In the late 70s and early 80s Calypso music began to evolve. The genre, known for its wit, social commentary and coverage of serious issues set to slow tempos and delicate melodies started to adopt faster bpm rates and slightly more risqué content in its lyrics. Lead by Trinidad and Tobago artist Ras Shorty I, this new fusion of sounds; a manipulation and interpretation of percussion, electronic instruments and fresh melodies gave birth to Soca music. Soca music was rhythmic yet sensual, energet...
Sep 01, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 56
Alwyn “Daddy Jones” Baptiste is a master craftsman. To music lovers in the Virgin and Leeward islands, he is not only a legend but a pop culture fixture. The master keyboardist, arranger and beat maker has been in the business of creating Soca hits for decades. There are very few producers that can match his creativity r his record of hits! Daddy Jones has produced for aritsts and bands and several islands and his productions include artists from several islands. Growing up in St. Croix Daddy Jo...
Jan 06, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 55
This Episode is dedicated to my dear friend Alex Horsford whom the world lost tragically in 2016. We’ll always love you and we’ll never forget you bro. #AlexForever. In 2009 I picked up a gig as a morning DJ at a radio station on the Caribbean island of Anguilla. My daily sidekick was Alex Horsford. Alex was a little over 10 years younger than I was. However he had an interest in photography, film.. really all things media. He was also the younger brother of one of my best friends. Alex had just...
Jan 06, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 54
Jerome Willock is the definition of determination. After moving from his native Montserrat to Anguilla, Jerome continued to learn about his childhood passion. Flying. What began as a dream and quite frankly what seemed far-fetched, became his reality. As luck would have it, his family moved into a house right next to the airport. Jerome would sit and watch planes land and take off at Anguilla’s airport, dreaming about flying one of the aircraft one day. After high school he worked for a telecomm...
Dec 24, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 53
Bianca Dijkhoffz has red hair. However, that is not the only unique thing about her. She is a burst of energy and quite honestly one of the most awesome persons you’ll meet. She was raised on the island of Saint Maarten. Her dad is from the island and a mom is from the United States. This gave her a very unique perspective, experiencing the Caribbean, yet having access to the thoughts and perspectives of someone that was raised in a larger country. Both philosophies on life resonated with her an...
Dec 18, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 52
Welcome to part 2 of episode 50. We continue our conversations with the talented cast of the short film for Busy Signal’s single “Seen it before” Directed by Dameon Gayle. In this episode we learn about the journeys of two very talented Jamaican actors TV Boss and Paul Haughton.
Dec 11, 2020•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 51
Hello everyone, welcome to the 50th Episode of the planet Thirty Podcast. We would first like to thank you for your support over the past 6 months. Thank you to everyone who shared, downloaded, streamed or even recommended our podcast to a friend. To all, we are truly grateful. This 50th episode also marks the start of our monthly partnership with VP Records. VP Records is legendary. They have been pioneers in the production and distribution of Caribbean music for over 4 decades. If you like reg...
Dec 08, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 50
Denecia Niles is a multi-tasker. She grew up in the Caribbean with a passion for football. As she says, Football was my life. She also grew up with all brothers. Denecia was crushing stereotypes from the very beginning. She was fearless on the field and had no problem facing the best among the boys, whether at home or in school. She took this forward approach into what would become her second passion: music. Several church concerts as a child gave Denecia the confidence to start fiddling around ...
Dec 04, 2020•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 49
Nicolas de Toranto is a world traveler. But seeing the world from different perspectives is nothing strange for Nicholas. Nicholas grew up in Germany his mother is English, his father is half English, half German. However, his last name made its way to England all the way from Italy. With such complexity in his family, Nicholas was destined to become a storyteller. After high school in Germany Nicholas attended University in England. His interest in History and English literature developed into ...
Nov 26, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 48
INOJ knew that she was destined for a career in music. She blames her parents. She recalls her mom and dad putting a radio in her room as a very small child in order to keep her quiet. This she credits with allowing her to feel the magic of music and thus her love affair began. Her childhood was also filled with singing, and stories from her favorite musicals and plays. If ever she was naughty and as a result was grounded, INOJ would use that time to write songs of her own. Although music was fo...
