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Juby takes partygoers on a ride in Elevator

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S wining culture has long been an integral part of Carnival. Some may even argue that it’s the predominant characteristic of the national festival. In his new soca track, Elevator, Jumaane “Juby” Cox explores the sizzling variations of the phenomenon in an upbeat, infectious rhythm, which, he believes, will stimulate the psyche of partygoers. Cox, who describes himself as a soca entertainer, is excited about the tune but admitted that Elevator was not the initial concept. “I was given the rhythm first and I started to freestyle some melodies because I did not have an idea about where I wanted to go with the song,” he told Newsday on September 16. “But I linked up with my brethren, Hasani Taylor, and he was getting a vibe like ‘a wine to remember.’ I must say that, initially, I did not know it was a wine to remember but I knew that I wanted it to be a song for the ladies. “So, I guess based on giving him that idea he came up with ‘wine to remember’ and then we continued to build the song.” Cox took the concept to Full Blown Entertainment (FBE), with whom he had collaborated on of his previous hits, More Gyul For Me and Work It. “They (FBE) would write songs for me but we also worked on projects together and this was a perfect example of me getting a song at one stage and going to them. By the time I got them they had the Elevator concept and we just continued to develop it. So everything came together. Basically, it is me calling on the ladies to give me a memorable wine, a wine to remember.” He explained the concept, “Women have a thing when they are dancing, they would go down. So the dance is metaphorically described as an elevator. That is what the concept is about. The beat came first and it was pointing in the direction of a wining song and we are conceptualising a dance for the song as well.” Released on September 10, in time for the upcoming Tobago October carnival, Cox wants Elevator’s appeal to extend way beyond the event, now in its fourth year. He said the song was produced by PA Productions and mixed and mastered by NMG Music. Cox, who is also a songwriter, penned the lyrics alongside Taylor and Kevon and Kory Hart, of FBE. He believes the song will be well received on the fete circuit. “We definitely wanted to do a song for the parties.” Although the beat for Elevator originated in Tobago, Cox said, PA Productions incorporated musical influences from other islands. He mentioned one such influence, “bouyon,” which is a brand of soca and prominent in Dominica. Cox said while the song has a high energy tempo, his team was still able to deliver it with his style. [caption id="attachment_1179476" align="alignnone" width="919"] Soca entertainer Jumaane “Juby” Cox’s ready to stimulate partygoers for Tobago carnival. - Photo courtesy Desron Clark[/caption] “I want to make that abundantly clear, it is a soca track but because of my influences over the last few years experiencing different islands and different styles, there is something about this particular beat that would resonate with not just the partygoers in Trinidad and Tobago but soca lovers around the world.” Nevertheless, Cox has made a conscious decision to not participate in any major carnival events this year, including the Tobago Soca Titans, which takes place on October 22 at Market Square carpark, Scarborough. But he has no qualms about competing in a road competition if one is organised. “If there is a road march competition, I will be very much interested in that. But in terms of the Soca Titans competition, in particular, as much as I would have wanted to be a part of it, certain things are not really aligning for me in terms of preparing to actually compete.” Cox said, however, he would be performing at various gigs throughout the season. The Queen’s Royal College alumnus, who is also making his mark as an event host, told Newsday he has always had a knack for entertaining and showmanship. “I think I was born with the ability to entertain because I always used to freestyle. No particular genre, just freestyling lyrics spontaneously and I always used to be entertaining my friends and my peers.” His talent quickly caught the attention of his father, Dennis Cox, known in the calypso fraternity as Lasana. He credited him with jumpstarting his career in culture and entertainment. Cox said, “He pushed me into getting involved in the junior competitions and writing songs. He actually took me to my first studio recording session. So definitely, my father was very much influential, plus my Mom is a fun person and she loves the culture. So I have always had a lot of support from my parents.” As he explored his talent, the artiste observed his peers were actually receptive to his offerings. “I would freestyle. I would do extempo. Then, when I reached the stage of recording music at the time it was well received.” Cox said his confidence grew when he actually began performing on stage. “To see how I could literally command the audience without any fear, I was like, ‘This is something I could do.’ So that transitioned into me being able to perform on stages and host events.” Although he comes from a calypso background, Cox said he was never drawn to political commentary “but I always liked the storytelling element of performing.” He regards the calypso tent as an institution which helped to mould him as an entertainer. “When people are sitting in the calypso tent, they listen to everything. Your diction, your delivery. So for me, singing in the calypso tent helps in terms of my delivery, my performances, my interaction with the audience.” Regarding his style, Cox is passionate about call-and-response compositions that are relatable and engaging. “I would sing a particular thing and there is a kind of folk rhythm in the way I construct my lyrics.” The singer said the writers who he works with are in sync with his style and the message he wishes to convey at any given point in time. “They absolutely know what style I want to perform and what style I want to record so it is easy to work with the selected bunch of songwriters that I work with because they understand the style that Juby wants to deliver, which, in a nutshell, is an animated character with storytelling at the forefront of my lyrics and, of course, with lavway in the way how I style and compose the lyrics.” Since his first official recording in 2010, Cox has experienced considerable success. In 2012, he was a finalist in the junior soca monarch competition and seven years later, won the T&T Next Super Star title. In 2024 and 2025, Cox was also a finalist in the National Freestyle competition. Earlier this year, he also was a semi-finalist in the Ultimate Soca Champions competition. The past two years, he said, have been especially rewarding. His track, Work It, which was released in 2023 to kickstart the Tobago carnival, continues to receive significant airplay. And in 2024, More Gyal For Me transformed his career in ways he never imagined. The song, a lament for the country’s crime situation, called for an end to the violence. But Cox said he still found a way to speak to the ladies and the spirit of the season. “So, I came up with jamming on the pavement, which is a popular line in More Gyul.” He said the response to the song has been phenomenal. “The numbers that I saw in terms of streaming. The high radio rotation it got. The love when I perform the song live locally and internationally. And just the type of collaborations and places that I never really dreamed of stepped in on that particular song and it encouraged me to continue. It was almost like a kind of breakthrough song for me.” Cox said although he performed at numerous events over the years, nothing compared to the doors that were opened because of More Gyal. “I definitely got to perform on major stages. It would have seen me on Kes concert. It would have seen me in the soca competition for national Carnival, making the semi-finals. It would have seen me perform at other major concerts and fetes.” Cox said, though, he had to turn down several requests to perform at the regional and international events. “I was not able to accept a lot of the bookings due to some internal factors. But just seeing the fact the certain deejays in different carnivals across the world, feeling confident that they happily played the song in their mixes gave me a great feeling. “And it still continues because I would be travelling and people would send me videos of the song playing at an event or even at a bar. So that gave me a kind of encouragement to know that people accept the song and they also accept the artiste who is delivering the song and my style.” The artiste said his fans and supporters have expressed to him the need to “top” More Gyal For Me in 2025. He disagrees, saying the song served its purpose. “I just want to continue to hone my craft and to put out music that would resonate with the people.” While a lot of his songs relate specifically to partygoers, Cox said he often reviews calypso videos and performances from other entertainers such as the Shadow, one of his all-time favourite artistes, and Bunji Garlin (Ian Alvarez). “I would listen to the radio and go to events and just enjoy the music. But to see that people are enjoying my music, it encourages me to put out more content, but remaining true to my style.” Cox has other music in the works. “I plan to release other songs this season but I am trying to get away from the seasonal thing.”   The post Juby takes partygoers on a ride in Elevator appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.