L’shun Emmanuel represents a new wave of artists from the Caribbean. The 23-year-old from the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, more widely known as Jimmy October, blends the upbeat and narrative-driven genres native to his country with influential ones from abroad to create a signatured, textured, and cinematic sound that he calls New Calypso. “I try to mix a little bit of calypso, a little bit of soca, a little bit of R&B, and a little bit of hip-hop and that’s what tells the story for me. Those four genres, in particular, together,” he says over the phone.

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The artist was born in Sangre Grande, a region on Trinidad’s northeast coast, and has spent most of his life dabbling in between rapping, singing, and spoken word poetry. In 2014, he was afforded an opportunity to perform a spoken word piece as an opener during one of Trinidad Carnival’s most anticipated events, Machel Monday, headlined by soca powerhouse Machel Montano. Jimmy’s performance was so phenomenal he was invited again the next year. Following this, he became the co-founder of a radio segment called, The Free Speech Program, which invited a new spoken word artist every week to perform live on air. The experience helped Jimmy develop a real affinity for curating culture-based content. “I saw that as my first contribution to carnival and to culture,” he says reflecting. “I think from there is when I really started seeing that I was starting to get a bit more interested in what [Trinidadian] culture really was.”

For Jimmy, everything he creates is purposeful. The cover of his 2017 debut EP, Vacation was shot at Maracas Beach, an infamously stunning Trinidadian landmark on the north coast. “I want to be able to give you more than one experience of what it feels like being home in our country,” he says, his voice enhanced with pride.