Unlike most of his friends, Noel Stevens was not a big roots-reggae fan during the 1970s. He belonged to a small batch of Jamaicans who were more excited about calypso and soca, its emerging derivative.

Stevens, known as Dance Master, has been a popular figure in New York City soca circles for over 40 years. The remix to Trinidad Mash Up, his latest, is scheduled for release this week, just in time for the singer’s Carnival appearances in Jamaica.

“Trinidad Mash Up comes from being around friends and fans in Trinidad and seeing how the whole Carnival operates and what it takes to be a soca artiste,” said Dance Master, who last performed in Jamaica seven years ago.

Although born in the home of reggae, he has never felt out of place doing music from the Eastern Caribbean.

“What I would say to other artistes is that it is always good to embrace other’s music and experience other people’s culture because that will help us as a people to spread love among one another,” Dance Master noted.

His first date on the 2023 Carnival season is Soca On The Beach which takes place Saturday at Bourbon Beach in Negril. Dance Master has other gigs lined-up for July in Port Antonio, his hometown.

Dance Master is best known on the West Indian Carnival circuit for In The Center, a 1995 song that earned him a lasting following in the Tri-state area.

Since 2000, he has hosted The Money Train, a variety show on WVIP 93.5 FM in New York.

– Howard Campbell