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| Don Trent |
Who is Don Trent?
Odwin Trenton and Don Trent are two different versions of the same person. Don Trent is an artiste or a musical construct that emanated in Barbados. I was born in Guyana, and I came to Barbados when I was 17 or 18 years old. I fell in love with Soca music in Barbados.In 2005, a few months after moving there, I decided to record Soca music, and the idea of the artiste, Don Trent, came to life purely from my genuine love for music of all genres. I also created Don Trent because I wanted to be an artiste with international appeal, yet with a sound that was rooted in my culture.
This is my twentieth year in music, even though I have taken two hiatuses and I've been out for some periods to pursue other aspects of my life. It's probably my sixth or seventh year of participation. Sometimes people ask, ‘Are you a Soca artiste?’ I'm an artiste, but Soca music is the dominant art form that I've sung thus far. I don't like to be boxed in because music is music.
Quote: Music is music.
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Who is the team behind Don Trent?
My team is my employees at this point, meaning everyone on the team has been hired by me to do a specific thing. I've been doing most things myself. I'm practically self-managing, but I have booking agents. I'm working on my marketing strategy, but I have a marketer and a social media expert assisting me.Are they part of my team per se? Not necessarily, but they've been commissioned to work for me on this project. At this point of re-entering the fray, I am a one-man band - just pulling together everything. I'm the one who has invested in my artiste development and created the financial budget to move my material along.
I would say you do need a team but I always encourage artistes:
- to be the leader of that team
- to be the person who's really employing people for their services to help you construct your vision of music - what you want for your career as an artiste.
What inspired you to get into music?
Inspiration comes from many places and it takes many forms. When I moved to Barbados, I was very academically inclined. I had just finished my CXCs and had gone on to sixth form. My intention was to attend the University of the West Indies Medical Sciences School, but that didn't work out because of financial constraints or restraints my mother had. I mention my mother only because I'm the product of a single parent. I quickly recognized that I needed to automatically grow up, as we would say, and do more, become more of a man who was in control of my destiny.I started working in construction and at bars in Barbados. I did everything, so I would that say part of my inspiration was me wanting to better my life. I wanted to create a platform where I could have transitioned into other aspects of my life. The music was part of that finding of self. Therefore, that was my inspiration – a better life knowing that I had these talents that the creator blessed me with and I wanted to use them for my benefit.
What has been your greatest musical achievement thus far?
I've never really thought about that but I have achieved several things in music but I have not graded them in terms of what is the greatest, what is greater and what is great. I would say the collective feeling of being a Soca superstar is my greatest achievement. I guess achieving the status of Soca superstar or international Soca star, meaning you have escaped the borders of where you began and you have not been restricted to those borders only. I think that is an achievement and supporting that is my nomination for two international Soca awards in 2007-2008.I’ve written for Kevin Lyttle and Alison Hinds. In Barbados, I've been in the semi-finals for the People's Monarch, and in the semi-finals for the Street Soca Monarchs on two occasions. I've had achievements but I have not graded them, per se. One of my songs was also featured on the famous VP Gold compilation, Soca Gold.
I have seen these achievements as lessons along the way and things that have allowed me to be recognized in a field that I truly love. I've always thought that if one person liked my song that I had done something. I remember walking around with a book of songs written down and I would sing for any person who listen. It's just a beautiful thing when you can actually take things you've created on paper and actually see them come to life.
This was a unique question because if a person is very much into accomplishments and achievements, then he goes through a list. If you see achievements as a spiritual awakening of self, then it's a totally different answer.
I have seen these achievements as lessons along the way and things that have allowed me to be recognized in a field that I truly love. I've always thought that if one person liked my song that I had done something. I remember walking around with a book of songs written down and I would sing for any person who listen. It's just a beautiful thing when you can actually take things you've created on paper and actually see them come to life.
This was a unique question because if a person is very much into accomplishments and achievements, then he goes through a list. If you see achievements as a spiritual awakening of self, then it's a totally different answer.
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Who do you listen to?
