I’ve had SocaMom.com for seven years, and haven’t talked about some of the harder things to deal with being Caribbean American and living in the Southern United States.
Historically, Caribbean people did not settle in the south in great numbers. Most people came to Washington, DC, New York, Maryland, Los Angeles… I mean, in the 60’s and 70’s did anyone who came from the Caribbean WANT to resettle in a place with such turmoil and hatred for people of color? It isn’t that there was no racism in the North, but I have to say, having lived in both places, it is different.
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In the South, you knew where to go and where not to go. You knew where you were welcome and where you weren’t. You learned the rules and learned them quickly – for your own health and safety. I found places that I felt comfortable, outside of school of course, and could enjoy black American culture, people, food, and friendship without feeling like a complete outsider.
Still, my house was soooooo different from my black American friends’ homes.
While I loved mac n cheese, I really loved macaroni pie. Collard greens were great, but callaloo was my jam. And yes, I really enjoyed rap and R&B music – but soca… soca was what I needed.
Do you understand what it was like for a Caribbean American person growing up in the southern United States without Spotify? Torture.
Each day in our Facebook group, I welcome new members and tell everyone a little bit about myself. In this welcome video, I’m gonna tell you what it was like for me to grow up so far away from any hope of finding soca music.
I talked with my husband about this and he couldn’t imagine not being able to go to a record store back in the day to pick up the latest rap or R&B music.
Today’s video has new music from Bunji Garlin and Busta Rhymes at the end. It is a true collab – not just Busta rapping on a song that was already done like Differentology. Let me know what you think of the song. I’m going to reserve judgment for a while until I decide how I feel.
Here are some links to stuff that I talked about.
My Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/659027141150308/
Soca Butterfly – https://amzn.to/2Q4G7XQ (affiliate link)
Soca Girl – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWQhCsYJ4d8
90’s Reggae Mix from Queenzflip – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuU0lKUf8_Y
Bunji Garlin and Busta Rhymes Drop It – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VxMBWq6yq0
What was the first soca or reggae song that hit you in your spirit? How old were you when it happened? What song, if you aren’t from the Caribbean, hit you in such a way that it made you question your ancestry – like you HAD to be West Indian by blood or something? Let’s chat about it in the comments!
