Zebee puts ‘Trinibad’ on display with TeeJay collab

Trinidadian recording artiste Zebee showcases Trinibad, his country’s version of dancehall music, on his collaboration Trinidad and Jamaican Man with Jamaican dancehall star TeeJay.

“I would say the twang is the difference between Trinibad and trap dancehall,” he said. “Jamaicans and Trinis have a different twang so although we stem our vibes off dancehall music, we still have it different in terms of the language but it’s also close which is why we brand it different as Trinibad. It’s starting to reach the world now.”

He recently put the genre on display on Charlie Sloth’s Jamaican edition of ‘Fire in the Booth’ freestyle platform. Zebee, the only non-Jamaican artiste in the special edition, primarily unleashed gangster lyrics, a noticeable theme in his catalogue comprising songs like Bleach, Execution and Start It. It contrasts his musical story of listening to reggae music as a child and Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come being the first song he learnt how to sing.

“What Trinidad is especially carrying right now is this Trinibad movement. We’re taking on a different type of music which is dark, grungy, like Prince Swanny, K Lyon, Rebel Sixx and a couple others,” he said. But with other songs like the mom ode Birth, and Vice for the ladies, he said, “Zebee is mainly an artiste in different fields. I’m versatile so there will be different types of music.”

The 24-year-old has an eclectic taste, pulling inspiration from soca stars like Machel Montano and dancehall acts like Popcaan, while also having an affinity for hip hop and R&B. He made his radio debut at age 15 and had his first international release in 2019 with Prayed Up.

He is gearing up to release singles like Savage, Shooting Star and Reward Me, the visuals for which were shot in Jamaica. He is also working with Jamaican producers and aspires to help up-and-coming talent in the future by making his ‘1 Go’ movement a successful record label.

– S.G.