Soca ambassador Nadia Batson celebrates island vibe in Coconut Girl album

Whether she is words deep in a new composition or entertaining her fans with her infectious music, singer, songwriter and producer Nadia Batson always has one aim – to promote TT and its easy-going island vibe.

“I call myself an unofficial ambassador because I promote this country so much. I push TT all the time, everywhere I go,” Batson told WMN.

On February 23, Batson will perform another of her self-appointed ambassadorial duties when she launches her new album, Coconut Girl, with the single, Jelly, being the flagship song.

“It (Coconut Girl) is a nice play on me being from TT and the whole island vibe. I don’t think there is anybody who could love soca more than I do, playing around with it, having fun with. To me soca doesn’t always have to represent party, there are different songs for different moods. For example, Jelly doesn’t say anything about jumping or partying, it just has a really relaxing, nice vibe and I like it.”

Batson said the album currently has 16 songs, but she’s pushing for more.

“I’m still going back and forth with management to add two more,” she said with a laugh. “But I don’t know how successful I’ll be.”

Writing and singing comes easy to the St Joseph TML and St George’s College alumna – she has been doing it since she was eight and began singing professionally when she was 17.

As an entertainer and competitor she has taken her craft to many local and international stages, among them the popular Party Time talent show of the '80s and '90s, the Chutney Soca Monarch competition, and the International Soca Monarch competition.

She has performed alongside artistes such as the late Andre Tanker and Kees Dieffenthaller, and in 2011 she formed her own all-female soca band, SASS Nation, performing with vocalists Terri Lyons (a breakout star as the 2020 Calypso Monarch) and Megan Walrond.

Batson estimates she has written hundreds of songs over the years, “I dare say thousands,” both for herself and other artistes, and has put out about seven albums. She said the majority of the songs on Coconut Girl is her own work.

“One is co-written by Lyrikal (Devon Martin), and another by V’ghn (Jevaughn John) out of Grenada.” This year, she said, she is on the Tilt, Queendom, Sweetest, Timeless and Location riddims.

Batson believes soca artistes don’t do enough “bodies of work,” with many choosing to put out just singles, maybe because of the time and money it takes to put out an album. She said the fact that she writes her own songs and has a home studio makes it possible for her to do more.

“So it’s easy for me to write and record, and because of this I have a lot of unreleased music.”

Coconut Girl is the first album she has done in the last three to four years, and is something for which her fans have been asking and into which she has put her heart and soul.

“I am fortunate to have loyal fans when it comes to streaming and buying music because they know they will have a good body of work. I am very positive that they will love what I’ve put together – a mix of favourites and unreleased songs.”

The Arima resident recalls the aftermath of the hectic 2020 Carnival season, when the pandemic hit TT, how glad she was for the rest because she thought the restrictions that came with covid19 were going to be short-term.

“I had just gotten off the So Long high and Fat was already a huge song when I went into a hectic 2020 season. I was happy to be low-keyed because I thought it was just for two months.”

But as those two months extended into four, then six, then eight and then a year, she said it became somewhat of a challenge and she tried to make use of her time by creating online content like posting TikTok videos that would make people laugh.

“That’s just me, I’m always laughing and always trying to make the best of any situation. But after the first year being stuck at home, it was frustrating. And it was not so much about the money as it was about having an outlet as a creative. Last year I was so happy to be out on tour at Miami carnival and Labour Day in New York. It was a roller coaster of emotions.”

Additionally, she said, because of her personality, she is usually the friend that people will call when they are going through rough patches and need to talk. As a result, she found herself with the responsibility of keeping people from falling over the edge during that period. But while she was always there for others, she also made sure she took care of her own mental health.

“I do have friends I can call if I’m not feeling my best, so it was not a one-way street. And of course different people mean different things to you in life. For example, I talk to my peers about things regarding music, I call my parents if it’s something personal. My parents and I are very close. I also try to write things down, so I journal and it helps.”

This year, for Taste of Carnival, the scaled down version of what is usually a frenzied, colourful, fun TT Carnival, Batson said she has been booked to perform at some events. “I’m making the best of what is available.”

And when TT gets its share of what she is allowed to dish out for 2022, she will be preparing to take her Artform concert to the US on July 4.

“It was done virtually last year and was a huge success, but it will be live in New York this year. We are still working out the details of a venue for the show.”

She said that one of the things she appreciates so much now about soca is that there is no longer a slow season.

“Although the TT Carnival season is one of the busiest for performers, now there are events almost every weekend outside of TT that literally provide opportunities throughout the year. I wouldn’t call any season slow now. In 2019 with So Long, I was in Trinidad for just about two weeks for the Carnival season and then out performing in so many different places. There are so many opportunities out there for soca artistes now.”

Look out for the launch of Coconut Girl at Nadia_Batson on Twitter, Nadiabatsonofficial on TikTok, on Instagram @nadiabatson and Nadia Batson Fan Page on Facebook. The album will be available on all digital music stores.