You may not have known that there was any such thing as a soca supergroup, but there apparently is (it's called
Krosfyah) and its lead singer is the diminutive fireball
Edwin Yearwood, a Barbadian who has had a string of radio hits throughout the Caribbean and has an even longer string of carnival contest championships under his belt. His style has been branded "socaton" (to compete with the similarly eclectic reggaeton style that has won growing popularity in Puerto Rico and the U.S.), and it is characterized by electronic, calypso-inflected beats with strong elements of hip-hop and dancehall reggae. The songs and rhythms on his solo debut are all perfectly fine, but
Yearwood's voice is the real star of this show: he sings in a clear, high tenor range with all the agility of a gospel singer. Guest singers and toasters on this album include
Lady Saw (on "Take You with Me") and C'ecile (who brings a nicely contrasting vocal style to the excellent "Sorry"), as well as Sakito, who contributes some nice Spanish toasting on "Keep Rolling It." On "Sweetness"
Yearwood juxtaposes old-school funk with steel pans to very nice effect, although the repetitive two-chord rhythm gets old well before the song is done. On "Lady's Night" he teams up with Mr. Mojo (of
Morgan Heritage) to rather hypocritically call out men who refer to women as "bitches" while at the same time singing about them in the most objectified terms, but hey, if you were looking for enlightened attitudes toward women you wouldn't be hanging out in the reggae section. Overall, this is an impressive debut. ~ Rick Anderson