Nailah Blackman Takes Fans To “Blissful Heights” With Sokah Origins: Eden
Nailah Blackman has done it again!
The 26 year old artiste made a triumphant return to the southland with Sokah Origins: Eden, on January 7. The event is being described by attendees as an “unparalleled, high energy and vibes filled experience.”
The thousands of people who convened at the sprawling car park of the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts were treated to performances by an impressive cast of entertainers from across the region.
The lineup included performances by: Jaiga, Nisha B, Ravi B, Mical Teja, Voice, RKG, Skinny Fabulous, Nessa Preppy, Alison Hinds, Jadel, Olatunji, Coutain, Turner, Daniel Loveless, Pumpa, Teddyson John, Lyrikal and many others.
According to Nailah, Sokah Origins is a Caribbean festival, a platform through which the contributions of the respective countries to the advancement of Soca music, will continue to be honoured and celebrated.
The granddaughter of Ras Shorty I, Nailah is often referred to as Soca royalty. According to her mother, Abi Blackman, it’s a title that she takes seriously and one she is determined to live up to.
Speaking with YCG backstage at the event, she said:
”Nailah works really hard. She is not somebody to sit back and say Shorty I is my grandfather so I could relax and take it easy. That’s no Nailah at all, because Shorty I is her grandfather I feel like that pushes her to work even harder. She thinks strongly about legacy and she is serious about her role, her responsibility to continue what her grandfather started. She’s doing it in her own way, the Nailah way…”
Commenting on the birth and astronomical growth of Sokah Origins, Abbi said she’s always in awe of her daughters accomplishments.
“I feel great, I feel really proud of the work she’s doing. A big, big part of Nailah success is because she is so committed, she works really hard. It’s great to look out and see people enjoying the fruits of her labour. As a mother, I can’t even tell you how great it is to witness that-your child living out their dreams.”
Abbi said Nailah is blessed with a great team whose efforts also contribute to her overall success.
Sokah Origins was first held in 2017. All of the patrons we spoke too seemed to agree that Nailah has successfully upped the ante every year since. The 2024 staging of the event featured over 20 artistes and several djs who provided musical entertainment between sets.
When Nailah herself hit the stage, everyone within viewing distance were suitably impressed by the creative display.
She continued to wow those present with her impressive vocal range, costume changes and overall showmanship as the evening progressed.
VIP patrons could be heard commenting on the easy flow of the artistes.
“I just love this, no down time…just artiste to artiste,” one man remarked.
This sentiment was endorsed by Diane.
“Plenty of them big time promoters could learn a thing or two from Nailah, yes. No set of long talking, no wasting time. It’s just performance after performance. I love how she break up her songs with songs from the other artistes. Right now my cup empty and I refuse to even go by the bar because I don’t want to miss a thing.”
Rachel said Nailah is an inspiration to other creatives in the region.
“As a young person trying to make it in the creative space I have to say Nailah really inspiring me. This entire show is world-class quality, world class! I don’t think people really understand what goes into a production of this calibre, Nailah and her team very obviously thought about everything. Just look how everything flows together, the costuming, the choreography and the order of the artistes… the layout of the bar and everything. Thank you Nailah, for continuing to prove that we Trinbagonians are capable of all this awesomeness. Congratulations on another great show.”
Sammi told YCG: “This is my third time coming to Nailah’s event and this is the third time she’s taken me to blissful heights. I know it might sound corny but there really isn’t another way for me to describe it. I don’t know Nailah personally but I get the feeling that she is multi-layered and the layer she shows us on stage is not no fake thing but its part of who she is for reall. Maybe that’s why she have us in a chokehold like this, I don’t know. Whatever the formula is Nailah, it’s working. I look forward to this bliss every year and you don’t disappoint. See you in 2025!”
In an evening packed with fun highlights, one standout event was when Nailah was joined onstage by her Kees-stand in. He delivered an epic performance that people are still talking about. Kees who?!
2024 is a year of hard-hitting collaborations and Nailah joined forces with some of the industry’s finest for seven of the ten songs she released for the 2024 Carnival season.
To the delight of event attendees, she was joined on stage by her musical collaborators who all delivered top-notch performances to the songs which are ranked among some of the top crowd favourites for the season.
Endless Vibrations, a song done alongside her aunt Marge Blackman pays tribute to the album released by the inventor of Soca, Ras Shorty I.
Love Language (Ca Va) her sultry duet with St Lucia’s Teddyson John was another crowd favourite at Sokah Origins: Eden.
During a brief tete a tete with YCG at the event, Teddy as he’s affectionately known, told YCG:
“Oh boy, it’s amazing to witness all that Nailah has been able to accomplish. It gets bigger and bigger every time. She’s already proven what happens when you have a dream and you keep on following it and working at it and keep on reaching for the stars. Tonight its a lot of love. It was important to me to be able to be here to give her that support. Nailah is an amazing and phenomenal artiste and things are only going to get bigger and better for her. It was our first time performing Love Language tonight and I can’t wait until we get to perform it again.”
Stalk Ashley made her Sokah Origins debut at Eden. Even though the Wine Low remix was released a day before the event, the performance of the collab with Nailah was well received. It should be noted as well that Nailah Blackman fans are also huge fans of the Jamaican dancehall artiste as the crowd could be heard singing along word for word every song included in Stalk Ashley’s set.
Born To Fly, Nailah’s song with St Kitts-born, USVI artiste Pumpa is further proof that she hasn’t missed this season. This power tune is believed to be one of the front runners in the race to Road March. Pumpa, the A-List champion delivered what was expected- a high-energy performance that further fed the frenzied crowd. They didn’t disappoint when they performed the song together for the first time at Eden.
Sokah Origins: Eden ended with a rousing performance of Best Self, Nailah’s collab with Lyrikal. Some fans said this song is reminiscent of her 2023 collaboration with Skinny Fabulous and thugs at the heartstrings of Carnival lovers and Soca enthusiasts.
All in all, the 2024 staging of Nailah’s event was a huge success and further cemented its place as a staple on the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival calendar.
YCG GUIDE TO NAILAH’S 2024 RELEASES (In case you missed any of them)
- Best Self– Nailah Blackman and Lyrikal
- Tip Tip– Nailah Blackman and Nisha B
- Love Language– Nailah Blackman and Teddyson John
- Born To Fly– Nailah Blackman and Pumpa
- Endless Vibration– Nailah and Marge Blackman
- Wine Low Remix– Nailah Blackman and Stalk Ashley
- La La- Nailah Blackman and Hey Choppi
- Take Yuh Time- Nailah Blackman
- Round & Rosie– Nailah Blackman
- Jam Of The Year- Nailah Blackman
#NaiArmy
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Dionne Baptiste-Clarke
Kudos on a job SUPERBLY done. Looking forward to next years event and also can’t wait to review your book!