MIAMI, FL. (Empire MusicWerks) - Miami's got a brand new sound and Trinidad darling Trini is not only riding the wave, but creating it, too. South Florida-based
Empire MusicWerks released a pair of singles back in July that Trini recorded, and it's been a slow-sultry burn ever since. Trini's cover of Soca phenom
Kevin Lyttle's international No 1 "Turn Me On," backed with her duet with him on "Sexy Ways," have heated up the music charts ever since.
The tracks made the Billboard singles chart just two weeks after release and broke the Top 40 sales chart. "Turn Me On" and "Sexy Ways" have become staples on specialty radio shows such as WXAC 91.3 FM (city?) Saturday Night Reggae Rhythms with DJ Bobby G, and WLVR (Shillington, PA) during New Music Thursday drive time with DJ Capitol Cee. "Turn Me On" and "Sexy Ways" both received immediate adds on WUSL (Philadelphia), WPHI (Philadelphia) WXAC (Reading, PA), and WMGH (Tamaqua, PA), no questions asked - except "When is she performing here?" Trini has also been swimming in record pools nationwide, including the coveted #1 spot in the Masspool TOP 50 R&B/Hip-Hop chart.
In addition to the fact that Trini's recordings are thoroughly intoxicating, the Caribbean / Reggae influence is gaining greater acceptance and becoming more popular stateside in dance and pop music. It is her artful knack for blending contemporary R&B with Reggaeton, Soca and Dancehall flavors that makes her interpretations of "Turn Me On" and "Sexy Ways" completely irresistible.
Not surprisingly, all of this chart, radio and record pool action has already translated to brisk sales for Empire - one of its biggest, in fact, among its catalogue of 85,000 songs. Making hot music for cool nights, Trini is already performing at various Reggae festivals on the East Coast and making TV appearances while concurrently recording a full-length album for Empire, to be distributed by Universal in the first quarter of 2005.
Because "Turn Me On" has remained in heavy rotation for so long, and because Lyttle's own version of "Sexy Ways" was such a hit, radio programmers and record pools were curious about the B-side of "Turn Me On." Sometimes it pays to devote 30 seconds to new possibilities - and this was one of those times. Her TV performances in Miami, New York and Philadelphia feature both songs. Toronto television shows have already booked her for next year.
Empire signed Trini as the result of working with her manager on another project. The label loved the music and saw that she had "something," so it was easy to believe in her and support what she was doing.
The success of "Sexy Ways" has sparked another collaboration between Trini and Lyttle, which is tentatively slated as one of the tracks on her full-length Empire debut, Like No Other.
So what is it that makes Trini "like no other"?
"I would say my music brings a different flavor to the style," she explains in that unmistakable island inflection, "and it allows me to express who I am, culture-wise and tradition-wise. I love R&B; I love hip hop and all of these different styles. The mix of music and the quality of my vocals present and represent all of who I am. Because I am so diverse, I can express my vocal ability to maximum potential."
To be specific, Trini blends the percussion and chanting ("ordering people what to do," she explains) that are musical mainstays of her native land with what she calls "the controlled vibe" of R&B.
"I have my Soca - my accent - being presented along with R&B, the chants and the percussion and all of the other instruments, and it makes a big fusion, like a mixture of Soca and R&B. It's the right blend; not too fast, not too slow, so people can actually understand what we're saying - especially Kevin's chant; it's sweet and really universal. It's reached out to everyone, whether you're from America or Europe or Trinidad or wherever. You can't help but like it. It's the right time for that style."
And the way Trini pulls it all together - Soca, R&B, and a groove that makes you wine - she truly is Like No Other.