Nov 17, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 47
Brad Hemmings’ father is Jamaican. His mother Trinidadian. Both islands are rich in culture and history. Jamaica has gifted to the world reggae music, while Trinidad and Tobago has gifted the steel drum, Calypso and Soca music. It is with this portent blend of music, food, knowledge and vibe that Brad Hemmings was raised. Brad grew up being influenced by and understanding the beauty of Caribbean music. He saw how Caribbean music could affect and change the world. When Brad was a teenager, he mov...
Nov 10, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 46
Niik is perhaps one of the most demure artists that you will ever come across. She is very soft spoken and well… quite shy. But there are several layers to Niik. You should in no way allow her shy appearance to dictate your total opinion of her. Niik grew up competing in pageants and singing competitions. Winning many of them of course. In her teen years her star really began to shine as she was crowned Miss Talented Teen and Junior calypso Monarch for her island. She was junior Calypso monarch ...
Nov 03, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 45
Jason Edmund is the definition of enterprising. Born and raised on the island of Antigua, Jason learned the value of hard work and to always insist on the highest levels of customer service. You see, Jason’s dad was the manager of one of Antigua’s top resorts. Even as a child, he marveled at the way guests’ faces would light up upon being treated well. Whether he knew it or not, these experiences during his childhood were preparing him to be the person that he is today. By his teenage years, Jas...
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 44
France’s Coco Chanel is famous for creating the Little Black Dress and the Skirt Suit. Detroit’s Tracy Reese is one of the most important African American designers of our time having dressed A list actors and at least one first lady. Meiling is widely considered the mother of modern fashion in Trinidad and Tobago. Charla Hobson is just that for the island of Anguilla. Growing up she remembers matching and picking her outfits as soon as she could express herself. Although her primary school wore...
Oct 27, 2020•56 min•Ep. 43
I can’t say that house music was a staple over the airwaves or on deejay sets in the Caribbean when I was growing up. However, I do remember hearing the pulsing rhythms and deep steady basslines on TV and sometimes in stores. What was this music? It made me feel happy the way Soca music did, but it sounded so different. As the 90s dawned upon us I heard this genre more and more. But how could I get my hands on this music? My local record store, Ellie’s, was stacked to the ceiling with offerings ...
Oct 22, 2020•45 min•Ep. 42
Melissa Mussington is passionate about fitness and pizza. One, slightly more than the other. Whether it is pizza or working out, one thing is for certain, Melissa is disciplined and driven when it comes to what she likes. Melissa grew up surrounded by a family of musicians on a Caribbean island. Though she loved music she and her family realized that she had tremendous talent in sports. Tennis, volleyball, track, if it was to be played Melissa was on the team. After high school, Melissa secured ...
Oct 20, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 41
In 2013 a group of high school friends decided to formalize themselves as a unit. This has happened for generations all over the world. Groups of guys and gals have joined forces to form named cliques. These cliques serve different purposes depending on the group. More often than not teenagers identify themselves with like-minded persons and try to establish as much social capitol as possible. Most of these cliques or crews fizzle out with time. Members graduate, secure jobs, leave for college a...
Oct 15, 2020•52 min•Ep. 40
Diction Edwards called me late one night. He was on tour and had some down time. From the background noise on his side I could hear that he was outdoors. I automatically assumed that he was on the other side of the globe, as he often is. I was correct, he informed me that he was some 15 hours ahead of my time in New Caledonia, a French territory in the Pacific Ocean. Phone calls like this are not a rare occurrence. Diction has worked very hard in the music industry, and work trips like these are...
Oct 13, 2020•54 min•Ep. 39
Jibri Lewis’ grandmother perfected a pastry on the island of Anguilla some decades ago. That pastry is known as a cheese patty by legions of local fans. Jibri’s dad took the cheese patty to new levels and has turned it into one of the most popular on the go meals on the island. Jibri, cannot make the cheese patty. Though his culinary skills have much to be desired as far as the cheese patty is concerned, he makes up for it with sheer scientific genius. Jibri is very modest and quite simply one o...
Oct 08, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 38
There are very few black female filmmakers that have been acknowledged by mainstream media and Hollywood. By no means does it mean that the work of such artists is not good enough. Kasi Lemmons, Ava DuVernay, Julie Dash and Euzhan Palsy are but a few that have had the opportunity to breakthrough. Their work is exquisite, only surpassed by their work ethic. It is from this lineage and tutelage that Lori Webster emerges. Lori grew up in a small town in North Carolina. She was fascinated with stori...
