Enter the BoomBoomRoom: Percussion duo makes their name in soca

IF Rhys Thompson and Modupe Onilu are listed to perform at a party, expect an energetic set filled with infectious rhythms that will keep you moving. And although they are a duo, they make it their duty to give the audience as much energy as a full band would. With a history in music stemming from childhood, the 38-year-old percussionists welcome you to the BoomBoomRoom.

A family affair

Onilu hails from Laventille and Thompson, Diego Martin. Seemingly destined to work together, the two first met as children through their musician fathers. Onilu’s father is the late legendary percussionist Jajah Oga Onilu, and Thompson’s father, Michael Thompson, is a guitarist .

“So both our dads played in the late, great (musician/composer/producer) Andre Tanker’s band,” Thompson said. “My father used to actually visit their house a lot because of that band link too.”

Proud of his father’s legacy, Onilu said his dad is responsible for several folk rhythms and was a prominent figure in the Orisha community of drummers. He was also a pioneer for organic/handmade percussive instruments.

“They used to roll a lot with Lancelot Layne, a pioneer in rapso and poetry … Dad was on Sesame Street, many David Rudder and SuperBlue recordings…”

And because of this, he said, “There was nothing else on my radar but to be a musician.”

Thompson tried to follow in his father’s footsteps and started guitar lessons around age nine in Port of Spain.

“It was a little difficult but I wanted to do it because my dad was doing it … But then there was a drum set at a church that was next door and I started fiddling with that.”

And because of this interest and his curiosity, along with some mischievousness, he tried practising at home.

“I just started to set up pots and pans and just mash up all my mother’s pot covers,” he said, laughing.

“I would play along to songs on the radio using wooden spoons.”

His father eventually bought him a drum kit so this would stop happening.

Onilu said performing with his father at a young age helped him become acquainted with being on stage.

“I just remember my father bringing me an (African) shaker from his store and I just played in time. All these people were there watching me but I was in my own zone.”

Thompson, on the other hand, started playing for audiences through church.

He recalled a particular church having no drums but he had recently bought “this little machine that looked almost like a big iPad.

“So I started playing drums on that with the church band every Sunday for the worship service.”

He also worked with John Thomas’s Eastern Youth Chorale in Arima.

“I think that was my first professional involvement in music, which really honed my listening skills as a drummer.”

Entering the BoomBoomRoom

The two struggled to remember how and when they reconnected decades later to create what would eventually become Boom Boom Room.

But they think it may have been at a drum camp, gig or a family meet-up. They're still not entirely sure.

The idea was pitched to Thompson to play drums on a boat ride and he was immediately interested.

He performed there and at a few other parties but then decided to bring his fellow musician friends on board.

“So it was myself, Modupe, Keshav Chandradath Singh and Jayron “Rawkus” Remy.

“I remember people vibing to it because it was definitely different. People were accustomed to the bigger rhythm sections.”

Onilu initially declined the offer, he recalled.

“Because at that point in time I was a real jazz head I was playing jazz gigs the thought of my drums in a party with drunk people just didn’t resonate with me,” he said as they both laughed.

However, “It ended up opening my mind to soca music a lot, as well as the idea of playing drums just for entertainment.”

Driven and determined, he told Thompson they would create specific set-ups to be used at parties.

“We created the ultimate party drums, made sure we used materials that could get wet if it drizzled a bit at an outdoor event or if it’s at a water party….So I adapted because adaptability is a part of my understanding of life.”

Thompson came up with the name. Admittedly, he wanted a name that “would have people go, ‘What? Why?’

“I wanted it to be a conversation starter. Then I heard this quote from Martin Lawrence in a movie (Life) about going to the boom boom room to have the time of your life.”

Together, they have played at many local and international events and parties.

Individually and as a duo, they have played for musical acts including Machel Montano, Kes The Band, Vaughnette Bigford, Elan Parle, Nessa Preppy, GBM Nutron, Coutain, Mortimer, Kalpee and several others.

Thompson had also started a band called 5 Miles to Midnight which opened for international acts like Evanescence and Maroon 5.

Both men have also performed at major locations such as Disneyland and Central Park (for SummerStage) in the US.

In addition, they were part of Montano’s band for his NPR Tiny Desk performance.

Seeing people’s positive reactions to the drums “always makes me feel good,” Onilu said.

Well, that and when strangers give them money during performances, according to Thompson.

Onilu continued, “Drums are very powerful instruments and just that appreciation and seeing them enjoy it is perfect…Soca music is a spiritual music.”

He is also part of another percussion group with his brother Baba Ayinde Onilu called Dayo Bejide. Through this, they carry on their father’s legacy.

Recalling one particular performance, Thompson said, “There was this old Asian lady, probably in her 70s and she was waving this flag all over and brought out her own little drum, too, and started to play and sing…I enjoy seeing people have fun. Those are the moments I live for.”

Combining their individual and duo drumming credits on recorded tracks, they have played on Montano and SuperBlue’s 2018 Road March-winning song Soca Kingdom, Party Justice by Olatunji, the Heroes Riddim produced by Michael “Tano” Montano (featuring Coutain, Kes, GBM Nutron), Junction by Coutain, Fling It Up by Montano and Davido, Nessa Preppy and M1’s Music is Life, among others.

The duo said that in 2026, they hope to venture into the production side of music.

They already have one song up their sleeves which they co-produced with Mevon “XplicitMevon” Soodeen.