Noel Cymone Walker is an NYC-based writer/editor, on-camera talent, and host specializing in beauty, fashion, travel and music with a specialty in Caribbean and African cultural anthropology. She started her writing career at Russell Simmons' Globalgrind.com in 2011. Since then, she has written for and been featured in Billboard, the Fader, Glamour, ELLE, Allure, Marie Claire, Nylon, PopSugar, Byrdie, Essence, Yahoo Lifestyle, Ebony, Self, StyleCaster, Okayplayer, OkayAfrica, The Grio, GRAMMY.com and more.
"No, Fix It." Those three words — whispered to himself backstage after a flat calypso performance at a youth talent show — would guide Machel Montano's four-decade mission. While peers abandoned Caribbean sounds for foreign trends, the 9-year-old resolved to make soca irresistible again. Today, with an unprecedented 22 major monarch titles (Trinidad's musical crowns, which are earned through lyrical…
Dancehall artist Teejay has long used alter egos in his breakout performances. Throughout his artistic journey, Teejay has developed a knack for reinventing his image. First coming on the scene as wunderkind Timoy, Teejay later took on the moniker Buss Head General, a young adult gritty gunman persona, before evolving into joyful melodies as Uptop Boss and later embracing the…
It is safe to assume that no one takes the artist Protoje to be the super extroverted type. The reggae singer perpetually possesses a chill vibe, and his music possesses the same calm. But while previewing his new album, Third Time’s The Charm, I was surprised by the gloomy sentiment seeping through my body, curiously calming my previously excited vibe.…
Original Koffee is ready for this moment. The GRAMMY-winning singer is gearing up to drop her first LP, the long-awaited Gifted, later this month. With no album features, the 22-year-old Jamaican artist is making a bold statement that she can stand alone. “But can I really?'' Koffee questions, laughing over a Zoom call from Manhattan — one of the many…
