7. Angela Hunte, “Mon Bon Ami”
After scoring the sleeper hit of Trinidad Carnival 2015 with her Machel Montano collaboration “Party Done,” Angela Hunte, the New York-based Trinidadian singer/songwriter best known for her work with Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, stepped back into the soca arena for a big tune of her own in “Mon Bon Ami.” It was the standout track on the Ti’Punch riddim, an ethereal fusion of soca and French Antillean sounds produced by “Party Done” beatmaker DJ Buddha. Hunte’s soaring vocals and the track’s accordion-based melody combined to create a unique, wistful feel atypical of soca — a genre more typically associated with explosiveness and celebration. This one was definitely a sleeper. — Jesse Serwer