Act III — Article XI · 1988-2026
Article written by TIITII NBA, artist of the New Bouyon Wave collective.
Sources: public interviews, platform catalog pages (Apple Music, Shazam, SoundCloud), specialized press (Billboard, The Guardian, RFI, Soca News, PepseeActus), all cited at the end of the article.
My apologies for any names or places misspelled — many of the actors are anglophones, translation and transcription can introduce slight discrepancies.
You can contribute to the blog's evolution: leave your corrections and additional info in the comments at the bottom.
Position 0 — Bouyon does not travel only through singers: it travels through the producers, beatmakers, DJs, organizers and connectors who program, mix, build the riddims and link the islands. Vador organizes, J2MO builds, Dada exports through Famalay (2019), DJ Taffy holds the UK riddim, Mr Ridge structures the Dominican brand, 1T1 / YSN / DJ Luchshiy / DJ Skycee thicken Guadeloupe, DJ Softee connects on the DJ / composition / voice side. Major Lazer / Mad Decent amplify as EDM relay — not as origin.
You've been following Bouyon on TikTok, you can name 5 or 6 essential voices, and you wonder why the same names keep appearing in the credits without ever stepping in front of the camera. You are in the right place: this chapter opens the black box of Bouyon production — the layer that decides who travels, who stays local, and who ends up featured on a Famalay in Trinidad. We are going to see how Vador, Dada, J2MO, DJ Taffy, Mr Ridge, 1T1, YSN, DJ Luchshiy, DJ Skycee and DJ Softee build — each from their own position — the circulation of the genre.
I — The people we hear without always seeing
Bouyon is often told through voices. That makes sense: the audience remembers hooks, clashes, refrains and artists on stage. But a genre does not move only through faces. It moves through people who program, plug in, mix, organize a night, circulate a file, release a riddim, call a singer from another island and give a release a form strong enough to travel.
This chapter is not a list of "the people behind." It is a distinction between functions. A producer does not always do the same work as a beatmaker. A DJ can be a connector without authoring the release. An organizer can structure a scene without touching a studio session. A label can make a release readable without inventing the sound. A crossover connector can open a market without belonging to the genre's core.
That precision protects the story. It avoids confusing Vador with J2MO, Dada with Major Lazer, DJ Softee with DJ Taffy, or A Plus Musik with the artists fronting the record. It also avoids reducing recent Gwada production to two or three names when the scene runs through a constellation: 1T1, YSN, DJ Luchshiy, DJ Skycee, D0 Production, DJ Skaytah, DJ Softee and other field builders. DJ Softee should be read here as a DJ, composer, singer and connector, not as a producer. All of them matter. But they do not matter in the same way.
Bouyon does not travel only when a voice becomes known. It travels when someone makes that voice playable somewhere else.
[S-84]
II — The original studio: WCK and grammar
At the origin, Bouyon production does not yet look like today's riddim economy. WCK builds a band grammar: keyboards, drum machine, live drums, lapo kabwit, cadence, soca, dancehall and Dominican Creole. In that system, Cornell “Fingers” Phillip and Derek “Rah” Peters are not background technicians. They help define the language itself [S-84].
That matters because Bouyon is first born as sonic architecture. Before platforms, before type beats, before riddim packs, there is a simple question: how do you hold together carnival energy, a Creole pulse and a machine that never gets tired? WCK's answer creates a vocabulary other people will later simplify, harden, accelerate and export.
In the years that follow, the Dominican band logic gradually makes room for another economy: the producer able to create a base on which several voices can land. This is where Bouyon meets a logic already familiar in dancehall: the riddim as platform. The producer no longer makes only "a single." He can build a terrain.
III — Guadeloupe: organize, play, build
The first Gwada wave shows the difference between functions better than any period. Vador is not primarily a producer in the beatmaker sense. Le Courrier de Guadeloupe places him inside the organization of the first Bouyon Gwada nights, with Krazy Tras as an important venue [S-85]. His role is material: creating a space where Bouyon can exist publicly in Guadeloupe.
Beside him, the role of a DJ like DJ Joe is different: holding the selection, bringing the public into the sound, installing the repetition required for music foreign to the local circuit to become familiar. And inside the technical workshop, J2MO / J2mothebeatcooker represents another function again: producing, programming, preparing bases and instrumentals for the scene to record on [S-86] [S-95].
That trio of functions explains why the first Gwada wave cannot be reduced to one name. Vador opens the door. DJ Joe circulates. J2MO builds. Suppa connects Dominica and Guadeloupe through artistic presence. Gaza Girls, Yellow Gaza and the other voices give the movement a face. It is a scene, not just a discography.
The lesson holds for all Bouyon history: if only singers are named, the mechanics that allow singers to appear are missed.
