The Style & Vibes Podcast

Chat to me! Jamaican DJ/Producer Washly Fire’s who’s career in music has had a steady rise of success. Walshy Fire’s knowledge of various music genres and a deep understanding of music’s cultural impact globally make him stand out in any crowd. Well known for being one-third of the DJ/Producer supergroup Major Lazer, Walshy Fire recently released his album “Abeng” a project that brings the sounds...

Chat to me! Winnie Sabbat is a millennial Haitian woman living her best life in NYC. A finance director for a creative agency, Winnie got bit by the travel bug when her friends convinced her to travel to Mexico her senior year in college and she’s never looked back. In this episode, we talk about her migration story, overcoming cultural traditions of a woman traveling solo and her memoir about her...

Chat to me! Celebrating the anniversary of the Style & Vibe Podcast during Caribbean American Heritage Month (#CAHM) in this quick episode Mikelah is encouraging you to celebrate your heritage in a big way, but please share with others!  We’re having fun, enjoying bringing you great interviews and commentary about our culture our way. Would love to hear your feedback and suggestions for future...

Chat to me! The Caribbean film industry has been blossoming over the last few years with more stories from Caribbeans and Caribbean diaspora filmmakers creating films and shorts. Thanks to organizations like Caribbean American Film Academy (CaFA) bringing them to the people through festivals and movie screens. In this episode Romola Lucas (co-founder of CaFA) and Alysia Simone (Director of CaFA an...

Chat to me! As the number of Caribbean carnivals across the globe has grown, Jamaica Carnival has been on a rapid rise in the last few years. Jamaica is already one of the top Caribbean destinations for the Caribbean regions, for people visiting during the carnival weekend, it’s a time to explore the other side of the island as well as take advantage of the islands’ vibe and culture from a differe...

Chat to me! Reggae singer Chris Martin has had the ladies screaming and fellas respect for years. Since his win on Digicel Rising Stars singing competition program, his voice and music topics have matured with his fans as he dabbles in both the reggae love songs and dancehall categories. We talk about how he’s grown as a reggae artist, his latest album  And Then and his amazing sense of style. Als...

Chat to me! Carnival culture has exploded across the globe in recent years. With events driven by elaborate costumes, Soca and pure vibes, inspired by Trinidad, carnivals have popped up in places like Japan, Oakland and Houston. The expansion is great for the soca music and creative industry, however it comes backlash. In this episode, I’m joined with DJ Jel and Caribbean journalist Melissa Noel d...

Chat to me! With her infectious personality and insatiable energy, Vanessa James uses her multi-platform career in music, radio, TV, voiceover and media to inspire others every day. The native South Floridian with Trinidadian and Venezuelan roots has been the voice behind some of your favorite lifestyle events and brands. As a premier bilingual, female multi-media personality and as an experienced...

Chat to me! Fiona Compton is an England base Caribbean creative hailing from St. Lucia. She’s a true creative “Jane of all trades” working as a photographer artist, filmmaker, historian and storyteller. Sharing exploring complex Caribbean realities over the past 13 years her work has explored the various disparities in the representation of the Afro Caribbean diaspora within art and mainstream med...

Chat to me! Jamaican menswear designer Carlton Brown has a passion for the perfect suit. The custom fit designer has designed suits for countless celebrities across the region like Usain Bolt, Aidonia, Chris Martin, Agent Sasco and many more. In this episode, we have a candid discussion on how Carlton started designing, his family life, the Caribbean fashion industry and how he’s stayed in his lan...

Chat to me! In this episode executive producer, Kerry and I dissect the idea of “Bad Mind.” A popular idea in Caribbean music, particularly Dancehall we talk about why the term is so popular, how it is used and know the difference between  “Bad Mind” and constructive criticism.   LISTEN to our BAD MIND Playlist on:  Apple Music ,  Spotify or  Youtube   Stylin’ on:  Usain Bolt in Carlton Brown Vibi...

Chat to me! The Fyre Festival was a music festival scheduled to take place on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma. Exclusively targeted to elite millennials as a luxurious version of Coachella organize by Fyre creator Billy McFarland with “partner” rapper Ja Rule. The festival didn’t happen, Billy oversold and under delivered committing fraudulent activity to cover up the fiasco, causing chaos for...

