The Fatha wants to become rising soca star

Occupational therapist Dr Akio "The Fatha" Ross, 31, has taken his therapy to soca.

The US-based singer with Trinidadian roots has two songs for this year’s Carnival: Thank You for the Mas and Jam on Something.

This is not his first time singing soca, and he has even recorded some "zess" songs. But while he made his debut in 2017, Ross wants to use this year’s Carnival and offerings to introduce himself to the public.

Both of his parents came from Trinidad and Tobago – his father from San Fernando and mother from Woodbrook – so he was exposed to local music from birth. As he now lives in South Florida, a high percentage of Caribbean immigrants there also fuelled his love for soca and Carnival.

A press release said, “Due to his accolades in the West Indian American entertainment industry of South Florida, Ross is well known in the community. The Fatha was responsible for some of the biggest Caribbean events in South Florida attracting over 3,000 people and was the runner-up on the first-ever Hulu reality dating TV show, Back in the Groove, hosted by Taye Diggs.

“Akio always freestyled in middle and high school but, did not take music seriously until 2017. As a teen his biggest inspirations were Machel Montano, KMC, Bunji Garlin, Vybz Kartel and Kanye West.”

Sitting casually in Newsday’s office at Pembroke Street, Port of Spain, Fatha spoke about his growth and development in soca, his songs and what he hopes to accomplish in future.

His Thank You for the Mas was inspired by David Rudder’s 1998 classic High Mas.

He said of the song, “On Carnival day you get that special moment where like, ‘Wait, I am really here. This is it.’ It is a magical moment.

“It talks about being thankful for pan, culture, Canboulay, everything that encompasses Carnival."

"Give praise" was the phrase in High Mas that gave birth to the song. He wanted to incorporate the feeling that phrase elicits in him.

While he described this song as his power offering, his Jam on Something, featuring Azaryah, is his “smooth groovy.” For two years, he had the riddim that song rests on just sitting there.

While going through his e-mails this year, he listened to it and liked it. and that gave rise to the song.

The song give people a feeling of “seeing a nice girl in a party and you just want to jam on something nice,” he said.

All the work that he puts in now is part of the wider plan to make soca more mainstream.

He has been working to do so here and abroad.

In 2020, he released a song called Bounce which went viral on social media. That same year he co-founded Black Sails Music Group. A press release said the group is composed of artistes and DJs across the world, including Jamaican artiste Klassik Frescobar, Bermudian artiste Pona Flex.

A Bounce remix in 2021 featured St Lucian artiste Blackboy. That too was a success and it resounded in European markets. That led to Fatha and Frescobar travelling to London to talk about the song on radio shows. Representation outside of the country was as important as within the region, he said.

“When you are outside, we have certain access to certain producers or people where we can say, ‘Hey, this is soca music.’ They might not be familiar with it.”

Although he has worked with veterans like Lord Nelson, Fatha believes it is hard for an artiste living outside TT to break into the market.

He said he is involved in the culture, but because he is not physically here, people question is ability.

“It can feel like, ‘Does this boy know what he is talking about?’"

This does not deter him.

“If you like it and you want to stick with it, you can’t let them fight you down. You have to keep on pushing and keep on trying.”

That is why he has already started working on material for 2025, and that year might see him collaborate with Azaryah again.

His ultimate aim is simply to get better at the art.

Even though his job is very demanding, he craves the time out to do his music.

“Sometimes I go to work, come home, go to the gym and from there straight to the studio. It is tough but if you want to do it, it can be fun too.”

“Anything you want in life you have to work hard for it and you will receive the benefits of it after.”

Soca is a "gift from God" and Fatha plans to enjoy it.