Virgin Islands Music Spotlight: LJ - 2025 BVI Soca Monarch

LJ

LJ is a Virgin Islands artiste who has been showcasing his talent for some time, but more recently on the soca scene. He took some time from his busy schedule to share some insights on his inspiration and plans for his music. These are his words.

Who is LJ?

LJ is a young artiste who is trying to push positive and good music out to the community. I’m just trying to bring back real music.

Who's the team behind you?

The team behind of me is UTB, Up Top Band, which is the band that I'm in, and Press Da Button aka PDB, who does all my mixing and beats. There’s also Nat, who has been pushing me for a long time. He is the reason why I even started doing Soca music. I can't forget Rennie who plays keyboard for UTB and is also my recording engineer. Shout out to my whole UTB team and PDB for sure.

What inspired you to get into music?

I’ve been around music my whole life. My father is a DJ who has been on the radio for as long as I know myself. He worked with Neil Blyden (RIP). My whole life has just been surrounded by music. Both of my parents sing as well. I started singing in church and then it just kind of went from there. Soca Monarch 2023 was my first time performing as a solo artiste.

What has been your greatest musical achievement thus far?

My greatest musical achievement has been making history this year in the Soca Monarch competition. I knew that I was capable, but winning still took me by surprise. I won the Soca Monarch Groovy Section last year, so winning the title two years back-to-back would be the greatest musical achievements so far.

LJ on the Stage

Who do you listen to?

I listen to a whole lot of different artistes. My musical selection is vast. I listen to R&B, Soca, Dancehall and Reggae. Once it's sound good, I listen to it. My list of artistes is too long to list - I listen to everybody, basically.

Which song of yours is your favorite?

My favorite song is Don't Stop, which was on the Tropic Fusion Riddim produced by PDB. It’s on Apple Music and Spotify.

Who have you collaborated with?

I recently had a performance with Jougo in St. Thomas this past weekend. I've performed with Boss, and I have a song with him called, Carjack. I've had the opportunity to hold a jam with the late Sasso from Karnage. Of course, I work with PDB. I’ve opened for Beres Hammond when he came to the BVI. I was also part of the HLSCC Stingrays (Band). I also have a song with Intrusive Band, called J.A.M (Just A Minute).

Which international artiste would you want to perform or write with?

I would really love to have a chance to work with Kes, whether I'm on the same card as him for the night or for a collaboration in the future. I would love for that to happen.

What are the plans for the rest of 2025 and heading into 2026?

For the rest of this year, I want to focus on writing music and also preparing to go to Saint Croix for their Soca Monarch competition. I performed in their 2025 competition and I'm going again for the next one.

"Don't worry about what people might have to say."

What advice do you have for young people who are interested in music?

My advice would be to just go for it. Don't worry about what people might have to say. I know we have this thing as locals where we like to say that, you know, the old generation won’t help but don't worry about all of that. Push yourself and once your music good, once your product is good, people will love it. Stay positive and do what you have to do.

LJ in Performance

Can you share something that most people would not know about you?

I guess most people probably don't know that I'm into boats and sailing. I’m working on becoming a captain.

Who would you like to shout out?

I want to shout on my team, PDB and UTB.

"Always keep a close connection with God and you will be straight."

Is there anything else that you'd want to share with the readers?

The last thing I would like to share is just a general message for everybody, whether you're into music or not: whatever you put your mind to, just know that you could do it for sure. Just stay positive, keep a good mindset, keep your head up and always keep a close connection with God and you will be straight.

LJ on Stage with Dancers

Continue to follow LJ and UTB as they produce music to keep up grooving.