching holidays signals that one is almost out of time in their preparation for the greatest show on earth.
So as this particular sector work full throttle to ensure Carnival lovers have the best experience ever, we at Caribbean Entertainment Hub are keeping our ear out for the music, as last year proved excellent for Trinidad and Tobago’s music industry, therefore the big question is “can 2019 top 2018?” … Only time will tell.

This week we introduce you to triple threat, Adrian Hackshaw. The DJ, Radio Announcer and now Soca Artiste spoke candidly with Caribbean Entertainment Hub about his work and long-time love for music.
Going by his sobriquet “BASS aka Trilo-G” which represents his three talents, Hackshaw is excited for the approaching season, thus far releasing two new songs.
However, even as we are excited about his new releases, we flash back a bit to last year, as it would be remiss of us not to mention Hackshaw’s propulsion to artiste status, with the release of his hit single “Stush in the bush”
The song earned him respect among his peers in the music industry and much adoration from his fan.
So it was no surprise this year that colleagues and fans alike patiently awaited his next release, and to no surprise, he served up a song indicative of the true spirit of Carnival; about the female anatomy and a technique of gyration.
The song, titled “Harder” was written and produced by Hackshaw. To date it has been receiving positive reviews and airtime on the local airways.
Another one of his releases for the season titled “Continue” boast provocativeness. The song has a jab-jab feel to it.
Jab is the French patois for diable or devil, the character itself is the Jab Molassie and in the context of music represents a wild teasing rhythm, almost to the vibration of steel drums.
The story itself, according to the artiste, who also wrote the song, is of a peculiar relationship where a mother shows a certain type of forwardness towards her daughter’s boyfriend.
After all, music is a form of storytelling.
As our interview continued in Port of Spain, Hackshaw, who is well known for his straight forwardness and down to earth personality on his local radio programme “The Middle Men”, on urban radio station Boom Champions 94.1fm, also spoke candidly about this thoughts on the local music industry.
He says just as Reggae is the mother to Dancehall and Rap the father to Hip-Hip, Calypso must also be recognised as the architect of Soca.
He believes a great injustice has been done by pushing aside the name Calypso and causing a separation between the genre of music.
“Calypso is the international word people know and we did ourselves a great disservice by disconnecting from that and going by Soca alone”
Hackshaw believes Carnival should be more than a one-time celebration each year with bits and pieces here and there, but rather a yearlong festival, which would give support to the various industries who toil yearly to put on the show.
He says much goes into the production of music, but everything especially from new and upcoming artistes, have to be shelved once the season is over and new work has to begin for the approaching year.
As we wrapped up our interview the artiste stressed the importance of promoting Calypso and Soca hand in hand, and also urged the support of Trinidadians in purchasing the music put out by their own. He says to date, no artiste big or small can boast of selling over one hundred copies of their song or album on local soil.

By: A. Felecia Valenzuela

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