IV — Dada: the producer as passport
Dada / Krishna Lawrence shows another scale. With Famalay in 2019, Bouyon touches the large Trinidadian Soca machine without becoming Soca and without fully losing its source. Medium documents Dada as the Dominican producer behind the hit fronted by Skinny Fabulous, Machel Montano and Bunji Garlin [S-87].
The mistake would be telling only the three major voices. They are essential, of course. But the Bouyon question sits elsewhere: how does a Dominican grammar end up inside a record able to cross Trinidad, carnivals and diasporas? The answer runs through the producer. Dada does not replace the artists; he makes circulation possible.
In 2021, Smoke Riddim confirms that logic. Newsday presents Dada Music around a project gathering several Caribbean artists, with a structure designed to circulate beyond a single island [S-88]. Again, the producer acts as architect of passage: he builds a base that welcomes different voices and makes Bouyon exist in a language several audiences can read.
The producer becomes a sonic passport. It is not enough for a release to be good. It has to be understandable by a DJ, reusable by another artist, playable in another carnival, citable by media and placeable in a playlist. That mobility is not accidental.
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V — DJ Taffy, Mr Ridge, Arade, A Plus Musik: riddim as infrastructure
The 2020-2026 period installs a faster economy. DJ Taffy, often framed in recent narratives as The Riddim Beast, symbolizes a generation where the producer has to be mobile: trap, drill, dancehall, Bouyon, edits, TikTok, diaspora, riddim packs. The Guardian links that circulation to London, Notting Hill, Tilly, Arade Moses and the way young Caribbean producers build sounds that travel by phone as much as by stage [S-89].
In this economy, a riddim is not only an instrumental. It is infrastructure. It lets several artists enter the same energy, several territories recognize a common base and several DJs rotate a sound before the public knows everyone's name. That is less romantic than a band on stage, but it is central to globalization.
Mr Ridge / Coleridge Bell occupies a different place inside that same Dominican economy. His official profile presents him as an artist, producer and entrepreneur from Dominica, producing Bouyon, zouk, soca, kompa and reggae [S-104]. Dominica News Online ties him to a vision of taking Bouyon to the world stage and to the Nasty Business approach, which has reshaped part of the genre's contemporary imagination [S-105]. WIC News then notes his second consecutive Bouyon Artist of the Year win at the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards, stressing his role in taking Bouyon higher internationally [S-106]. Platform credits confirm that double function too: on Fym with Problem Child, Shazam credits Ridge as vocalist, Coleridge Bell as songwriter, and Ridge as producer [S-107].
So he is not simply another artist to add to a sentence. Mr Ridge represents the moment where production also becomes brand, aesthetic and cultural enterprise. He does not only make singles: he builds a frame around his sound. In recent Bouyon, that ability matters as much as an isolated beat, because it gives the audience a recognizable identity and institutions a face to reward.
A Plus Musik gives another example. With RAGS, the single by Trilla-G, Skinny Fabulous and Shelly, the 2025 Bouyon Road March places a production inside an institutional frame: competition, votes, carnival and inaugural title [S-92]. The audience sees an anthem. History also has to see the system: producers, studios, artists, institution and road turning a single into a marker.
Finally, Major Lazer and Mad Decent occupy a separate place. The G.O.A.T. Bouyon Mixes with Bunji Garlin give Bouyon an EDM/crossover relay [S-93] [S-94]. But the border must stay clear: that relay is not an origin. It is an outside amplification, useful when it names the genre, risky if it erases the Caribbean chain before it.
VI — 1T1, Softee, YSN, Luchshiy, Skycee: producing Gwada circulation
In recent Guadeloupe, production does not rest on one man. It looks more like a studio table where everyone brings a different function. 1T1 is the most visible case: RFI presents him as a Guadeloupean composer, producer and singer [S-96], PepseeActus frames him as a Bouyon artist/beatmaker and architect of the renewal [S-97], and AB BOYZ presents him as artist, composer and producer [S-98]. His role is therefore not only vocal. He organizes an aesthetic, collaborations and a way of making the New Bouyon Wave sound cleaner, more exportable and more self-assured. Before the New Bouyon Wave had its name in September 2023, he builds his collective around three One Riddim projects: Keneth Riddim (June 2023), Zézé Riddim (December 2023) and TROICROI RIDDIM (2024) — four tracks each, inspired by Genesis's Lyrikal Terrorist model. Without this collective routine, the founding single "New Bouyon Wave #1" would have existed on nothing.
DJ Softee / Julian White embodies another hybrid function: DJ, composer, singer and network actor. PepseeActus ties him to the New Bouyon Wave and to several major releases of the period [S-90]. With Chodong Route Empire C.R.E, the logic becomes even clearer: a platform EP, several collaborations, a collective image and a recent Warm Up / Bouyon language [S-91]. Softee acts as connector: he does not only produce, he moves voices into a recognizable format.
