I-Bari is an extremely talented Virgin Islander. He shared his background, accomplishments and future musical plans with me. These are his words.
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Who is I-Bari?
I-Bari is a creative being from the Virgin Islands by way of Saint Kitts. I ain't nobody special – pun intended. My first album is entitled, Nobody Special. I have shirts branded Nobody Special, and ladies would stop me and say no. I tell them it’s just sarcasm.
I have a collective of individuals that I reach out to when I need to get stuff done, but I wouldn't say that I have a specific team in place. I wish to shout out to Scrouge, Octavia, Shawn, and Rashidi. I would say I don't have an effective team structure concrete yet. It's pretty much just me, doing what I can and using the resources that I have at my disposal at this time. I also want to shout to Mckenzie Baltimore aka Kenzie B-More, and his uncle, Colin.
What inspired you to get into music
I feel music was one of the best ways I could find not to communicate because I think I'm well-spoken, but music is my way to commune with people and resonate with them. I think that's the less narcissistic answer. The more narcissistic answer is that I want attention and I feel that was a good way of getting it. I think that most entertainers desire attention on some level mentally. If you didn't want attention, you would do it at home in the mirror. Anyone in the entertainment business who says they don't want attention is lying to a certain extent - which is crazy because I want attention; yet, I also don't want any attention.
Tell me about your musical journey
I put out my first 4 track EP in high school in 10th grade entitled, The Project: Part 1. It was executive produced by Malvern Gumbs. Shout out to Malvern and my father. It did pretty well. I wrote all my songs, except two. My father wrote one Best Friend and my good friend Serge Brooks wrote part of Can't Get Hooked. I was also doing the artist thing from that point on. I have songs I wrote and shared on Reverb Nation, SoundCloud, and Bandcamp.
Quote: Be yourself as much as you can in every instance.
I feel music was one of the best ways I could find not to communicate because I think I'm well-spoken, but music is my way to commune with people and resonate with them. I think that's the less narcissistic answer. The more narcissistic answer is that I want attention and I feel that was a good way of getting it. I think that most entertainers desire attention on some level mentally. If you didn't want attention, you would do it at home in the mirror. Anyone in the entertainment business who says they don't want attention is lying to a certain extent - which is crazy because I want attention; yet, I also don't want any attention.
Tell me about your musical journey
I put out my first 4 track EP in high school in 10th grade entitled, The Project: Part 1. It was executive produced by Malvern Gumbs. Shout out to Malvern and my father. It did pretty well. I wrote all my songs, except two. My father wrote one Best Friend and my good friend Serge Brooks wrote part of Can't Get Hooked. I was also doing the artist thing from that point on. I have songs I wrote and shared on Reverb Nation, SoundCloud, and Bandcamp.
Scrouge, who I went to school with, was my manager, and he recognized my capabilities. We both were in the marching band. I was in the first VI Teen Idol competition that they had. I was up against Empire aka Sickalous and I lost. R. City flew in to judge the event. I performed my songs in that competition.
One of my best and most notable soca songs was Know De Face by Marvay which garnered over 3 million views on YouTube, probably a year after it came out. When I went to college at Georgia State University, I met a guy from Florida and I told him about that song. He was intrigued because he heard it at a Memorial Day Parade.
One of my best and most notable soca songs was Know De Face by Marvay which garnered over 3 million views on YouTube, probably a year after it came out. When I went to college at Georgia State University, I met a guy from Florida and I told him about that song. He was intrigued because he heard it at a Memorial Day Parade.
Quote: Do things that scare you.
When I consider what I have done in comparison to what I know I could accomplish, it does feel like literally nothing. However, I've written for Destra Garcia, Alison Hinds, Tian Winter, Farmer Nappy, and other big names from across the Caribbean.
My biggest achievement was the 2023 Houston Reggae Festival where I performed in front of over 10,000 people. It was a big thing for me because it was one of the biggest audiences I've ever performed for. It felt good. It felt natural. It didn't feel like how they said it would feel when you stand in front of a crowd of that size.
I listen to a lot of different genres of music - a lot of different styles of music. I'm very heavy on the indie alternative end of the spectrum, like Phoebe Bridgers. This one song came out the other day from Charlotte Lawrence called Collateral. I ran that song for three days on repeat, back-to-back. I'm very heavy on the indie alternative spectrum, and when I'm not doing that, I'd probably say that Afrobeat is the next heaviest genre I listen to. However, it varies.
Normally, I try not to listen to artists creating music in the same genre. I'm trying to focus on soca and Afrobeat right now so I do not listen to that much soca from other artists. Also, I feel I write the best soca music when I listen to other genres of music. Other genres influence the best soca.
Quote: Be hard on yourself. But also, don't be hard on yourself.
I want to perform on Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Kimmel Live, or Tiny Desk. I probably would do soca to show the similarities between soca and popular music, because I feel soca is our pop. It's not always a party or a wuk-up jam. I like artists like Michael Teja, Patrice Roberts, and Teddyson John. Teddyson John creates music outside of the regular realm thematically to what you'd hear in soca. That's an approach that I try to make with my music as well.
What other artists have you collaborated with?
I did a song called De Vez en Cuando with Garcia. I did that in Colombia in 2017. I wanted to learn more Spanish, and on that visit, I found some great connections there including Grammy-nominated producers and engineers, songwriters, and Latin Grammy winners. I met Garcia and he was working on a song. I asked if he wanted a feature and I happily consented.
