1. Ultimate Rejects, “Full Extreme (Jammin Still)”

With so much turbulence in Trinidad & Tobago’s economy, and the government citing “an empty treasury,” 2017 Carnival saw a lot of belt tightening, and even some fete cancellations. The people needed a pick-me-up, and Ultimate Rejects answered with “Full Extreme.” The team comprised of Johann Seaton, Avaron Vanloo, Joel Aming and veteran artist/man of many sobriquets MX Prime had revelers “jammin still” to this Road March-winning EDM/Soca fusion. EDM has been creeping into soca for a while now, but the crew used it as a way of globalizing their sound and bringing even more hype to the party. MX Prime, in his distinctly commanding voice, addressed the concerns at hand: Recession doh bother we/Promote a fete and you go see/How we go party to the Full Extreme. Some were concerned lyrics like ‘light it up with kerosene’ and ‘the city could bun down’ could be incendiary, but really they just pushed you to wine, and not worry about a thing. After all, stress doesn’t belong on the road. — Tishanna Williams