Crop Over 2025 was “sweet fuh days” for several artistes, and they are already preparing to keep the momentum going.
Mikey Mercer, Tionne Hernandez, Jordan English and Dario Red The Artist Walrond, along with Romar ThirtyTwo Parris, of Green Shanti Productions, shared that outlook as they reflected on the just-concluded festival.
Green Shanti Productions produced the 12:12 Riddim, the biggest musical project released for the festival. It featured Rhea’s Layne’s Gettin On, Grateful Co’s Teaser, Red The Artist’s Drinkers, Saddis’ Ms Lady and Lead Pipe’s Tek Charge. The latter song earned Lead Pipe another Tune Of De Crop win and Green Shanti its first.
Red The Artist, who doubles as a singer and producer, said it was a great season from the artiste’s side.
“I kept hearing my music and it was loved by a lot of people. From the producer’s point, I am extremely grateful and appreciative of the success of the 12:12 Riddim. All of the songs were well received, so I would say the season was a successful one,” he said.
He added that while they saw the potential of the project, its mega success was a little surprising.
“We felt that the riddim had some[thing] special, and we felt good about it, but I don’t think we were expecting it to take off in the way it did, so it surprised us.”
Parris agreed that this year was one of their most successful commercially.
“We had a successful run back in 2022 with Nothing On You by Saddis, which was a breakthrough. [12:12] was another breakthrough riddim. This is our first [Tune Of De Crop], so big up to Lead Pipe,” he said.
The duo is back in the studio, hoping to continue nurturing the relationships with local artistes and working with others overseas.
“We want to build on the relationships with the Bajans artistes and we are trying to work with artistes outside of Barbados,” Parris said.
While not giving much away, Red The Artist said more was in the works.
“We have some riddims that we are working on currently and getting vocals recorded for. So, directly after the season, it’s back into the workshop and trying to get as much material ready for next year as possible.
“And there may be another wave of the 12:12 riddim . . . because management of regional artistes is reaching out. They want to do something on the riddim,” he added.
For Jordan English,his songs Drinking Liquor with Hypasounds and Darkers were in heavy rotation.
While he released songs such as Bad B in 2024, he considered this his first full-fledged season as a recording and performing artiste.
“I would call this my first year releasing music for Crop Over. Last year, I fluked and sent out a song late. I didn’t really prepare, but this was a great Crop Over season,” he said.
He performed on several large and smaller stages, including the Tipsy Music Festival, Soca On De Hill, UV Vibe and Soca 25. Next year, he plans to work smarter.
He has bookings to perform in New York next month.
Mikey, coming off another big year, is scheduled to perform in Miami, Connecticut, United Kingdom and Montserrat in the coming months.
“The songs were well received and I had a solid set of bookings, so I can’t complain. And after CARIFESTA, we have about four or five lined up so far and a few others pending. It’s looking like its going to be a busy last quarter,” he said.
This year, he released several tracks, including Guilty, Party Up, People, and Nah Leavin’. His all-Bajan-cast show, The Reunion, also returned to the Crop Over calendar and was well received.
“I’ve feel really good about how The Reunion came off. It was a sold-out show. It’s been growing over the past few years and this year there was a big jump and we are thankful for it. Because the more people that come out, the more people that we are able to help through the charity. We are looking forward to an even bigger and better show next year,” he said.
Last year, Tionne Hernandez’s Starta Pack was a major success, being runner-up for the People’s Monarch. This year, she released Shake It A lot, Physically Fit, Capture, Crash Out and more.
Despite a challenging start to this year, she said the season turned out well.
“This year was interesting. It started off a bit challenging because of the pressure I put on myself to deliver a second year in a row. But I had a lot of opportunities and a really good season.”
When asked if she was still under pressure to top Starta Pack’s success, Hernandez replied:
“I’ve come to realise that every year is not going to be the same, and it is about being consistent and working hard. My plan going forward is to do music that I love and music that will resonate with my audience.”
She also performed on several stages during Crop Over and has been flying Barbados’ flag high at the Montreal Rise Reggae Festival and in Edmonton for the CariWest Festival.
“I have to thank the Rise team for taking me to Montreal as soon as the season ended. The relationships that came out of meeting people through the Rise team also provided me with bookings in Edmonton
for CariWest, and there are a few more to come,” she added.
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