The artiste who became an entertainer to watch on the carnival circuit, after his hit single, ‘Soak It Good’ caught some length in 2014, says he is anxious to return to Trinidad and Tobago in 2025 and is working hard to see that materialize. He isn’t one for competitions, saying, “To be honest, I took part in competition in Grenada once and because of the way the market is, I felt it was best for me to stay out of that element. I felt that if I had left it up to them to judge me, I wouldn’t be the artiste that I am today.” He believes competitions can be tremendously impactful on any artiste’s career. “The truth is, whether you come last or first, the memory of the artiste’s placement stays with the people.”
Grenada’s Spice Mas just days away, Skinny Banton has released four new songs for the season. “In My Feelings,” a groovy track on the String and Pans riddim, hears the artiste decry the treatment meted out to him by his lover. He’s known for delivering on the tabanca topic and he does it very well. Five years ago, ‘Wrong Again’ expressed pretty much the same sentiment and saw him travel around the region and internationally before the pandemic diminished hope of spreading his wings even further with the song. This season, he’s also delivered, ‘Today,’ a song for the masqueraders in Grenada, ‘Yard Fowl,” a play on words, which highlights the artiste’s keen sense of storytelling and articulation, and ‘Start De J’ouvert,’ the perfect Jab anthem.
Despite challenges experienced over the past few years, Skinny, whose real name is Shirlan George, says he is fired up again and excited to bring pure good vibes to Caribbean people everywhere. “It’s just music and the people. I try to avoid the judgement of who is the best, and who badder than who,” he explained, reiterating that for him, the music truly matters. “Music comes in different ways. I try to go with good feelings. Whether it’s joy, a joy for carnival, a joy for J’ouvert. Growing up I knew music to be very outspoken with intelligence. If you listened to Sparrow back then, you couldn’t understand what he was speaking about as a child but as you got older and you realized what Sparrow was saying, your understanding changed. I feel like that’s the intelligence that’s missing in music now,” he said.
Recent hurricane devastation on the artiste’s homeland, Carriacou, a constant thought, Skinny Banton says he hopes his involvement in this year’s Spice Mas, is enough to draw awareness to the needs of the people of Carriacou. “Carirriacou is always home. Being in Grenada for Spice Mas is momentary. Regardless of what, Carirriacou is where I grew up. That is home. The situation is not just my mother. It’s extended family, the village, the seniors, everybody. Not having the basic necessities and still having to find it and get it without having electricity and having to store food for long term purposes, is a big challenge,” he said. He knows his purpose as a voice for his small, dependent island, is now needed more than ever.