Oct 06, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 37
Trudy Nixon cooks a mean pot of curry. This however is not the extend of her talents. Trudy was raised on a farm in a little town in the English countryside. By the time she had graduated high school, Trudy had developed a love for the arts and especially for language and writing. Her University years gave her the opportunity to explore several facets of the arts both inside and outside of the classroom. While she sharpened her writing skills during the day, she explored the sights and sounds of...
Oct 01, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 36
As a child, Ron Elliot was a lover of comic books. He bought them, he sold them, he read them. He loved comic books. Comic books truly introduced Ron to the world of fantasy and stretched his imagination. While he was an elementary school student, Ron wrote, produced and directed his first play. His teacher was thoroughly impressed. This was the beginning of Ron Elliot the storyteller. The seed was planted. Ron was in love with telling his own stories. The realm of possibility however, was taken...
Sep 29, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 35
Cherrod Lewis remembers listening to R&B for most of his childhood. His two older sisters were uber fans of the genre. Naturally their love for the genre and music in general had a huge impact on their little brother. Cherrod’s thoughts however ran a lot deeper than just knowing the hit songs. He wanted to know how they were created. He recalls spending hours trying to deconstruct the tones, drums, melodies and other sounds that he was hearing. By his early teenage years, he was convinced. M...
Sep 24, 2020•57 min•Ep. 34
Sint Maarten, not to be confused with St. Martin is the Dutch half of the small Caribbean island shared by the Netherlands and France. Zahira Marmar was raised there. She was introduced to farming by her immediate family. She fell in love with it. Typically, this story would continue to tell you how Zahira grew peas, pumpkins and corn. However, Zahira fell in love with herbs. Herbs for seasoning? Well yes… but more specifically, herbs for teas and herbs for healing. Zahira recognized the benefit...
Sep 22, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 33
Like her father and brother before her, Tahirah Banks was destined for a career in music. At 13 she was the lead singer of one of her island’s rising soca bands. Wanting a change of scenery, Tahirah negotiated with her mother and decided to move to Houston Texas to live with her eldest brother. Houston opened up a new world of possibility for her and although she was still in love with music, her experiences during both high school and college at the university of Houston expanded her dreams. In...
Sep 17, 2020•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 32
Oneika Phillips is a burst of energy. She has the type of personality that can light up an entire theatre. And she does… quite often. Oneika has been dancing from ever since she can remember. Born in Guyana and raised in Grenada, Oneika was exposed to musicals via her parents VHS collection. Jesus Christ Superstar was her favorite. Oneika’s colorful personality and obvious talent and love for dance eventually lead her to attend University in Virginia. She admits that those years were not always ...
Sep 15, 2020•2 hr 25 min•Ep. 31
Nigel Campbell is a lover of all things music. The Trinidad and Tobago native ventured to Toronto then on to Washington DC in his youth. No matter where he studied and lived one thing remained consistent. His curiosity about and his love for Caribbean music. Many Caribbean people consider themselves connoisseurs of the region’s music. Some are experts within a particular genre. Others may be able to detail songs, albums and perhaps years that compositions were released. Some may be versed on one...
Sep 10, 2020•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 30
Azana Serene is an absolute joy to speak to. The young Los Angeles native grew up knowing that she had a passion for fashion. That passion turned into reality when she was accepted to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandizing (FIDM.) Her experience there would shift her thinking completely. The relationships made, the lessons learned and the mentorship had would prepare Azana for life as a fashion designer. At an age that many would consider too tender to go into business, Azana decided ...
Sep 08, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 29
Nolan Baynes remembers playing in the lush greenery of his native Guyana. He also remembers being surrounded by family and friends who felt like family. Nolan also remembers not always having access to television. Ironically, the thing he lacked at that time would end up impacting his life the most. At age 9 Nolan was moved to the bustling streets of Brooklyn. To him, Brooklyn was a whole new world and he was ready to absorb everything the New York borough had to offer him. His teen years saw hi...
Sep 03, 2020•2 hr 19 min•Ep. 28
Trinidad is known for producing a plethora of things that have come to define both its culture and the culture of the wider Caribbean. Trinidad is also known for sending both scholarly and creative people out into the wider world. Micha Cooper Edwards is one of those persons. She cannot be described by just one of the aforementioned, for she is the perfect combination of scholar and creative. Micha Cooper Edwards is the definition of discipline. After successfully completing her undergraduate de...
Sep 01, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 27
