Kevin Allan pays soca tribute to KMC

After a hiatus from the music scene Kevin Allan has returned with a new power soca track that pays tribute to another artiste, Ken Marlon Charles – KMC. The song is titled KMC.

Popularly known for the track Rollin’ in A Foreign Used – a hip-hop fusion of rhythmic verses and catchy lyrics – Allan has been a part of the Caribbean’s music industry since 2000, said a media release.

His relationship with KMC dates back 20 years and began after he had flagged down the soca hit-maker’s car in a random move which Allan says he has never regretted.

“I was in central and I saw him passing in his car. I flagged him down and he stopped. I saw my opportunity to tell him who I was and what my ambitions were, and I took it,” he said in the release. He did not expect KMC to take his phone number but he took it.

“I said to him, 'You are KMC. You not going to call me,'” he said in the release.

The next day, however, KMC proved Allan wrong and since that time, Allan’s respect for KMC has only grown.

Allan believes KMC deserves immense credit for his contribution to the soca industry. The idea to honour him in song came during the pandemic when Allan began playing KMC’s music among a small circle of friends.

“My friends were all saying how great it felt to hear those songs and how long they hadn’t heard them. The idea then came to me. In that moment I said,‘Somebody should pay tribute to KMC.'" But, it took some introspection and deep consideration before he began penning the track.

“I went to Ken and asked him what he thought about my idea. He was flattered, I think, but he asked me to do it properly.”

After teaming up with Romol "ReqwestMuzic" Rajnath to produce the single, he went back to KMC to get his approval.

“As long as he liked it, I didn’t care about anything else,” Allan said.

As it turned out, KMC liked the single.

Allan believes the track has its place and role.

“I don’t think we should wait until a person has passed away and is no longer with us to honour them and thank them for what they’ve contributed. KMC is one of the very few artistes in Trinidad and Tobago who has helped young, up-and-coming artistes in the business, and that in itself is something to thank him for. Not many others do that.”

Known for his ability to get the message out clearly, having in the past documented and aired the disservice meted out to TT’s artistes outside the soca genre with his 2017 documentary series titled After the Mas, Allan noted that power soca was being overtaken and he wanted "to take it back."

"Nobody’s really doing power soca that much anymore. Artistes are singing a lot of groovy songs. I wanted to take it back – give KMC his flowers. So this tribute to Ken is high energy, big vibes, and pure fire, for a man who gave us anthems we’ll have for a lifetime and more.”