PRESSURE Buss Pipe has been the standard- bearer for reggae music in the US Virgin Islands, since he came to the fore in 2007 with Love and Affection.

The Rastafari reggae singer has now added soca to his repertoire. He was recently crowned Road March Champion for 2019 in his native island of St Thomas with the single Do It And Done.

“It wasn’t a competition really, the road march winner is determined by the judges who decide which song was played the most during the road march when the bands are judged in the middle of the square in the island of St Thomas,” said Pressure Buss Pipe.

“This is my first-ever soca song, so I would never in my wildest dreams think that I would have won the road march contest. This song has surpassed all my expectations. I just wanted to make a soca song that would be on par with the work of the great soca artistes, nothing to make anyone say: ‘Pressure should stick to reggae’. So I am pleased that people love this song,” he continued.

Do It And Done was released on the Busspipe Records label two months ago, while the annual road march took place on May 2 and 3.

He dedicated the win to his father, Irving “Brownie” Brown, a radio broadcaster who hosted a calypso show in the Virgin Islands for several years.

“My dad Irving passed away last year and all he ever wanted me to do is calypso and soca. On his radio show, the only reggae song he ever played was mine, Love and Affection. Now, he is not here to witness me winning the road march. He would have been head over heels with this achievement, so this win is something I will dedicate to my pops,” he said.

Pressure Buss Pipe (given name Delyno Brown) has been the cultural ambassador for the US Virgin Islands for the past four years and his role is to promote the tourism in the country, which has a population of a little over 100,000.