Words by Jesse Serwer—
Crop Over is just about to kick into full swing, so it only makes sense to take our weekly journey into Caribbean music (video) history down to Barbados.
Before she was a solo artist who gave independent-minded island woman their anthem with “Roll It Gal,” Alison Hinds, you may recall, was for many years the lead singer for Barbados’ toppa top band, Square One. In 2000, the group released its sixth album, Higher Heights, which featured some slower and more rugged, dancehall-inspired material, alongside the group’s usual soca sound. Among the former tracks was “Top Class Bubbler” with guest deejay Peter Ram, which also had a late ’90s hip-hop/R&B feel to it. It’s probably no accident that the hook sounds a little like the one from “The Thong Song.”
The video features Alison and Peter tooling around the shoreline in Barbados, in an old roadster. Coming from a man’s perspective here, it’s hard to notice anything else besides how good Alison looked back then. Thing is, she still looks that good.
Whether you’re headed down to Bridgetown for Crop Over, up to T-Dot for Caribana, or just working through another summer week, this one is sure to put you in the right frame of mind for this weekend.