I didn’t personally know any of the people who brought me to the studio. One of them had added me on social media a couple of months before I went to Colombia. When I went there, I asked where I could do some recording. He told me to come through and I met everybody, including Garcia, there for the first time. I think that song with Garcia was probably one of my favorite features. Shout out to Garcia. He also went on to become one of the mixing engineers that I use. I guess that's a part of the team or conglomerate. He mixed Mine Tonight, which I feel is one of my best mixed and charting records, and Gimme Gimme featuring Deem.
What international artists would you like to perform or write with?
Johnny Drille would probably be amazing. Johnny Drille is classified as an Afrobeat artist, but he's an amazing creative who does Afrobeat from time to time. He released an album a couple of years ago and he did something that I am trying to do as well. He did an Afrobeat album that captured every popular genre of music with African influence. They called it Afrobeat, but it wasn't. It was rock. It was soft rock. It was rap. It was dancehall. I feel like he's an eclectic type, multi-faceted artist, as I see myself to be as well.
I'm trying to find my crowd and solidify myself in the soca market as an artist. I have my placements and credentials as a writer, but I need to shift the perception of me as a creative as a whole. I want to be recognized as a singer, as opposed to a songwriter.
What advice do you have for young people who are interested in music?
For what purpose are you interested in music? Do you want to be an artist or perform music for people? Do you like writing songs or do you just really like music? These are two different things. If you want to be successful in a musical profession, I would say be objective. Learn to be objective.
Learn to hear what other people are doing versus what you are doing. Be able to discern what you want to sacrifice to reach that codec of the person who is charting or successful. That's all it is - fitting a codec to get into the algorithm and get your stuff shared and publicized at the highest level.
Quote: Be objective. Create and have fun creating.
I find most person-to-person interactions overwhelming and or taxing. People think I'm this big, sociable, bubbly guy and it's a lie. Most of my closest friends would attest to this. I can sit down in your space and not talk for 10 minutes until I realize there is another human there. Most things give me anxiety, to be honest with you, especially in terms of interacting with other people, which is why it's funny.
Do you have any new music out this year?
I feel like the most exciting one that I have out is called Sugar (Sweet Meh). I'm excited because for a while I've had success as a songwriter and I feel like people don't respect songwriters as much. I feel they question, ‘if you write so many hit songs, why you don't write for yourself?’
I have a bit of self-sabotage in me that I've been trying to root out. The last big song I think I wrote before Sugar (Sweet Meh) was Favorite Song by WiLDXFiRE and I-Bari. He's from New York by way of Trinidad and St. Vincent. When I wrote that song, I found that people liked it. I told myself I can write like this. You want me to sweet up a girl in a song? I love sweetening up girls in songs. That's my favorite thing to do.
I decided to create the song and I knew that people would think I did the vocals. However, my voice is not on Favorite Song. WiLDXFiRE and I share such a similar tone, and he does well in terms of executing a demo the way it was sent and then making it better.
Now, I need to put myself in a space where I use the same process to create songs. I have some songs, Red Flag Fete and Feel Like Fete. I love feting apparently! I wrote Red Flag Fete in conjunction with Sisa. These collaborations help me understand how these artists define their checklist for a hit. I take that rubric and use it to write something for me.
I wrote Sugar (Sweet Meh) in the car to no music. I remember the first line was ‘sugar honey iced tea. You're so sweet. Come like you just bathe up in all three.’
Then, I started writing the verse and framed the story afterward. I decided the song would be better in with the verse I wrote first as the second verse. Then, I wrote the first verse and then the chorus. I did that with the framework of Favorite Song. Sugar (Sweet Meh) is already out on the platforms.
Then, I started writing the verse and framed the story afterward. I decided the song would be better in with the verse I wrote first as the second verse. Then, I wrote the first verse and then the chorus. I did that with the framework of Favorite Song. Sugar (Sweet Meh) is already out on the platforms.
Quote: Do things that get your heart racing and anxious.
The first artist I wrote for was in 2012 and that’s Tian Winter. The song's name is On Fire. It's like a pop-soca mix, like a soca-pop vibe. Shout out to Scrouge. Scrouge was my manager at the time. Scrouge is another amazing artist from the Virgin Islands. He's probably a mixture of Groovy and Power Soca. He was my manager and was in contact with Jamall Miller, aka Culcha Da Voice. Culcha was writing songs for but needed help because he couldn't sing.
Culcha sent me a song and asked if I could create the demo, and if I had any changes to make them. I made some changes, I sent it back and he loved the finished product. Culcha continued to send me songs and we began writing partners as The Seventh Wing.
Quote: Just because something is scary doesn't mean you should pack it up and go home.
If you have an interest or passion for thoughtfully crafted Caribbean music, I implore you to follow me on social media and streaming platforms. This is where it might get a bit tricky. I-Bari is my name. I spell it phonetically as EYEBAREYE for my social media and I-Bari for my Soca/Afrobeat style releases on streaming platforms.
I saw an interview recently with Adam O speaking about being in the big leagues and how it is performing in front of big crowds. Adam O was basically saying if you're not ready, you should pack it up and go home. I don't agree. Do things that scare you, because sometimes, scary things are the things that will make your life worthwhile, and will put you in different positions.
Remember, follow I-Bari on all platforms as @EYEBAREYE. He has a lot of great music to share with us!
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