I posed this question when I spoke to Trinidadian artiste Mark Hardy. The singer, songwriter, law school graduate and budding Entertainment Consultant Marcus Braveboy aka Mark Hardy alerted me to his music through my blog and I was surprised that I had not heard about this project. The idea that a new genre of music was brewing without my knowledge made me investigate further and I got to learn more about the young man taking on the challenge of bringing Trapso to the world!
As the son of a Television Producer/Musician father and music enthusiast mother, Hardy was immersed in the world of music before he uttered his first words. He embraced his musical talents and took to the stage at a young age, winning "Best Instrumentalist" on the local "12 and Under" television program in 1997. He achieved success as a solo artist as well as a collaborator. His single "Lyrical Apology" won Fresh Track of The Year 2010 on Heartstopper 91.3FM in Newark, Delaware (Hardy was the only non- American in the category). Recently, he partnered with long-time friend and Trini songstress Stef Kalloo on a remake of the Trinidadian dancehall classic “Dan It Up,” a 1992 hit by Yard Fowl Crew. With her smooth vocals and his signature voice, the two brought the Kiskidee Caravan sound back to the airwaves in the summer of 2015. The song was a hit with the video getting over 6,000 views in one month. However, Hardy is currently working to take his gifts to another level by creating a whole new category for Trinidadian artists.
Since their initial collaboration in 2013, Hardy has worked with Yung Rudd and Mevon Soodeen of Xplicit Entertainment to promote the new music coming out of Trinidad and Tobago called Trapso. Those familiar with trap music, a controversial subgenre of rap, view it as drug-dealing thug music that glorifies criminal behavior. However, Hardy merges the personal storytelling and quick lyrical cadence of trap music with the social commentary common in rapso. His fusion of the two genres birthed hits such as "Pumpin," "Nah Boy," and "Iz A Trini." Hardy is currently finishing up the group project TTT with Soodeen and Rudd, as well as preparing to work on his solo project to be released in 2016.
Check out a clip of Mark Hardy and Yung Rudd performing “Wuz D Scene” in Trinidad earlier this year.
