In this special episode of Discover a Thriver, we spoke to the Queen of Soca about making a hit, collaborations, countries supporting artists as cultural ambassadors, Barbados culture and advice for starting artists.

Alison Hinds is a British-born Bajan soca artist based in Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world and has been given the nickname the "Queen of Soca". She was a lead vocalist in the popular band Square One, joining in 1987 and recording several albums with the band before leaving in 2004 after her daughter Saharan was born. Hinds won the Barbados Song Contest in 1992 with the duet with John King "Hold You in a Song", the Road March in 1996 and 1997 and the Party Monarch competition in Barbados in 1997.

She has her own band, "The Alison Hinds Show", formed in 2005, with Hinds the main singer and most of the other members of the band young dancers and musicians. After returning to music with a vocal contribution to a remix of Kevin Lyttle's "Turn Me On", she returned to the soca scene with the hit song "Roll It Gal," which praises women's independence in lyrics about female empowerment. The song was a huge hit throughout the Caribbean and was released in the UK in 2007 to coincide with the release of her début album. 

Hinds' debut solo album Soca Queen was released in October 2007. Her album Caribbean Queen was released in 2010 and contains collaborations with Shaggy, Richie Spice, and Jah Cure, with whom she collaborated on the single "Team Up" in 2009. She continues to tour worldwide and has performed at many of the West Indian Carnivals and festivals including Sumfest, and the West Indian American Carnival in Brooklyn.

Host Ethan & Arthur
@ethanauguste @zangie.a 
www.discoverathriver.com

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