Around that line, YSN gives a precise example of the beatmaker/composer function in the 2025 scene. On Pran On Pyé, PepseeActus credits YSN as beatmaker and composer, with Qwann on keyboard and 1T1/LeJuh in the writing [S-99]. Shazam confirms YSN on programming and composition, in a Hakuna Music Company release [S-100]. That detail matters: it shows recent Gwada Bouyon is not built only by known voices, but by produced, signed and recognized bases that are sometimes more discreet than the hook.
DJ Luchshiy and DJ Skycee represent another layer: DJs/beatmakers feeding the scene through singles, credits, artist bridges and specialized versions. PepseeActus presents DJ Luchshiy as a Guadeloupean DJ/producer, with credits ranging from Konshens to Motto, Ridge, TIITII NBA and Lestef KJF [S-101]. His trace with Aknose on KKM as early as 2023 installs a clear Bouyon presence [S-102]. DJ Skycee is documented by PepseeActus as Yanis Batta, DJ/beatmaker from Le Moule, with credits tied to T-BTS, Billy BYBF, Lucky Luke, Lestef KJF, MiiMii KDS and TIITII NBA [S-103]. These profiles do not tell the same story as 1T1. They tell the density of the field: the people multiplying connections, holding credits and feeding the scene release after release.
That role matters because it is not always visible from the audience side. A producer-artist, beatmaker or DJ from this period does not simply make a beat. He connects voices, proposes a format, gives coherence, prepares the release and makes the collaboration readable. That is exactly what allows a scene to move from "several artists dropping singles" to "a network the audience can recognize."
This chapter should be read as a correction of focus. Bouyon is not only a succession of artists. It is a chain: founding bands, organizers, DJs, beatmakers, producers, labels, festivals, media and platforms. The voice attracts attention. The connector builds the road.
The final step of this series has to look at what that road now produces: recognition, awards and festivals, but also limits. Because the more Bouyon grows, the more one question becomes urgent: who keeps the center of the story?
FAQ — common questions about Bouyon producers and connectors
What's the difference between a producer and a beatmaker in Bouyon? A beatmaker builds the instrumental (the riddim, the prod, the rhythmic skeleton). A producer can do that, but also does more: chooses the voices, structures the session, prepares the release, talks to the label, follows the mix. Beatmaker = technical craftsman. Producer = global architect. Many do both (1T1, J2MO, Mr Ridge), but not systematically.
Who are the most important Bouyon producers today? Not one list — several lines. In Dominica: Mr Ridge / Coleridge Bell, Dada / Krishna Lawrence, the A Plus Musik ecosystem around the Bouyon Road March. In Guadeloupe: 1T1, YSN, DJ Luchshiy, DJ Skycee, DJ Skaytah, D0 Production. In Saint Lucia and the UK: DJ Taffy, Arade Moses. And DJ Softee on the DJ / composition / voice side (not a producer in the strict sense).
Is Vador a Bouyon producer? No, not in the beatmaker sense. Vador is first an organizer and a connector of the first Bouyon Gwada wave: he opens the parties (Krazy Tras), he makes the genre publicly exist in Guadeloupe in the late 2000s. His function is material and political, not studio. That's exactly the nuance this chapter wants to keep.
Did Dada really produce Famalay? Yes. Medium documents Dada / Krishna Lawrence as the Dominican producer behind Famalay (2019), fronted by Skinny Fabulous, Machel Montano and Bunji Garlin [S-87]. The three major voices carry the song, but the Bouyon grammar inside it runs through a Dominican producer. That is the model case of the producer as passport.
Is Major Lazer a Bouyon actor? No — it's a relay, not an origin. The G.O.A.T. Bouyon Mixes (2025) with Bunji Garlin amplify Bouyon toward an EDM/crossover audience [S-93][S-94]. Useful for visibility, dangerous if it implies that Major Lazer or Mad Decent co-founded the genre. The Caribbean chain (WCK, Triple Kay, Asa Banton, Vador, Mr Ridge, 1T1) remains the origin.
Why does 1T1 appear everywhere in recent Guadeloupe? Because he holds a triple function: artist-singer, beatmaker, network organizer. RFI presents him as a Guadeloupean composer, producer and singer [S-96]. He has not produced every single he appears on, but he stabilized an aesthetic (the "cleaner, more exportable New Bouyon Wave line") and gave a generation of young voices (Theomaa, Nils, LeJuh) room to record. For the song-by-song detail, see the 1T1 special article.
