Twenty-five artistes from 14 countries in the Caribbean have come together in musical solidarity to urge us to stand strong as one region against the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cWe Got This\u201d song and video was the brainchild of a Bajan team comprising songwriters Ian \u201ciWeb\u201d Webster and Cheyne Jones of Waterstreet Boyz Production, Producer Chris Allman of Slam Home Studio and Selwyne Browne of Vibe Barbados.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Webster and Jones had written the song since March 26 but the idea for a regional collaboration only picked up steam when a friend suggested they do a video.We Got ThisVolume 90% <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA friend of mine calls me one night and was saying it would be nice if we could do a video, I said I have a song here and I would have to give Cheyne a call and see it would be okay if we could do something but if we do something with the song it has to be a regional effort,\u201d said Webster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using their relationships with artistes across the region, the team reached out to them about the concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there were some who said no, many said yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe yeses that came were very quick yeses. The people that said yes it was almost in a heartbeat, there was no hesitancy,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The singers represent islands from Guyana to The Bahamas. They are Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s College Boy Jesse, Nisa and Adana, Lashley \u2018Motto\u201d Winter and Arthur of St Lucia, Claudette Peters of Antigua, Karisia Willet of St Kitts and Nevis, Queen B of Anguilla, Timeka Marshall and Adrian Dutchin of Guyana, Shaunelle Mckenzie of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Jadine of Montserrat, Devine Songz and Tasha Peltier of Dominica, Victor O of Martinique, Tara Lynne of The Bahamas, Josh Berkeley of Grenada, Drew Dean of Nevis and Kaay Jones of Jamaica. Webster, Shontelle Layne, Mahalia, Riddim Tribe, Marzville, Rochelle and Khiomal represent Barbados.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They songwriters, who both sang in the choir at the Christchurch Primary Boys School formerly known as Waterstreet Boys after which they named their company, said they wanted to unite the region through song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEverybody was doing something for themselves…we said hey, why not take it beyond the local level and do something at a regional level and really bring together the Caribbean in a way people can appreciate and see their own representing them, almost like a Caricom kind of situation,\u201d explained Webster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs much as we see ourselves as individual states, we all know this COVID-19 situation, if one island, or one territory or three territories in the Caribbean has a difficult time coming out of COVID-19 that has ramifications for all the islands in the Caribbean,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want people to get hope out of the message of the song. With COVID-19 there may be an extension of the lockdown, more regulations, you may not be able to see the end and there may be a piece of hopelessness and despair that might set in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Webster said we have more in common than differences in the region and he believes there need to be more initiatives like this to emphasize the common experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis kind of project perfectly illustrates how we can come together even in adverse times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n