If you think about it, it's actually quite rare that you take your core group of absolute favourite artists (or favourite anything, actually) and add to them with a new member. It doesn't happen very often and it shouldn't so, when it does, it's kind of a big deal. When it comes to Soca music, my stalwarts include the likes of Destra Garcia, Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons; and, unless I'm really forgetting someone (Patrice Roberts would also be in there but she was before him), the most recent addition to that group would be St. Vincent missile, Skinny Fabulous. Whatever form of the music works for you, over the course of the past fifteen years or so, Skinny has given you something to be happy about. HOWEVER, with that being said, he's also been one of the most consistent performers of Power Soca that the genre has... ever seen, producing some undeniable future classics of the TRAUMATIC variety. Today we take a look and honour the work of one of the maddest to ever do it and a personal favourite of mine: Signatures: Skinny Fabulous.
{Note: I intentionally didn't include 'Famalay' because it was on Bunji Garlin's Signatures}
{Note 2: I intentionally did not include 'Duracell' because I hate that damn song}
{Coming Soon: Pressure Busspipe, Destra & Randoms*}
1. 'Garn'
We bionic. Typically, I reserve the first slot on these things for the biggest hit and 'Garn' most certainly isn't that but it finds its place at the head because it has probably been my absolute favourite Soca song for nearly four years now (ridiculous how quick that time has gone). Wetty Beatz lent Skinny Fabulous their ridiculous One Piece Ah Riddim (Anime heads (of which I am not) should recognize that) and to them was returned a simply impossible to ignore tune in 'Garn'. Along with it being so catchy and infectious, whether you realize it or not, for what 'Garn' is, it is pretty strong lyrically as well and while I won't yet proclaim it my single favourite Skinny Fabulous song ever, it surely has a seat at the table. Quite possibly THE greatest workout song I have ever heard in my entire life.
2. 'Come Home' featuring Nailah Blackman
I've been waiting. Lest you ever think that a certain level of CLASS and REFINEMENT is non-existent within the madness, there's a tune like this one. 'Come Home' featured the lovely vocals of Nailah Blackman who linked with Skinny Fabulous a POLISHED piece of chaos. There was melody and harmonies and all of that good stuff but there was also insanity. There were people bouncing off the walls and circus animals and big trucks without steering wheels. Unless I'm REALLY overlooking something, 'Come Home' is my choice as the best combination Skinny's ever done and another song which has a case to be made of being my favourite from him of all time. The song was a celebration of the full return of Carnival which was on 'hiatus' for a while but returned to us all in grand fashion.
3. 'Head Bad'
We not leaving. In what would be the first of five (or six) Soca Monarch victories, Skinny Fabulous would walk higher ground with the MAMMOTH shot that was 'Head Bad'. This is one of those songs that finds its footing and the core of its GREATNESS in the ridiculous, chaotic madness that is Power Soca but... you also hear a melody in there, don't you? You hear it in there somewhere and it is beautiful! It's also kinda overwhelming and COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS... but it's beautiful and you know it!
4. 'No Other Way'
Weapon of party destruction. I made a rule that I'm trying my best to adhere to: That I won't let these things go above fifteen tracks and after my final review for this one, I remembered that I had forgotten 'No Other Way'. I had to remove 'Mental Home' (WHICH I LOVE) but it had to go. 'No Other Way' was a damn onslaught. It was unrelenting and it was SPECIAL. There's a point in this song where Skinny's bombarding the riddim (the lovely Tribe Riddim from Precision) with the chorus and it's TOO MUCH. It just is... BUT WHO CARES! It had to be on this list. There simply is no other way.
5. 'Godzilla'
Destroying everything. Along with Wetty Beatz and Stadic, Skinny Fabulous took the concept of "destroying the road" to new, LITERAL, levels by channeling the legendary King of The Monsters, Godzilla, almost a decade ago. I remember one of the first times I heard this tune thinking that.... well, I guess you can just make a damn Soca song out of virtually anything and I was right about that (he also has one which barely missed this list called 'John Wick', because why not). The song carrying the title, as you would expect/hope, is a monster. It's heavy, it's fiery, it's kind of lumbering and it musically presents the type of pandemonium one might expect from being in the presence of a.... giant, pissed off lizard... dinosaur thing.
6. 'BTW'
I'm behaving the worst. I'm behaving the worst. I'm behaving the worst. I guess by Skinny's standards, you could actually call 'BTW' a Groovy song and that's fine. You're also going to call it brilliant. Sounding more like something out of the catalogue of someone like Machel Montano, the tune was a gorgeous laidback (compared only to everything else you'll find here) masterpiece and, RIDICULOUSLY [!], over a decade later (how on earth is this song eleven years old??!), it has not lost a glint of its lustre. One of the best songs Skinny Fabulous has ever made.
