Have Reggae Artists Lost the Formula?

So, both 2013 & 2014 have seen the Soul Train Award for Best International Performance go to Soca Artists.  Kudos to them!  Bunji Garlin for 2013 and “Differentology” while this year it belongs to Machel Montano and “Ministry of Road”.  I’m not hating, believe me.  It’s that for so many years, Soca artists have been complaining that they were getting little or no recognition!  Well that has obviously changed.  Is it that they have gotten hip to “requirements” for success?

Have these artists discovered that the right international collaborations, movie placement, club rotation is worth more than the “street cred’ that so many Reggae/Dancehall artists not only crave but seem willing to settle for.  Who would have thought that the Soul Train awards would be taking notice of Soca performances before Reggae after it being the step-child of Caribbean music for so long.  Big ups to Bunji, Machel, Denise, Kes and all the other Soca artists that have taken the time to understand the game and apply what they have learned.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Machel-s-got-Soul_17908642