‘Not a Politician for Brooklyn’
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn hip-hop artist
and web series host
Pvris Chola has released
a new summer anthem,
“Not a Politician for
Brooklyn.”
According to Adrian
Stupica, of PlaybookMG,
a Brooklyn-based entertainment
company, the
track is inspired by Trisha
Ocona, a candidate
for Brooklyn Borough
President.
Stupica told Caribbean
Life that Chola, who has
collaborated with Sizzla
Kalonji, Vato and Spragga
Benz, wanted to create a
song with a positive message
that will “encourage
his community to get
“Not a Politician for Brooklyn” by Pvris Chola.
Pvris Chola
engaged in the 2021 election.
“The song speaks about the
challenges that Brooklynites
face and how candidate Trisha
Ocona can bring solutions,”
Stupica said. “It even features
Trisha’s voice as part of the
track.”
He said the song touches on
issues of homelessness, wage
disparities and gun violence,
among many challenges plaguing
the borough.
Stupica said Chola, who is
Ocona’s cousin, created the
track “to inform his audience
about the issues and inspire
civic engagement from the
community.”
“We all know a tree grows
in Brooklyn, and we grow in
Brooklyn,” raps Chola. “My
whole style and ego is (are)
Brooklyn. All across the world,
the streets know Brooklyn. Vote
Trisha Ocona because she’s so
Brooklyn.
“Please lend a hand because
if she gets a foot in, we eat at
the table that they told us we
couldn’t,” Chola adds.
Caribbean L 30 ife, MAY 21-27, 2021
Stupica said
this sample of the
lyrical content
from the track
exemplifies Ocona’s
campaign.
“She describes
herself as a nonpolitician
who
strives to bring
real solutions
to the borough
through collaborative
and representative
advisory
councils,” Stupica
said. “This strategy
will ensure
input from community
members
so they feel
empowered to
make change and
have a voice in the process.
“The lyrics of the song portray
the essence of the grassroots
campaign that Ocona is building,”
he added. “She is a Flatbush
native with boots on the
ground, who has been involved
in her community for decades.
This anthem captures the energy
of the streets and the hope
for a future with transformative
leadership.”
“Not a Politician for Brooklyn”
is available now on Youtube
and all streaming platforms.
told Caribbean Life that this
collection was inspired by the
West Indian American carnivals
from Miami to Brooklyn
and the people in and around
the parades.
‘Guyanese woman with her
flag’ painting will pay tribute to
the Republic’s 55th Independence
Anniversary on May 26.
Many of the nine paintings
were created during the Coronavirus
pandemic, like his signature
pieces, as well as the 846
(George Floyd and the amount
of time the cop’s knee pre trial
and 929 post trial signifying
the year painted).
“During the lockdown I discovered
images I didn’t quite
see before. Some of these images
I pulled out to work on later.
But I did work intensely, and
planned a course of action to
really work on showing in larger
venues to get museum attention
as a Caribbean artist,” said
Ryan who feels that Caribbean
artists are not recognized as
they should be.
“Peter Minshall inspires me
with his creativity and outstanding
costumed pageantry.
Basil Watson does the most
fluid sculptural interpretation
of the human form,” he said
of fellow Trinidadians, adding
that his work incorporates all
aspects of art. “It is graphically
composed and painted in oil.
It is in the genre of figurative
contemporary realism.”
DREAMSTAGE
“Ben Yuh Back,” “Trumpets”
and the thrilling show-closer
“Temperature.”
For Sean Paul, this year
is about showcasing all that
Jamaica and dancehall have to
offer.
“I feel blessed that I have
been able to show people Kingston,”
Sean Paul said after his
Dreamstage performance.
He said the show also gave
him and the team a chance to
sharpen their road skills.
“The thrill is still there on
stage,” he said. “It’s a good vibe
after a year and a little bit to
work out with the band and
the dancers there. It felt good.
It was a great warm-up.”
He revealed on stage that his
latest album, “Live N Livin,”
highlights 21 artistes for 2021,
according to Tomlinson.
“We didn’t really ‘pree’ the
symbolism until the mixing
stage,” Sean Paul said. “There
wasn’t supposed to be any foreign
contingent on the album,
but StoneBwoy came to the
studio and kinda bad me up.
Continued from Page 29
Guyanese woman with her
fl ag portrait, a tribute to
Guyana’s 55th Independence
Anniversary, will be
on display at ‘Urban Portraits’
exhibit in Mahnattan
on May 26. Portrait by Weldon
Ryan
Continued from Page 29
the likes of J. Cole and Nicki
Minaj, who occupied the #1
and #2 spots, respectively.
On the Canadian iTunes
charts, Shuzzr said “Top Prize”
debuted at #7 and secured the
#1 spot on the Apple music
charts in Jamaica.
The album then went on
to take the #1 spot on Apple
music reggae album charts
worldwide, Shuzzr said.
Currently at #8 on the US
iTunes chart, Alkaline album
also debuted at #28 on the
United Kingdom iTunes chart.
Shuzzr said Alkaline’s
album also holds the #1
Amazon Music’s best-selling
album charts in three categories
– International, Reggae
and Caribbean & Cuba for
the past weeks, with all 14
tracks from the album occupying
Deezer Top 100 playlist
in Jamaica.
On YouTube, Shuzzr said 10
of the 14 tracks have already
amassed over 3 million views
collectively and have been
trending on the popular
streaming platform in about
20 countries.
Alkaline, who recently made
history as the first Caribbean
act to be featured on streaming
platform Audiomack’s
Acoustic visual series, also
holds the #1 trending album
on the platform after accumulating
10 million streams and
is labelled by the platform as
“one of the albums you need
to hear this week”, according
to Shuzzr.
The entertainment promotion
company also said video
platform VEVO has endorsed
the project by giving the
artiste an official playlist on
its homepage, “making the
project directly accessible to
its 20 million subscribers, adding
to an already impressive
debut.:’
“International recording
artiste Kranium and Stalk
Ashley also took to their social
media account to publicly give
their endorsement, while digital
platform Pandora also
returned Alkaline as the face
of their reggae-dancehall playlist,
demonstrating his relevance
and dominance on the
US-based platform,” Shuzzr
said.
“With six major DSP
endorsement thus far, the
14-track album, like his 2016
debut ‘New Level Unlocked’,
which opened at #1 on the Billboard
Reggae Album chart and
spent 18 consecutive weeks, is
expected to debut at #1 on
the coveted charts,” Shuzzr
added. “Such an accomplishment
could make him the only
independent reggae-dancehall
artiste to have two consecutive
album debuts on the coveted
charts.
“The artiste has spoken, the
album in entirety addresses
any question critics may have.
The Vendetta fans love it, and
the impressive 24-hour debut
speaks to that,” Shuzzr continued.
“The project demonstrates
his level of artistry,
growth and dominance.”
Shuzzr said “Top Prize”
caters to Alkaline’s global
audience, stating that the
numbers in terms of actual
unit sales and streams “echo
that.”
Continued from Page 29
Sean Paul captured during his Dreamstage performance in
Jamaica. J Dash
Trini artist Alkaline’s ‘Top Prize’ off to