7. 'Flatten'
FLATTEN. FLATTEN. FLATTEN EVERYTHING! Random, decade+ old tune. Didn't make much of an impact if I recall correctly: Why the hell is it on this list? If you didn't play the video then that is a viable, reasonable question. If you did, then you are not asking it. Flatten everything, everywhere. Nothing and no one is safe; not me or you.
8. 'Act Normal'
Love this feeling. I took a song that I really like (called 'Going Off') off this list in order to make room for 'Act Normal' because it just might be the single COOLEST song that Skinny has ever done. The Prince Pronto produced tune was (and still is) Groovy Soca BRILLIANCE. This style of music has a different type of appeal to it. It can hit you in a piece joy and just accentuate the hell out of it. As opposed other songs you'll find here which're going to concuss you, wait for you to get up (or not) and then do it again, 'Act Normal' made its impact with a feather and kinda got the same results.
9. 'Pieces'
Soooooooo long we've been waiting. 'Pieces' now holds some type of significance as it (prior to #2 on this list) was Skinny's reaction to the end of the pandemic and the return of Carnival. It's another of the type of songs that might not get the credit it fully deserves for being as clever as it was but I would implore you to REALLY listen to what's going on with this song and just how wonderfully put together it was.
10. 'Soca Defenders'
Everything gonna crack. Clearly Skinny will take his inspiration from anywhere he can get it and as you can see from 'Godzilla' (he also has a song literally called 'John Wick'), movies are fertile ground for him. For the Xpert and Wetty Beatz licked 'Soca Defenders', he would Socafy Marvel's Avengers and do the actions films more than justice. 'Soca Defenders' is one this list because it offers you nary a place to sit down and catch your breath and it is done with such quality that it was impossible for me to ignore. He has DOZENS of similarly vibed pieces and, ostensibly, this one does nothing in its sound to set it apart from those but what you hear on this damn song probably represents one of the strongest and in most infectious choruses on the whole of this list.
11. 'The General'
Bomb ah drop. 'The General' burned a big ass hole in taking St. Vincent Soca Monarch way back in 2013 and, surely, the memory of that has something to do with its being here but... listen to this thing (and if you have already, then go back and listen to it again). 'The General' is VILE! It is nasty, grimy Power Soca but it's also kinda pleasant, isn't it? Don't you hear a hint of sweetness within all of that chaos? Take that drop of whatever it was and combine it with a song which, inherently, promotes crowd interaction on a massive level and you have a tune seemingly constructed for a brilliant performance and on one night in July a dozen years ago, Skinny Fabulous delivered one for the ages with 'The General'.
12. 'Monster'
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'MMA MONSTA! 'Monster' was a song that almost didn't make this list. When I got to narrowing things down (and decided that I wouldn't go over fifteen) I took it out and put it back in several times before finally settling on it being here. What changed? Well, while I was fleshing this out, I wasn't actually listening to anything (besides 'Garn', of course) and when I got around to actually listening to the Homebase production, nostalgia sunk her claws into me. Now over a dozen years old, 'Monster' wasn't THE maddest song Skinny Fabulous has ever done, nor was it the sweetest but it was BEAUTIFUL blend of both flavours and though you will find a piece or two which does better at blending them than it does, that unforgettable bounce which helps to propel 'Monster' along also pushed it over the edge for me.
13. 'De Beast Lehgo'
DANGEROUS! 'De Beast Lehgo' is another STERLING example of Skinny doing what Skinny does best and finding some beauty within the madness. The tune, which would net him his second overall and consecutive Vincy Soca Monarch crown way back in 2009, also started his monstrous fascination (as shown in this list with 'Godzilla' and 'Monster') and remains amongst his very best. If you really tune in 'De Beast Lehgo' what you'll notice is that, at its absolute heights, it rivals just about any song he's ever done. The pinnacle of it is EASILY some of the best work Skinny Fabulous as shown which is why would include it on the short list of not only his best but the BEST of his best.
14. 'Scary'
EVERYTHING TEAR DOWN! Perhaps the hardest kick in the head that Skinny has ever delivered, the utterly RIDICULOUS 'Scary' from a decade and a half ago hasn't aged well in terms of popularity and is fairly obscure these days. Just because so many have overlooked it though, it hasn't diminished even slightly in my eyes and ears. 'Scary' is an action movie with no plot at all. It's two and half hours of just.... fights and... blowing shit up. It is violent. It is vicious. There is no point of it. It is just a pure adrenaline rush of music.
15. 'Fyah Anthem'
We have ignition. Compared to a great deal of the other songs here, you could well make the case that 'Fyah Anthem' registers as nearly obscure to a degree... but I don't give a damn. What it does share with many of his greatest work is that 'Fyah Anthem' was, essentially, Skinny Fabulous clunking us all right over the head. He punched us, we fell, concussed, and when we got up we asked him to do it again. There is a countdown here (which has pretty much nothing with Skinny) which is SO DAMN COOL that it likely has a lot to do with why this song is here. 'Fyah Anthem' was scalding, it left bruises and I'm not complaining.
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