I listen to so much music. I’ll start with my art form, my Soca. I grew up listening to Krosfyah and Square One. My mother used to play mass and create costumes in Guyana during Mashramani. She was really into Soca. I remember one time she had traveled to Trinidad and when she came back, she brought some cassettes with a lot of popular Soca songs from Trinidad. That may have been the year of the Bajan invasion. There were songs there that I really liked from Anderson Blood Armstrong, Kitty Cat and other artistes.My initial Soca influences were Rupee, Blood, Kevin Lyttle, Red Plastic Bag and Mighty Gabby. I listen to most of the genres in Soca from all throughout the islands. Red Plastic Bag is really huge as he is the ten time Calypso monarch in Barbados. What I like about him is not even his voice necessarily, but his melodies and his writing is so beautiful. He's a brilliant artiste and an unstoppable performer.
In terms of pop culture, I'm a Michael Jackson fan. I am Michael Jackson obsessed. When I was a kid, my mother would tell a story of me getting dressed in my pajamas and putting my shirt in my pants and dancing like Michael Jackson all night before I slept. I like Prince, and in terms of the R&B Motown style, I like the Temptations and Sam Cooke. I like David Ruffin in his solo career and with The Temptations, Ray Charles and Terrence Trent Darby. These are some of the influences that I've used to create certain riffs on my voice. In contemporary form, I like Usher, Chris Brown and Miguel.
I like rap as well, but I'm more for the old school rap. I prefer people like Nas, Biggie, Tupac, and Jay-Z in the older forms, maybe Blueprint 1. I do like J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. I like Drake, particularly because he has worked with Caribbean artistes and artistes from the other parts of the world.
I also like country music, including Dolly Parton. I worked in a record shop in Barbados when I first moved there. I really love all forms of music. You would be surprised at the things that I listen to. I like gothic music. I like Christian music. It all helps me. I even listen to Punta now that I live in Belize. I listen to Spanish music. Everything gives me a vibe, and from anything, you can just build an energy. Music is a universal language. It becomes very easy for you to like anything with a beat really, especially as a musician, because your creative juices start to pump from the time you hear something musical.
My favorite song to sing has to be my hit, When Tomorrow Come. Why? It stands out as being my high energy song - maybe my only high energy song to date. It's faster than my normal slow-mo vibes. It's more of a faster song.
Another song that stands out to me is Dangerous because when I wrote it, I was thinking of an international market that was interested in me at the time. Also, it was an evolution of my sound. Interestingly, Dangerous is not one of my most popular songs, but it represented my evolution into a different state as an artiste.
Is there a particular stage that you have always dreamed of performing on?
There's no particular stage if we're physically speaking of a stage. If we're speaking of a stage in my musical career that I would want to be on, I would say the stage where my music is internationally accepted, consumed and loved by people everywhere. That is the stage I would want to be on.
In terms of pop culture, I'm a Michael Jackson fan. I am Michael Jackson obsessed. When I was a kid, my mother would tell a story of me getting dressed in my pajamas and putting my shirt in my pants and dancing like Michael Jackson all night before I slept. I like Prince, and in terms of the R&B Motown style, I like the Temptations and Sam Cooke. I like David Ruffin in his solo career and with The Temptations, Ray Charles and Terrence Trent Darby. These are some of the influences that I've used to create certain riffs on my voice. In contemporary form, I like Usher, Chris Brown and Miguel.
I like rap as well, but I'm more for the old school rap. I prefer people like Nas, Biggie, Tupac, and Jay-Z in the older forms, maybe Blueprint 1. I do like J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. I like Drake, particularly because he has worked with Caribbean artistes and artistes from the other parts of the world.
I also like country music, including Dolly Parton. I worked in a record shop in Barbados when I first moved there. I really love all forms of music. You would be surprised at the things that I listen to. I like gothic music. I like Christian music. It all helps me. I even listen to Punta now that I live in Belize. I listen to Spanish music. Everything gives me a vibe, and from anything, you can just build an energy. Music is a universal language. It becomes very easy for you to like anything with a beat really, especially as a musician, because your creative juices start to pump from the time you hear something musical.
Quote: Music is an expression of culture and from the music and you are able to go through this experience of a cultural awakening from that part of the world.
Which one is your favorite song of yours?
