NEWS

RUM AND RECOVERY FEATURE IN NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL 2021 LAUNCH

Not so much a launch as a long-overdue reunion. That seemed to be the general verdict on the official launch of Notting Hill Carnival 2021, on Monday 26 July.

Naturally, the venue was The Tabernacle, Powis Square. In the unlikely event that anyone was unsure where to go, five faintly sinister moko jumbies were stalking about outside before contorting themselves to get under the archway into the Tab’s courtyard. Brazilian bateria Tribo and Mangrove Steelband provided the music, masqueraders gave the photographers something to focus on, calypso queen Helena B served up doubles and the girls from Duppy Share dispensed welcome liquid refreshment. More delicious snacks did the rounds, so guests had no cause to complain.

For many of us this was a first chance to meet in three dimensions friends we’d seen only on screen (if at all) over the past two years, so there wasn’t an excess of social distancing – except for the moko jumbies, obviously. A last-day-of-term, let-out-of-school feeling was in the air, and it was a joy to be able to dream that some semblance of our former lives might be returning, albeit cautiously. Our recent experiences can be summed up in that old fete favourite, “One step forward, two steps backward and tremble”!

After an introductory splash of calypso from Alexander D Great, the formalities were brief, starting with a reminder, by Notting Hill Carnival Ltd CEO Matthew Phillip, of the debt we owe the pioneers. It’s a debt that isn’t much recognised outside the carnival community, though. Two million visitors come to Notting Hill on the August Bank Holiday weekend, generating £150 million for the local and national economy, yet carnival’s creators receive very little in return, he pointed out.

Matthew was greeted with a big cheer when he said: “We will be on the streets again in 2022.” However, funding is under pressure like never before, so NHCL has created a Carnival Recovery Fund. Amongst the money-raising efforts, Ishmahil Blagrove’s superb account of Notting Hill Carnival has been reprinted and licensed to NHCL, so that profits from sales of the book go straight into the Recovery Fund. He concluded by listing some of the events coming up, and details of these can be found elsewhere in Soca News.

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL 2021 LAUNCH CREDIT: STEPHEN SPARK

NEWS

RHYTHM KITCHEN IS A TRAVELLER'S CHOICE

The Walthamstow branch of Rhythm Kitchen is celebrating its status as a 2021 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice. Travellers’ Choice was established in 2002 and is the highest honour Tripadvisor can bestow. Based on millions of reviews and opinions from travellers from around the world, the annual award recognises the best-rated tourism establishments in terms of service, quality, customer satisfaction and more.

Soca News asked Rhythm Kitchen owner Delroy Dixon for his initial reaction: “Running your own business means you have to wear many hats. It’s so easy to get entangled in the responsibilities and hard work that come with the territory. Only when you receive an award out of blue, you realise all the hard work is worth it.”

So what does the award mean to him? “This award is not just about me; it’s about the team and how we all work together to make Rhythm Kitchen E17 the place where people can relax and have a great dining experience. But, most of all, we wouldn’t be here without the support of the community, and for this I am forever grateful.”

Check out Rhythm Kitchen for yourself at 257 Hoe Street, London E17 9TP; rhythmkitchen.co.

DELROY DIXON CREDIT: RHYTHM KITCHEN

VETERAN VINCY CALYPSONIAN WINSTON SOSO HAS PASSED

Calypsonian Winston Soso (Trevor Winston Lockhart) has died at the age of 69. Known as the Rolls-Royce of soca, he has entertained us with songs such as Soca Dianne, All Men Ah Want It, Rude Girl Posse and Ah Feel to Party.

Soso debuted with Vincy band Clymax in the 1970s. His big success came in 1985, when he released I Don't Mind, which went on to become one of the biggest songs of the decade and still resonates sweetly today.

Soso passed away in Brooklyn on Sunday 18 July – four days after his birthday - after battling a variety of serious health problems for some time. May he rest in peace.

NEWS

ALL ABOARD – SHIP AHOY! ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES TO TRINIDAD CARNIVAL 2023

Tour company Island Sea Fest has joined forces with cruise line Royal Caribbean to deliver an 11-night cruise based around Trinidad Carnival 2023. Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas will begin this first of its kind cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday 15 February 2023.

From there, passengers will head to Trinidad, spending five nights on board their floating hotel in between all that carnival revelry.

In time-honoured carnival style, the cruise even incorporates a las lap as the ship calls at Tobago, Barbados and Saint Lucia allowing passengers some essential post-bacchanal recovery and relaxation. The cruise ends back in San Juan on Sunday 26 February.

The all-inclusive price includes the cruise fare, taxes, fees, gratuities, beverages, meals, onboard parties, wi-fi and basic travel insurance.

For more information about the cruise, see islandseafesttrinidad.com.

KASSAV CO-FOUNDER JACOB DESVARIEUX, HAS DIED

Co-founder of Kassav, Jacob Desvarieux, who was born on the 21 November 1955, passed away on Friday 30 July 2021 at the age of 65. He had been hospitalised for several days in Guadeloupe with a Covid-19 infection.

Born in Paris, Desvarieux was a singer, musician, arranger and producer. It was in 1979 that he met Pierre-Edouard Décimus, and they formed Kassav.

He recently collaborated with Trinidadian soca artist Machel Montano in 2019 on the track Dance, which featured on the Ole Ting Riddim.

NEWS

FENTY BEAUTY TAKES RIHANNA TO BILLIONAIRE STATUS

Rihanna was born in 1988 in the parish of Saint Michael in Barbados, to a Guyanese mother and Barbadian father. She once sold clothes from a Bridgetown street stall, and is now worth $1.7 billion (as estimated by Forbes Magazine). This makes her the wealthiest female musician in the world, and second only to Oprah Winfrey as the richest female entertainer. Aspiring pop stars should note, however, that this isn't all due directly to her music; the bulk (an estimated $1.4 billion) of Rihanna's fortune comes from the value of Fenty Beauty, a 50-50 joint venture with French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH run by Bernard Arnault, the world’s secondrichest person.

“A lot of women felt there were no lines out there that catered to their skin tone. It was light, medium, medium-dark, dark,” says Shannon Coyne, co-founder of consumer products consultancy Bluestock Advisors. “We all know that’s not reality. Fenty was one of the first brands that came out and said, ‘I want to speak to all of those different people.’”

Hopefully, Robyn Rihanna Fenty’s success will serve as an inspiration to many Caribbean women to follow.