Toppa Top 12: Twelve Caribbean Albums We Loved in 2016

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December 21, 2016


7. Olatunji, Awakening (FoxFuse)
olatunji-awakening

Soca albums are a rare thing, with few artists beyond Machel Montano and Bunji Garlin able to generate sufficient demand โ€“ or enough catalog โ€” to warrant them. Add Olatunji Yearwood to that exclusive list. A year after winning the International Groovy Soca Monarch title and effectively launching the Afro Soca wave with โ€œOla,โ€ the Trinidadian singer released his debut album, Awakening. The 17-track effort collects all of the singerโ€™s releases for Trinidad Carnival over the last few years, including 2016โ€™s โ€œOh Yayโ€ and โ€œOne Life To Live,โ€ his collaboration with Trini EDM outfit System32. โ€”ย Jesse Serwer