Chat to me! Whether you do resolutions or not, the new year is always a good time to get yourself right mind, body and soul. The new year is a time to reflect, make new goals and have a renewed spirit as you evolve on your life’s journey. I’m sharing ten tips that can help you make realistic changes that you can stick to.   Stylin’ on:  DLR Clothing /  Nailah Blackman Vibin’ to:  Famalay - Skinny...

Chat to me! Haiti’s history is steeped in strength and unity. While many are aware of Haiti’s independence, Haiti more historical and cultural contribution to history globally. My guest Kreyolicious is a Haitian-American author and blogger who’s been sharing Haiti’s history on her blog, Kreyolicious for years. We talk about why she created her platform, Haiti’s rich history and how the other Carib...

Chat to me! So much to discuss, so little time! I’m recapping some of the most talked about topics this year in the Caribbean diaspora. Immigration reform, Naomi Osaka, flooding in Trinidad & Tobago, Buju Banton’s return and more!   Stylin’ on: Brown Cotton Caribbean Vibin’ to:  “Toast” by Koffee   Support the show Style & Vibes: Website |  Newsletter | Youtube   |   Instagram |  Facebook...

Chat to me! In today’s episode I’m sharing some of my random thoughts about the holiday season, 90s music and the success for contestants on singing competition shows.   Stylin’ on:  Caribbean Brands Holiday Gift Guide 2018 Vibin’ to:  “Trending Gyal” Shenseea   Support the show Style & Vibes: Website |  Newsletter | Youtube   |   Instagram |  Facebook Produced by Breadfruit Media

Chat to me! Curly girls around the world are uniting in the support of letting natural hair flow! While many in the Caribbean rock their natural tresses, and many have been doing so for years, there are still stigmas that come around rocking curly hair which many still classify, based on european beauty standards as “unkempt.” In this episode we chat with Caribbean base natural hair blogger Tshene...

Chat to me! The vibrancy of our culture is vast, but often is pigeon-holed when it comes to mainstream media. The Guyanese-American Award-winning journalist Melissa Noel is adamant about sharing a variety of stories from the region. As an independent multimedia journalist Melissa Noel produces video as well as print and online stories for several major news outlets including NBCNews.com, Huffpost....

Chat to me! Do we value our culture or just participate? Inspired by an event that I attended called Culture Con, I ask the hard question if we truly understand the value of Caribbean culture and what it means to have cultural currency. We often talk about representing our culture and setting trends that are later picked up by pop culture globally. But do we truly value our own? It’s an opened end...

Chat to me! When it comes to music, does it feel like there can only be one woman at the top of her game? The notion that only one woman can run tings is such a crazy notion being that so many men are considered great in their respective genres without being directly pitted against one another. In this episode, Kerry-Ann, our executive producer, and Shawn, of  Reggae Talk Podcast , dissect the pos...

Chat to me! Island girls certainly do rock! We know it and the world should too. Chantal Miller founded Island Girls Rock as a way to connect with creatives of Caribbean descent. Forming a supportive collective that shares experiences and sheds light on Caribbean female empowerment. Chantal is doing amazing work through Island Girls Rock, based in the U.K., we talked about her journey to creating...

Chat to me! In honor of the ultimate fashion month, September, we’re talking Caribbean designers. The Caribbean aesthetic is more than a trend and designers from the region and its diaspora or creating amazing quality pieces that deserve to be recognized globally. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Caribbean fashion industry from a diaspora perspective. We’re talking growth,...

Chat to me! Digital revolution has transformed the way we consume and discover new music. With more available at their fingertips, artist are leveraging social media to interact with the fans in a personal way, but taking it a step further to continuously monetize takes understanding the data. In this episode I speak with  Ravi Ramkeesoon the founder and CEO of  FindMyFans.co , a location intellig...

Chat to me! Pop star Rihanna is slated to record a “Reggae” influenced album for her 9th studio release. From the start of her career, Rihanna has dabbled in Reggae and Dancehall. In this episode my round table of guests Shari Stiell-Quashie (Shuga N’ Spice Magazine) , Manny Mensah (Big 5 Entertainment) and producer Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown (Breadfruit Media) talk about Rihanna’s influence of Caribbea...

Chat to me! Afrobeats artist have been making waves in the last few years, reminiscent of the rise of dancehall in the early 2000s, more people are embracing Afrobeats, especially with its sound being so closely connected with Caribbean music. In this episode, I speak with popular New York City event producer and Ghanian Manny Mensah and we discuss his journey into creating Afro-Caribbean experien...