Jamaica, Jamaica…2023 Carnival Conversations

Don’t call it a comeback (in our LL Cool J voice)! This feels like the official year of the Caribbean Carnival comeback, and for many, Jamaica did not disappoint. We’ll circle back to that a the end;).

If you’ve been keeping up with our Tales from the Tribe newsletter we shared the poll last week that all of our IG followers said carnival was missing them this year! We were lucky to get some on the ground feedback from our Soka Tribe Famalay YL and Kieshel who are carnival veterans. It was great to see such consistent feedback. It seems like GenX Jamaica is definitely the band to play with in the future. Soka Tribe has played with them in Miami and they were able to successfully export their expertise to the land of dancehall. This bring us to the next point…our famalay noted that the biggest differentiating factor for carnival in Jamaica is the amount of dancehall that is played in the fetes and on the road! The famalay also reported that Voice’s performances and vibes didn’t disappoint – NO surprises here! Lastly, while Xaymayca may no longer exists, its “new successor -Yardmas” did carry on the mantle with the after carnival Beach Lime – and it was BAWSE!!

So…the other stuff…unfortunately for many people Jamaica’s carnival brought justified frustration, disappointment, and costly waisted time. The Xodus band has been trending on the socials for not delivering entire sections, backpacks (the large feathered portion of the costumes), incomplete work, and having people wait for hours to receive NADA. We urge you all when endeavoring to try a carnival, DO YOUR RESEARCH, Xodus band was also trending in 2020 for not reconciling refunds and misguiding consumers. Please take the extra step to tap into an online forum to ensure that as you are spending your hard earned carnival coin with a reputable organization/person.

It is clear to us that folks are still dusting off the pandemic dusts of their operations and may have had to rethink the way they do things. However, we also believe it is possible to maintain a level of integrity and communication in these situations. Our hearts go out to those who were affected and we are hoping its resolved as quickly as possible!

thanks @sophisticateddiva and @therealYL for your insights!

Soka Tribe Famalay reports on Jamaica