5 Questions With Nailah Blackman

This weekend, soca princess Nailah Blackman brings her pulsating energy to Jamaica as she connects with audiences on Sunday at Breeze, the Soca Dancehall Experience at the Port Royal Cruise Port. Always happy to perform in the Caribbean, Blackman joins dancehall star Aidonia and St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Skinny Fabulous on stage at a midday-to-midnight experience that promoters market as “bringing together three distinctive Caribbean musical personalities”. Breeze music features Chromatic, Private Ryan, FyahMan, DJ Gabby, DJ Ovamarz, DJ Tyler and Matt Camps.

Blackman, who wears many hats, is a singer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist who has a deep appreciation for instrumentation, composition and the possibilities of different sounds. Her bio states that it was her breakthrough collaboration, Workout, with Kes, that introduced her to a wider audience. She subsequently teamed up with St Vincent and the Grenadines soca star, Skinny Fabulous, for Come Home, which is now a bona fide soca anthem. She has also explored dancehall, R&B and other contemporary influences, including her collaboration with Roy Woods on Feels Like Love.

Blackman, featured in this week’s 5 Questions With ..., told us that fans at Breeze can expect her “to look hot, deliver her most energetic performance yet, and bring good vibes”.

1. As a classically trained vocalist and musician, how do you balance traditional soca high-energy crowds with your deeper singer-songwriter or cross-genre ambitions?

I feel like I haven’t really prioritised the time to be exploring all sides of me, and that’s something that I really paid attention to this year. I am just one person, and sometimes I feel like I have to choose when I love them both, and sometimes the outward persona of living in the Caribbean really calls for that high-energy performance a lot more than my singer/songwriter style. But I stay happy by creating and just doing what I do best ... music.

2. Your 2017 breakout hit ‘Workout’ with Kes put you on the global map. What did the experience teach you about the pace and pressure of the music industry?

The pressure is intense. For me, coming from a singer/songwriter who didn’t really know fame, to blowing up and being in a whole other arena that I wasn’t used to ... it was a lot. In terms of keeping up with the pace of it all ... it was extremely strenuous for my body and my mind. I think I kept up very well, but I feel that there are times when I could have said ‘No’ and really taken control of the situation a lot better than I have. I am truly grateful for all the success that I have had over the years. I think once you want something really bad, then you are going to try your best to make it happen, and that’s what I did.

3. You’ve collaborated with a wide range of international and regional acts; what do you look for when choosing a collaboration?

I love to collaborate with people who I respect and who I am a fan of. I think that, if I am not already a fan of your music, I probably wouldn’t want to work with you. I have a lot of people who I rate and respect, and those are the people who I would like to collaborate with. However, if I didn’t already know an artiste and they come to me, the thing that I look for is passion and a good song.

4. How does performing on international stages like Coachella or in major diaspora hubs feel different, compared to a packed fête during Trinidad Carnival or a show in Jamaica?

A performance like Coachella definitely feels different from a packed fête in Trinidad or Jamaica, and that’s because of our culture. We have a very energetic culture ... but we also have a culture like “impress me”. In the Caribbean, it could go either way ... a fun-loving, energetic crowd, or the crowd could just not [be] in the mood that day. I have found that international crowds are either a listening crowd, or you could tell them to do anything and they respond. And it just feels like an easier exchange. With your own people, it’s usually like you have to work it ... but I love to work a stage. And that’s why I’ve found such success with my performances, because it’s really like a challenge, and it’s always like ‘how to wake up this crowd now, how to bring out the most fun in them’. And that really brings out your performance skills, and that’s why I think, in the Caribbean region, we have the best performers.

5. Beyond music, you launched the swimwear line Sokah Galor and authored the children’s book ‘Love Lah Lah’. How do these creative outlets allow you to express sides of yourself that music doesn’t?

The creative outlets have given me a voice outside of my artistic singer, songwriter musician expressions as an artiste. It helps people to see the world a little bit like how I see it. Fashion is very visual ... and a children’s book is very innocent. ... I like people to get an understanding of who I am ... to see that I am an all-round creative and my expression is not just limited to what you see of me. There’s so much to come from me. I’ve really given you just a taste.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com