HONORABLE MENTION: Runtown featuring Machel Montano, Wizkid and Walshy Fire, “Bend Down Pause” (Remix)
Nigerian Afrobeats star Runtown’s “Bend Down Pause” wasn’t necessarily “a soca” when it first dropped but when Machel Montano joins the party in the middle of the Trinidad Carnival season, well that’s what it becomes, dammit. Released amidst hype over the arrival of Afro Soca — Soca with an African accent, or Afrobeats with a Caribbean twist — “Bend Down Pause” gets grouped with Afro-themed soca hits like Olatunji’’s “Ola” and “Oh Yay,” although rhythmically it pulls more from a dancehall tradition. In the end, the beauty of this song was how seamlessly it defied category, becoming a truly international anthem, exhorting girls from Trinidad to Jamaica to Nigeria to do exactly as the title says. — Jesse Serwer
Various Artists (St. Lucia) – Wahalla Riddim
Various Artists (St. Vincent) – Rebel Panda Riddim
Mr. Killa x Jus Now – Bam Bam
Lil Rick – Break Down De Fence
Scrilla – Gyal Drop
Machel Montano – Temperature
Destra – Dip and Ride
Nikita – Bun It Up
Ricardo Drue – Stamp Yuh Name