Soca saved his life.
Michael Stabby Bowen made that statement as he reflected on the way the genre and his entertainment persona helped him overcome many of the challenges he experienced.
And now that he has benefited tremendously, he is doing his best to give back.
“A lot of people don’t know, but I was troubled as a young man. There were certain generational curses . . . abusive relationships . . . and I was on my own from like 17 or 18. So then I turned to the streets and the blocks and I got caught up in that.
“I thought you always had to put on this tough face and was concerned about looking weak and what that would mean,” he said.
“But then I got out of it and through it because of my son, then I party-starting [hype man]. I started to make money from that and then getting into entertainment fully, taught me that I could do more,” Stabby said.
He shared his story with Weekend Buzz recently as he promoted his 2025 singles
Horna Man, Freak, Dibbiness, Don’t Leave, Truth or Dare, Mess and Freak, which were released ahead of the Crop Over season.
He first entered the performing arts as a member and choreographer of the group Spin Pooch Inc. but with the stage persona Stabby the Guard, he went on to put out hits such as Go Stabby, Major Stabby Pain, Oops and more.
He also received a Best New Artist award from the Barbados Music Awards.
Although he fell in love with soca music and performing when he was a child after witnessing performances by Edwin Yearwood and Lil Rick, he admitted that he did not intend to step in front of the microphone.
“I watched them go down the road, and then I would go home, in front of the mirror. That’s how it started. Then I got into party-starting with Power X Four, and that’s when I met the guy from Spin pooch Inc.
“That was in 2003 and from there, everybody was always telling me, ‘man, you can sing’, ‘man, you can sing’. But I never wanted to sing in the beginning, because I didn’t like my voice. But then, when I got past that, that’s when I did Go Stabby,” he said.
The success of that song helped him tour the world.
“It was a whirlwind from there. People from Barbados took me up and then I toured the world. I came back next year with another hit, which was Major Stabby Pain and then from there it was more travelling until about 2012.
“That’s when my son fell ill. I almost lost my son, and I took a step back from entertainment to be there. Since my father was not in my life, I didn’t want to continue that same generational curse,” he said.
He gave God thanks for assisting his son who is doing much better and for helping to save him from a near-death experience when a past foe came back to confront him in an alley in Bridgetown.
“There was a bad scene from my teenage years, but then it came back like ten years later and at that time, I had become Stabby.
“I was 24, 25. It was like a stand-off in a sense, nobody was around, and I could have been a goner because he got his chance to pay me back, but he didn’t.
He said at that face-to-face, his former foe looked on in adoration.
“The guy was like, ‘Stabby, man. All right’. He paid me back with grace. He probably see that I had changed, and he just let me go long. That is how God worked in my life. Becoming Stabby saved my life . . . Soca saved my life,” he said.
During those earlier years, he suggested that he could have benefited from more support.
“When I came in this industry . . . . I didn’t have that support. I would watch people and they would shout me but when other people were around it was a different energy,” he said.
However, through his charity VIBE Entertainment Barbados, which means Visionary Individuals Building Entertainment, he is doing his best to ensure younger artistes can benefit from his experience.
The charity was launched in association with DJ Davinchi.
“I’ve always been an ear for youngsters. I’m easy to approach and they always come lay a complaint or ask a question. And I found myself helping all the time, either structuring a song or heading to the studio with them and ensuring the projects got finished. Everybody would be like, ‘you should start a charity’, so I just decided to launch it this year,” he said.
“It’s not self-sustaining right now, but it’s really close to me. Because why would I leave out somebody if I believe in my heart that they need help?” he said.
When he is not assisting others, he’s performing on several stages, including the Kooyman All Stars Tent. It’s his first time performing at a tent since 2009.
“It’s been fun so far, but it is different. When you go in the tent, you’ve got to be dressed a particular way. When you’re doing the groovy soca songs, you want to stay in key. So you’re doing the vocal training, concentrating on the techniques to make sure you can do it. It was nerve-wracking at the beginning, and I haven’t been nervous in a very long time, but it’s keeping me grounded. It’s been a wonderful experience going back,” he added.
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