First Degree NY 2014: Kerwin Du Bois & Farmer Nappy at Pulse48

First Degree brought some of Soca’s biggest names of the 2014 Carnival season to Pulse48 in Brooklyn on Saturday, April 12, 2014. Presented by FAME Enterprise, the event featured Kerwin Du Bois, Farmer Nappy and Verseewild, with a lineup of DJs carrying the party through the night.

The timing made the Brooklyn event especially exciting for Soca fans. Kerwin Du Bois arrived in New York as the reigning 2014 Groovy Soca Monarch, while Farmer Nappy was enjoying one of the biggest seasons of his career with “Big People Party.”

First Degree NY 2014, presented by FAME Enterprise at Pulse48 in Brooklyn.

The Julianspromos footage takes viewers back inside Pulse48 for performances and moments from a night that brought the energy of Trinidad Carnival directly to Brooklyn.

Kerwin Du Bois Brings “Too Real” to Brooklyn

Kerwin Du Bois entered the 2014 season with one of the defining songs of his career.

His hit “Too Real” carried him to victory in the 2014 International Groovy Soca Monarch competition, making his First Degree appearance one of the first opportunities for New York fans to see the newly crowned champion following Trinidad Carnival.

The song had become one of the major records of the season, and Du Bois arrived at Pulse48 with the momentum of that championship run still fresh.

Farmer Nappy and “Big People Party”

Farmer Nappy was also coming off a major Carnival season.

His hit “Big People Party” finished among the leading songs in the 2014 Groovy Soca Monarch competition and became one of the year’s standout Soca records.

The song’s success helped make Farmer Nappy one of the most in-demand performers of the season, and his appearance at First Degree gave Brooklyn audiences a chance to experience the record while it was still dominating Carnival parties and Soca events.

His New York weekend continued the following evening with the official Big People Party album launch at S.O.B.’s in Manhattan.

Kerwin Du Bois and Farmer Nappy Reunite on the Same Stage

Kerwin Du Bois and Farmer Nappy already shared musical history before their 2014 success.

The two artists had collaborated several years earlier on “Pavement,” connecting them long before they found themselves among the leading performers of the 2014 Carnival season.

First Degree brought them together again during a year when both artists were enjoying major individual success.

Verseewild Joins the Lineup

Also featured at First Degree was Verseewild, billed on the event flyer alongside Kerwin Du Bois and Farmer Nappy.

The night’s music was supported by Elegance Sound, Pantrin Vibes, Foreign Bass and SLI, giving the event a full Caribbean party lineup beyond the live performances.

First Degree at Pulse48

First Degree was held at Pulse48, 1030 East 48th Street in Brooklyn, one of the venues that regularly brought Caribbean artists and Soca events to New York audiences during this period.

The event connected Brooklyn’s Caribbean community with artists coming directly out of Trinidad Carnival season, giving fans the chance to experience some of the year’s biggest songs in a New York setting.

For First Degree, that meant seeing the artist behind “Too Real” as the newly crowned Groovy Soca Monarch and Farmer Nappy performing during the height of “Big People Party.”

First Degree NY 2014 Photo Gallery

Revisit First Degree at Pulse48 through original photos from the April 12, 2014 event in Brooklyn, featuring Kerwin Du Bois, Farmer Nappy, Verseewild and the atmosphere surrounding one of New York’s early post-Carnival Soca events of the season.

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From the Julianspromos Archives

First Degree captures another chapter in the continued growth of Julianspromos during 2014.

By this period, Julianspromos had developed from its early Caribbean music-promotion roots into a growing multimedia platform documenting artists, concerts, Carnival events and Caribbean nightlife in New York and beyond.

Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs hosted the First Degree coverage for Julianspromos, while Julian C. Hackett filmed the event. Their work together reflected the increasingly structured approach Julianspromos was bringing to its coverage, combining an on-camera host with dedicated production behind the camera.

Chandy had become an increasingly familiar presence across Julianspromos assignments, while the platform itself was continuing to broaden both the volume and range of the Caribbean events it documented.

More than a decade later, the surviving First Degree footage preserves a snapshot of Brooklyn’s Soca scene at a moment when Kerwin Du Bois and Farmer Nappy were carrying two of the biggest records of the 2014 Carnival season.

Event Details

Event: First Degree NY 2014
Date: Saturday, April 12, 2014
Venue: Pulse48
Address: 1030 East 48th Street, Brooklyn, New York
Presented by: FAME Enterprise
Featured Artists: Kerwin Du Bois, Farmer Nappy, Verseewild
Music By: Elegance Sound, Pantrin Vibes, Foreign Bass, SLI
Julianspromos Host: Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs
Video: Julian C. Hackett / Julianspromos