What is a riddim, exactly? An open instrumental. One rhythmic skeleton serves as a shared base; several artists each compose their own flow over it. The riddim comes from Jamaican dancehall and was absorbed by Bouyon. It became infrastructure: it lets several voices share energy, several territories recognize a base, several DJs rotate the sound before the public knows everyone's name.
Why is DJ Softee classified separately in this chapter? Because he is not a producer in the beatmaker sense. PepseeActus presents him as DJ, composer, singer and network actor in the New Bouyon Wave [S-90]. His function is hybrid: he moves voices into a recognizable format (the Chodong Route Empire C.R.E EP, 2025), he connects artists, he carries a collective image. Grouping DJ Softee with DJ Taffy or with J2MO would be a focus error.
Sources
Scraped sources (specialized press and platforms)
- [S-84] Billboard — Inside Bouyon — billboard.com · WCK, Cornell Phillip, Derek Peters, Asa Banton, Shelly · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-85] Le Courrier de Guadeloupe — Vrai phénomène de société — lecourrierdeguadeloupe.com · Vador, Krazy Tras, early Bouyon Gwada parties · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-86] Booska-P — Bouyon to di world — booska-p.com · Yellow Gaza, Gaza Girls, J2MO, DJ Taffy · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-87] Medium — The Dominican producer behind Famalay — medium.com · Dada / Krishna Lawrence · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-88] Newsday — Dada Music launches Smoke Riddim 2021 — newsday.co.tt · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-89] The Guardian — Bouyon, Dennery Segment, Notting Hill — theguardian.com · DJ Taffy, Arade Moses, Tilly · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-90] PepseeActus — DJ Softee — pepseeactus.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-91] Apple Music — DJ Softee, Chodong Route Empire C.R.E EP — music.apple.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-92] Soca News — RAGS, Bouyon Road March 2025 — socanews.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-93] Soca News — Major Lazer × Bunji Garlin, G.O.A.T. — socanews.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-94] Mad Decent / Bandcamp — G.O.A.T. Bouyon Mixes — maddecent.bandcamp.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-95] Apple Music — J2mothebeatcooker — music.apple.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-96] RFI — 1T1, new-generation Bouyon voice — rfi.fr · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-97] PepseeActus — 1T1 — pepseeactus.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-98] AB BOYZ Music — 1T1 — abboyzmusic.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-99] PepseeActus — YSN x 1T1 x LeJuh x Qwann, Pran On Pyé — pepseeactus.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-100] Shazam — Pran On Pyé — shazam.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-101] PepseeActus — DJ Luchshiy — pepseeactus.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-102] SoundCloud — DJ Luchshiy x Aknose, KKM — soundcloud.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-103] PepseeActus — DJ Skycee — pepseeactus.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-104] Cross D Bridge — Mr Ridge — crossdbridge.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-105] Dominica News Online — Mr Ridge wants Bouyon on world stage — dominicanewsonline.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-106] WIC News — Mr Ridge crowned Bouyon Artist of the Year 2025 — wicnews.com · accessed 2026-05-14. - [S-107] Shazam — Ridge & Problem Child, Fym — shazam.com · accessed 2026-05-14.
Further reading
- The Crossing — Chapter IV — How Vador, DJ Joe and Yellow Gaza found the Dominica → Guadeloupe passage (2007-2013). - Gwada Transition — Chapter V — The bridge generation between the first wave and the New Bouyon Wave (2016-2022). - New Bouyon Wave — Chapter VII — The network: 1T1, TIITII NBA, Softee, Aknose, Nils, Theomaa, LeJuh, Luky Lukee (2023-2026). - Special — New Bouyon Wave & 1T1 — The song-by-song registry of the 1T1 line (Keneth, Zézé, Troicroi, CHORD, Run Riddim). - Back to the Bouyon hub — The interactive 3D map of the 12 chapters + 130 artists.
Glossary
Riddim — Open instrumental (dancehall inheritance) that serves as a shared base for several artists. One prod, several flows.
Beatmaker — The one who builds the instrumental. Technical function. Not always a producer in the global sense.
Producer — Global architect: chooses the voices, structures the session, follows mix, master, release. Can also be a beatmaker (1T1, Mr Ridge), but not always.
Sound system — Community space (not a device) where a scene gathers around a selecter. Root of the first-wave Bouyon Gwada parties.
Selecter — The one who picks the tracks and adapts tempo to the crowd. Ancestor of the modern Bouyon DJ.
Nasty Business — A recent Dominican aesthetic approach pushed notably by Mr Ridge: hard sound, strong image, export ambition.
Next step
Chapter XII — Consecration and Limits
When awards, festivals and media finally recognize Bouyon, another question arrives: how far can it grow without losing its center?
→ Chapter XII
Chapter XII — Consecration and Limits → "When awards, festivals and media finally recognize Bouyon, another question arrives: how far can it grow without losing its center?"