WITH over ten million views across his YouTube channel and an average of 39,613 monthly listeners on Spotify, Boidingo is one of the most popular artists among young people in the zess diaspora.
Born Brian Luces, the 25-year-old, who lives in Sangre Grande, believes he has always been destined to entertain, and attributes his drive and success to his humble childhood.
"Growing up in the country, we didn’t have much."
While Luces was in his early teenage years, his father was involved in a horrific car accident that left him paralysed. This situation changed the family dynamics and Luces said he watched his mother work even harder than before to keep food on the family table. She would leave early and often return home after dark
He said his goal is for her to never have to work as hard as she used to.
During this time, music became his escape.
"I would always be with sticks or an old can making a riddim and singing, getting buff for making old noise."
At 18, fresh out of school and before becoming the artiste known as Boidingo, Luces began working as a gas-station pump attendant to help his family.
“I would be pumping gas, freestyling and storing the catchiest hooks in a vault in my mind. That job taught me humility and how to deal with people.”
Luces said the name Boidingo was given to him by girls as a pet name, and he ran with it.
His recent song, Is Yuh Hole, marries traditional rhythm-system beats and the zess sound paired with his signature sexual lyrics. He says he is particularly proud of this song as it allows him to sample Trinidad and Tobago (TT) rhythm-section culture.
As for the difference between zess and Trinibad music, Luces said zess has a "raw energy that carries a dance and free-up-yourself vibes,” while Trinibad is for “sitting with friends and holding a vibe.”
“Much like any other art form, it reflects the reality of a group of people. That’s why it is so polarising, because society at this time is polarising.”
[caption id="attachment_1098088" align="alignnone" width="827"] Zess artiste Brian Boidingo Luces. -[/caption]
Luces said experimenting musically in his early years is what led him to the zess genre and he considers himself a pioneer.
He believes young people gravitate to the sound because it brings hope, as most of the artists in both genres live in areas the country looks down on. He believes their success shows the youth in those communities that there is a way out and their voices can be heard.
“It is us telling our stories and protesting. If those in authority hate the message, then do more to help change our reality.
“I’m almost certain the same criticism we are faced with in this genre, Lord Nelson was faced with at one point. Denise Belfon's dancing was too risqué at one time, but through that, I'm sure she empowered some young women and is responsible for some young women becoming performers.”
Asked about his own sexually explicit lyrics, he describes his music as a matter of supply and demand.
“I’m good at it and people want more. My musi