I don't have such a thing. I am too diverse a person to have a favorite song. I would say that I have had different songs that have had success at different levels and maybe I have appreciation differently for them. But to say a favorite, not necessarily, because I love all of my music.My favorite song to sing has to be my hit, When Tomorrow Come. Why? It stands out as being my high energy song - maybe my only high energy song to date. It's faster than my normal slow-mo vibes. It's more of a faster song.
Another song that stands out to me is Dangerous because when I wrote it, I was thinking of an international market that was interested in me at the time. Also, it was an evolution of my sound. Interestingly, Dangerous is not one of my most popular songs, but it represented my evolution into a different state as an artiste.
Is there a particular stage that you have always dreamed of performing on?
There's no particular stage if we're physically speaking of a stage. If we're speaking of a stage in my musical career that I would want to be on, I would say the stage where my music is internationally accepted, consumed and loved by people everywhere. That is the stage I would want to be on.
Quote: If there's a million people in front of me or ten, I will perform with the same level of joy.
Who have you collaborated with?
As I mentioned earlier, I've written for Alison Hinds and Kevin Lyttle, and have collaborated with several other artistes including Mighty Gabby. I have written with the person who linked me with this interview, I-bari along with Culcha (Seventh Wing). I opened for Neo when he came to Barbados, and I've been an opening act for shows with Lauryn Hill and Keisha Cole. I haven't done many musical collaborations, like features, but I've done a few features with some local artistes. I've worked mainly production-wise with the Red Boyz here in Barbados. They are world-acclaimed producers. I've done work in Trinidad in terms of production with Junior Joseph and with Anson Pro, Nailah Blackman's manager.Which international artistes do you wish to perform or write with?
My ideal artiste would have been Michael Jackson; unfortunately, he has passed. Of course, I would welcome any performance with any international artiste simply because it will show that my music has arrived at that stage. I am not very obsessed with people much; I'm more obsessed with constructs. I'm more obsessed with whether that artiste has a purpose or not, not necessarily whether they're a big deal. I would welcome any collaboration that gives my music an opportunity to entertain new audiences.What other arts do you partake in?
I love poetry, honestly. I have books and books of poems that I write. I was thinking about publishing. I write different styles of poetry – haikus, free verse and other forms. Art is where it's at. It's where the love is, at least. I do love the law, because the law is so purposeful in its in its positioning. A lawyer helps us create and structure a society. Therefore, as an attorney, I get that opportunity as well, not only to influence mainstream music, but to help craft the vision of my future society. It's really powerful to be in both places. Law is also a very adversarial environment, while the music is much more peaceful.Quote: Art is where it's at.
What are your plans for the rest of 2025?
I am currently in Barbados performing for Cropover and I’m hoping to be able to perform at the Labor Day festivities. USVI Carnival season is coming up and I would love to perform there. There’s also Miami Carnival in October and Orlando Carnival in 2026.Quote: It’s time for the return of Don Trent!
What advice do you have for young people interested in music?
Believe in yourself with genuine self-belief:- belief that allows you to persevere
- belief that allows you to withstand challenges
- belief that allows you to recognize that timing is important
- belief that allows the artiste to master their craft
- belief in the things the self is doing
Can you share something that most people wouldn’t know about you?
I am a Hebrew-Israelite – I believe in the Torah and follow the teachings of the Old Testament mainly. I am also an extremely passionate sports enthusiast – basketball, tennis, cricket and boxing. My favorite NBA player is Lebron James because he shows how he defied the odds.What reactions do people give you when they learn that you are an attorney by day?
I call it my Bruce Wayne existence! People seem to be impressed with my growth. I am a multifaceted individual – living out my abilities, like a modern day Aristotle. I encourage people to show their different versions of themselves. I think of myself as a capable attorney and artiste because I am compelled to entertain on both stages.Who would you like to shout out?
I want to shout out my family and all of the people who supported Don Trent including the people of the Virgin Islands, Belize, Guyana Trinidad, Barbados and whole Caribbean. I want to shout out all supporters of Soca and Caribbean music.Anything else that you'd like to share?
As an artiste, it’s a great feeling. Please support your local artistes – help them realize their dreams and support the development of the local artform.********
I am always amazed and inspired when I speak with our local and regional talents. Be sure to visit Don Trent's social media and streaming pages for updates on his new releases:
