Nailah Blackman is a Trinidadian singer and songwriter most strongly associated with the soca genre. Her grandfather, the late Garfield Blackman, also known as Lord Shorty or Ras Shorty I, invented the style of music known as 'jamoo' and is also credited with inventing soca as a means of reinvigorating calypso music.
Nailah Blackman is a Trinidadian singer and songwriter most strongly associated with the soca genre. Her grandfather, the late Garfield Blackman, also known as Lord Shorty or Ras Shorty I, invented the style of music known as ‘jamoo’ and is also credited with inventing soca as a means of reinvigorating calypso music. Her mother, Abbi Blackman, is a calypso star in her own right. Nailah is the niece of Avion Blackman, lead singer of the Los Angeles–based Christian-reggae band Christafari, and Nehilet Blackman-Gonowrie.
In 2016, Blackman performed her song “Runaway Train” for Movie Towne’s Pixel Play showcase. This performance raised her national profile and helped to garner buzz in advance of her 2017 releases. Blackman collaborated with soca act Kes on the song “Workout”, which became a massive hit during the 2017 Trinidad carnival season and continues to enjoy lasting popularity. “Workout” took Blackman to the finals of the 2017 International Soca Monarch competition.
Blackman also released “Baila Mami” in 2017, produced by Anson Pro Soverall. In 2018, the most popular of Blackman’s songs were released, including “O’ Lawd Oye”, “Sokah” and “Badishh”, the latter featuring Jamaican dancehall singer Shenseea.
Blackman earned her candidacy in BET’s 2018 “Best New International Act” viewer’s choice competition. In August 2019, she released her debut EP The Reel which features the single “Sweet & Loco”.
