As barriers between genres continue to break down, it was a matter of time before a supergroup with top artists from the Caribbean arrived to usher in a new era of pan-Caribbean sounds and musical cooperation. In Suit of Black, Jamaican dancehall don Assassin, Trini soca star Bunji Garlin and Jamaican-Canadian rap OG Kardinal Offishall have combined their talents for just such a mission.
For their first act, the trio delve into the burgeoning Afrosoca subgenre (Afrobeats + Soca + a likkle bit of dancehall) with “She Bad.” Trinidadian producer Stadic winds a chopped vocal of seeming West African origin into something that sounds more like the Jamaican patois She bad ah road, while Sasco, Kardi and Bunji take turns aggressively encouraging the wining of waists. The result has the punch of a vintage hip-hop posse cut which, we imagine, is precisely the point.
Kardinal, who last week issued his latest solo LP, Kardi Gras, tells us that “She Bad” will be part of a forthcoming Suit of Black full-length album, currently being recorded between Trinidad, Canada and Jamaica. Accompanying the single’s release today is another track on the same riddim, “Bad Rule,” this one featuring Bunji’s other half, Fay-ann Lyons, alongside the Gully Gad, Mavado.
Kardinal tells us, “We just loved the vibe that Stadic came to studio with. Plus Fay and Mavado jumping in it as well? Madddddd. Keeping it a family ting. Afrosoca is bringing together the diaspora. It reps us well and our fanbase.”
If this is just the beginning for the trio, we can’t wait to hear where they head next with this project.