Basic J’Ouvert Boat Ride New York 2013 Highlights
Labor Day Sunday morning in New York was anything but quiet on September 1, 2013, when Basic Jouvert Boatride brought J’Ouvert energy aboard the Nautical Empress.
The original flyer framed the morning around “Jab Jab vs J’Ouvert,” with admission at $40, a live performance by Grenadian Soca artist Boyzie, and music from Sound 4 Life, D Bandit Toronto, Natural Freaks, Dr. Wax and Back to Basics.
Julianspromos was on board with Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosting the coverage, while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage. The surviving video was uploaded the following day, September 2, 2013.
Watch Basic J’Ouvert Boat Ride New York 2013
The surviving Julianspromos highlights put viewers right in the middle of the boat ride, with Soca, dancing and J’Ouvert energy moving across the Nautical Empress.
Along with Boyzie, the Julianspromos coverage also features appearances from Mr Killa and Terra Kid, giving the video an especially strong Grenadian presence.
Jab Jab vs J’Ouvert on the Nautical Empress
Basic Jouvert Boatride leaned into the raw energy associated with J’Ouvert while moving the celebration onto the water.
The event artwork split its visual identity between Jab Jab and J’Ouvert, pairing the concept with a bold black-and-blue design that immediately signaled the kind of morning patrons were in for.
Boyzie was advertised for a live performance, while the DJ lineup connected New York and Toronto Caribbean party culture through Sound 4 Life, D Bandit Toronto, Natural Freaks, Dr. Wax and Back to Basics.
Original Basic Jouvert Boatride artwork for Labor Day Sunday, September 1, 2013, aboard the Nautical Empress.
Grenada Takes Over the Boat
Boyzie arrived in New York during a major year in his career.
Only weeks before Basic J’Ouvert, Jalon “Boyzie” Olive had won Grenada’s 2013 Power Soca Monarch title and Road March with “Mas Everywhere.” That made his advertised appearance aboard the Nautical Empress especially timely, bringing one of Spicemas 2013’s biggest names directly into New York Carnival weekend.
The surviving Julianspromos footage also includes Mr Killa and Terra Kid. Mr Killa’s “Rolly Polly” had arrived during 2013, adding another snapshot of Grenadian Soca at a moment when the record was beginning its rise across the Caribbean.
Together, the appearances gave Basic J’Ouvert a strong connection to Grenada and the energy of Spicemas.
A Returning Labor Day Boat-Ride Tradition
Basic J’Ouvert was not a one-off experiment in 2013.
Archived Caribbean event coverage documents earlier editions in 2010 and 2011, showing that the concept had already become part of the Caribbean boat-ride circuit before Julianspromos captured this edition.
That history helps explain why the formula worked: take the freedom and energy associated with J’Ouvert, add Soca and DJs, put everyone aboard one vessel and let the water become part of the fete.
During New York Carnival weekend, when Caribbean events stretched from morning into night, a Labor Day Sunday boat ride offered yet another way to keep the celebration moving.
Photos from Basic J’Ouvert Boat Ride New York 2013
The original Julianspromos photographs capture more of the people, dancing and atmosphere aboard the Nautical Empress during Basic J’Ouvert.
Together with the video and surviving event flyer, the images preserve a fuller look at the September 1, 2013 boat ride.
Why Basic J’Ouvert Stood Out
There was no need for a nightclub when the entire boat became the party.
Basic J’Ouvert combined a Labor Day Sunday morning sailing, Jab Jab imagery, Grenadian Soca and a DJ-driven soundtrack into an experience built for Carnival weekend.
The setting made it different too. Instead of watching the action from outside a stage or parade route, everyone aboard shared the same moving space from the moment the boat left until the party returned to shore.
That mix of music, culture and location is what makes the surviving footage such a fun look back at New York’s Caribbean event scene in 2013.
From the Julianspromos Archives
Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosted the Julianspromos coverage, taking viewers directly into the Basic J’Ouvert experience aboard the Nautical Empress.
Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage, which was uploaded on September 2, 2013.
More than a decade later, the video, photographs and original artwork preserve Basic Jouvert Boatride 2013 as more than just another Carnival weekend party. They capture a morning when New York, Grenada, Jab Jab, Soca and boat-ride culture all met on the water.
