Two years ago, Trinidadian-American Grammy Award-winning songwriter Angela Hunt underwent heart surgery, temporarily halting a decades-long career defined by commercial singing and songwriting success. It prompted deep self-exploration about her life and legacy, reinvigorated her desire to make her mark in the global entertainment industry, and facilitated her evolution as a multidisciplinary artist.
2 years from surgery to release of new CD mango (Released in July and reviewed in the September issue) caribbean beat) was like a renaissance. “I began to unravel my life in a way I had never done before. It was the beginning of truth, the revelation of emotions,” she declares. She decided she needed to do things differently.
Born in Brooklyn to Trinidadian parents. I grew up in Barataria, Trinidad. And Hunt, now a working wife and mother living in Miami, exists efficiently and effectively in two worlds without assuming the guise of a Naipaul “mimic”.
“I carry my flag with me everywhere I go,” she said. trinidad express. Literally, she wore a Trinidad and Tobago flag pin on her award ceremony gown, which is something close to her heart, including Best Rap for “Empire State of Mind.”・Includes the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Song.
For her, it is also a symbol of Trini pride. “I wasn’t born there, but I grew up there,” she says. “It’s my heritage. It’s the blood that flows through my veins and I’m so proud.”
Over time, the duality of being Caribbean and American allowed Mr. Hunt to move easily from place to place, culturally and commercially. The word culture has many meanings, but for Caribbean people it means a sense of self, a sense of tradition.
“We have to bring culture to the people, because they want it,” she told popular American radio host Ebro in early 2024. Rooms where others are doing it for them. ”
“The drums are always calling to me and melodies are dancing around me even when I’m just walking down the street,” she continues. “I didn’t know how to put it together, how to blend all these sounds from all over the place, but I knew that culture was going to play a big role in this.”
MParticipation from major international music players has laid the foundation for her knowledge of the music ecosystem. Hunt began her music career writing and performing with the R&B girl group 7669, releasing one album on Motown Records in 1994. Label head Jeryl Buzbee told her that her future lay in songwriting.
Buzbee, like Hunt, who is a child of the Trinidadian Caribbean diaspora, guided her early music career with super producer Salam Remi, of Amy Winehouse and Nas fame, and studied songwriting in the UK and Sweden. and gave guidance on how to take advantage of publishing opportunities. .
Writing, singing, and producing American electronic and pop-dance hits in the 2000s led to more opportunities to return to the U.S., with credits on songs by Britney Spears, Diddy, Melanie Fiona, and more, and credits in her book Empire.・Connected to “State”. “Of Mind” is a New York anthem sung by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys in 2009, a hit single that was certified Diamond by the RIAA and streamed 1 billion times.
She later added Grammy and Oscar-winning rocker Melissa Ethridge, Miley Cyrus, and Snoop Dogg (then Snoop Lion) to her client list. And the shifting goalposts and near-insurmountable hurdles of the American music industry were challenges that her island upbringing prepared her for.
The word culture has many meanings, but for Caribbean people it means a sense of self, a sense of tradition.
Hunte declares that he is “a genreless writer, but a world-class performer.” her two albums, raw (2017) and mango (2024) — The latter features collaborations with Wyclef Jean, Faye Ann Lyons, Yemi Arad, Taras Riley, and Christian Alicia, and reflects a Caribbean aesthetic. The former is a reggae album, but mango It incorporates rhythms from many genres of the African diaspora, including dancehall, soca, zouk, reggaeton, and hip-hop.
“I’ve never seen anyone unhappy eating mangoes,” she says. “And if you show someone a Pomerac or a tamarind, they might ask, ‘What is that?’ But if you show them a mango, everyone knows what it is. It’s global. The music on this album is global. It’s not just one genre… The Resilience of Mangoes – When you’re hungry, you know that eating a mango will make you feel better. For me, resilience means Caribbean culture and life. If I could call my music fruit, that would be it.”
Her foray into carnival music, including the singles “Party Done” (2015), “Like So” and “Mon Bon Ami” (2016) with Machel Montano, helped her become a part of the global pop music scene. demonstrated a desire to innovate and bring that knowledge to bear. To push Caribbean music into a more mainstream position.
“I’m a hybrid,” she explains. “I will continue to share my love for all forms of music from Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. I will never stop no matter what.”
However, after the enthusiastic response to “Party Done,” her work the following year received a more subdued reaction from promoters and audiences. Undaunted, she accepted the challenge of extending her appeal to markets beyond the islands, including the world’s largest music market, the United States.
“Our relationship with Trinidad and Tobago is not love-hate, it’s love-love, because love can also be very dangerous,” she says. “If things were easy, we would all do it. Nothing is easy.”
RResilience and determination are two of Hunte’s hallmarks. “As Caribbean people, we have this. Whatever we do, we do it and we make it good,” she muses. It also sparked a desire to have her voice and vision heard and seen in an international market, much like her early songwriting career.
Her fame rose in the mid-to-late 1990s as a casting director for high-profile music videos. billboard hot 100 As an award-winning stylist for many artists, it brought both directing opportunities and an understanding of the film industry.
“I aim to be different from a lot of other female directors,” she says of her recent career in film. “If I had done that, I don’t think I would have adopted my culture.” [when] I was younger. I’m very happy to be doing this job now. Because I’m much more experienced and have a better understanding of who I am and what I want to say. ”
Once again, the importance of mentorship was demonstrated early on. This time, renowned video and film director Lionel C. Martin directed a documentary about the steel band of his alma mater in Brooklyn, the Meyer Levin School of Performing Arts.
The film explores the children of Caribbean parents living in Flatbush, how Caribbean attitudes to parenting differ from those of black American parents, and how steelpan music and performance are social tools that keep children out of trouble. We consider its role as a human resource and in meaningful ways. We keep our Caribbean heritage alive in these communities. We are working towards film festival distribution in 2025.
Her career has diversified and she has become a household name outside of music, appearing in a short documentary for New York City Tourism + Conventions, which was nominated for a New York Emmy Award. New York local legend: Angela Hunt of Flatbush; She takes viewers through Caribbean culture, food, and New York life.
She understands the differences between Caribbean life, Caribbean and American life, and American life. The choices parents make to avoid the dangers of big city life. And that diaspora life is an endless opportunity to be an ambassador, a pioneer, a “baratarian girl” who wants to do good and give back.
