March 03, 2008 @ 4:57 pm

Alison Hinds

Patricia Meschino

Alison Hinds - "I’ll try anything to make soca more popular."

When Soca singer Alison Hinds instructed her male fans to “ride” her riddim on 1998’s “DJ Ride,” she wasn’t extending a salacious invitation — she was offering a challenge. The Britishborn, Barbados-based Hinds is renowned for her formidable waistline rolling, or “wining” skills — few men can handle the ride, but most are eager to try.

Soca, the fast-paced derivation of calypso created in Trinidad and Tobago, is the soundtrack to Caribbean-infl uenced carnivals throughout the world. Hinds’ ability to command carnival revelers to “jump,” “wave,” and “wine,” previously the exclusive domain of male singers, earned her the title Queen of Soca. “Several female soca artists have told me, ‘You inspired me so that I could do this, too,’” said Hinds last October, while preparing for a performance at the Miami Carnival. “I feel like I’ve had a huge impact on young Caribbean women.”

Hinds’ inimitable body groove coupled with her robust yet controlled vocals made her the focal point of Square One, the band she joined in 1986. With Hinds on lead, their soca originals made them a Caribbean phenomenon, but after giving birth to a daughter in 2004, the queen fi nally decided to go solo. “I had family responsibilities,” she says. “I just couldn’t devote as much time to the band.”

She has since leaped to the scene’s forefront, releasing her hip hop-infused “Roll It Gal” in 2005. It soon became a Caribbean female empowerment anthem. Now, with the release of her debut, Soca Queen (1720 Ent./Black Coral), the 37-year-old hopes that the uninitiated will dare to ride her riddim. “I want to do big shows, extravaganzas in Vegas,” Hinds says, “I’ll try anything to make soca more popular.”

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