Carnival 2016 holds promise of good things for aspiring soca artiste Hashim Lewis, who is now based in Trinidad. Born and raised in Tortola, BVI to Trinidadian/Nevisian parents, Lewis has been performing for the past eight years. First, he was a gospel artiste in the BVI. Now, he is a soca artiste, having performed as an opening act for Machel Montano, Destra, Shurwayne Winchester, Bunji Garlin and Fay Ann Lyons.
Lewis has released two soca songs for the 2016 Carnival–In de Festival and Vybz Overload. He composed In de Festival, produced by Grenada's Adigun Productions, and the song is featured on the Amethyst Riddim.
The co-writer of Vybz Overload, this single was produced by Badjohn Republic of T&T. Lewis is satisfied with the feedback both somgs have been receiving. He said: "Airplay rotation has been favourable, especially for Vybz Overload. In de Festival is coping well online and has reached almost 10,000 plays on my Soundcloud page."
Lewis is pursuing his BA in the Performing Arts at UTT, so he is blending his experience with academia to move forward in the entertainment industry. Reflecting on the past year, he said: "It is not easy balancing a full time school career and a full time love of music.
The benefit of it, though, is because music is my passion, my school work helps me better my performances both in an out of the classroom. My voice has changed a lot since last year and I can certainly feel more bass in my voice. I find that I now have a wider range and better knowledge of my vocal abilities."
Musically, the past year has also been exciting for the young composer. He said: "I have been approached by a number of artistes and producers to compose material for them since my success with writing on the Kan Kan Riddim last year, shared with Olatunji, Benjai and Sekon Sta. I had written the single Out on de Road for Darnella which enjoyed much popularity."
Lewis said that jobs have been coming his way "slowly but surely" for Carnival 2016 and added: "I have signed up for next year's International Soca Monarch competition. I haven't been in this competition since 2014 but I hope to be back on that stage next year, and hopefully make it to the finals." Lewis is the first BVIslander to perform in T&T's International Soca Monarch competition.
"Soca is popular in the BVI," said Lewis. "It recognises the large names like Machel, Destra, Bunji and Fay Ann as well as artistes from the other islands like Skinny Fabulous (St Vincent), Allison Hinds (Barbados) and Drastic (Antigua). The BVI has its own unique style of soca and it popularises more on bands than individual artistes. But we have young artistes who, seeing what I do, are intent on taking the initiative on spreading their own brand of soca across the islands."
In years gone by, the BVI shared a healthy relationship with local calypsonians, many of whom have influenced that island's bards. Lewis said: "Calypso is still recognised in the BVI, so much so that we annually have our own calypsoes and competition when our Carnival is held during the first weekend of August."
It's no surprise then that Lewis was also inspired and influenced by T&T artistes. He said: "David Rudder was my first musical inspiration. In fact, he was the first artiste to get me to listen to music, period. His High Mass is my favourite Rudder song. It is still one of my favourite songs and was the first song I ever performed on stage. I was 13 at the time but had been listening to that song and loving it since I waas four years old.
"I believe that Rudder is the perfect blend between the old age of calypso and the new age of soca music. He is loved and respected by both those generations.
"I also look up to Machel Montano the most as a soca artiste, because of his work ethic, his amazing stage presence and his body of work that spans 30-plus years. My goal is to have a career that is as long and impressive as his–hopefully even more so."