SOCA kingpin Machel Montano has teamed with yet another Jamaican dancehall act. Incarcerated deejay Vybz Kartel is one of the featured acts on the latest from Montano, The Wedding Album, released last Friday and which is dedicated to his wife Renee as they celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

Kartel joins Montano on the song Super Soca. The deejay is part of a long list of acts who collaborated with Montano on the 17-track album. Other artistes featured are Lauryn Hill, Bankulli, Afro B, Stacy Barthe, DJ Tunez, Lu City, Teddy Riley, Hey Choppi and J-Stylz.

The album is being described as a collection of slow grooves for easy listening and dancing, with a message of love running straight through. Montano and his team note that just like a marriage, the theme is about union on multiple levels.

“This album is a dedication to my wife and the wonderful partnership we share and which we celebrate physically, spiritually, and culturally. These songs translate the feelings we experience when we meet, the love when we dance and share space, as well as the joy we find when we are together,” said Machel Montano.

“These songs venture from dancehall to R&B to Afrobeat, all infused with that sweet soca. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the artistes I’ve collaborated with and it’s an honour to sing side by side with such highly rated creatives whom I look up to and I’m a big fan of,” he added.

Soca, which stands for the soul of calypso, a genre invented in Trinidad and Tobago, is a way of life for many in the Caribbean and Machel Montano is the main ingredient. Known for his ‘fete-starter’ singles and road march rompers, Machel Montano has stepped outside his mind and into his heart, trusting every direction unknown with this album. The Wedding Album is available on all streaming platforms.

The soca star wed his long-time partner Renee Butcher on February 14 last year at Trinidad and Tobago’s Parliament building Red House. The ceremony continued a few days later at the popular carnival fete, Machel Monday. Among the performers at that event was reggae artiste Tarrus Riley.