KMC in New York 2014: Vivaa Interviews the Soca Artist Outside the Brooklyn Museum
In July 2014, Trinidad and Tobago artist KMC — Ken Marlon Charles — sat down with Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson outside the Brooklyn Museum in New York for an original Julianspromos interview.
The conversation came during an important period in KMC’s career. After several years away from Trinidad Carnival and much of the Soca circuit, he was beginning to speak openly again about the music, the industry and where he saw himself going next.
With the Brooklyn Museum and the heart of Brooklyn’s Caribbean community as the backdrop, KMC spoke with Vivaa about where he had been, his relationship with Soca, why he had stepped away from Carnival, new music including “Boom Box” and “Thing,” his fans and his plans for the future. The live Julianspromos page dates the interview to July 26, 2014.
Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosted the interview, while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage.
KMC Returns to the Conversation
By 2014, KMC had already spent years building a name as one of Trinidad and Tobago’s recognizable Soca performers.
Songs such as “Soca Bashment,” “Bashment to Carnival” and “Soul on Fire” had helped establish his place in the genre before his career took an unexpected turn.
In 2011, KMC publicly announced that he was stepping away from Carnival and Soca while pursuing a more international musical direction. At the time, he was working in Europe and had become associated with 2101 Records, the label founded by producer RedOne and connected to Universal Music Group.
That made the 2014 New York conversation especially interesting.
KMC was no longer simply being asked about his latest Carnival release. He was talking about what had happened during the years away — and what might come next.
Why KMC Stepped Away From Carnival
KMC’s distance from Trinidad Carnival had become a major part of his public story.
When he spoke publicly in 2011, he expressed frustration with the local music industry and said he did not intend to continue participating in Carnival after that season. At the same time, he was pursuing opportunities outside the Caribbean and exploring a more international electronic and pop direction.
Three years later, Vivaa gave him the opportunity to revisit that decision in his own words.
The interview explored not only where KMC had been, but how he now viewed Soca, Carnival and the industry he had stepped away from.
That gives the conversation more weight today than a standard promotional interview.
It captures an artist in the middle of reconsidering his relationship with a music scene that had played a major role in his career.
“Boom Box” and “Thing”
KMC also used the interview to discuss new material.
Two songs featured in the conversation were “Boom Box” and “Thing.” The original Julianspromos description notes that he spoke specifically about why he recorded “Thing,” while also discussing the direction of his newer music.
The songs arrived at a moment when KMC appeared to be moving closer to Soca again.
Rather than treating his international work and Caribbean roots as completely separate chapters, the 2014 period began to show signs of those worlds reconnecting.
Watch KMC With Vivaa in New York
A Brooklyn Backdrop for a Caribbean Conversation
The location added another layer to the interview.
The conversation was filmed outside the Brooklyn Museum, a landmark closely associated with Brooklyn’s cultural landscape and an important location within New York’s Caribbean community.
The museum has also long been connected to major Caribbean cultural activity surrounding New York Carnival.
That made the setting especially fitting for a conversation with a Trinidadian artist discussing his complicated relationship with Soca and Carnival.
Rather than taking place inside a studio or backstage at a fete, the interview unfolded outdoors in Brooklyn — one of the most important centers of Caribbean culture outside the region.
KMC’s Return Was Getting Closer
The significance of the July 2014 interview became clearer during the months that followed.
By early 2015, KMC had officially returned to the International Soca Monarch competition after several years away from the Carnival arena. Trinidad and Tobago media explicitly described his participation as a comeback.
He entered the Power Soca Monarch semi-finals with “Calling,” returning to a competition and Carnival environment he had previously walked away from.
That puts the Julianspromos interview at an interesting point in the timeline.
In July 2014, KMC was still explaining his absence, discussing new music and talking about his future.
Within months, he was back competing in Trinidad Carnival.
Vivaa Interviews KMC
By 2014, Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson had already built several years of experience interviewing Soca artists and covering Carnival events for Julianspromos.
Her conversation with KMC went beyond simply asking about a new single.
The interview gave him room to discuss career decisions, frustration with the industry, his time away from Carnival, his new music and what he wanted audiences to understand about his next chapter.
That broader conversation is what makes the interview valuable today.
It preserves KMC speaking for himself during a period when his career direction was changing again.
From the Julianspromos Archives
The KMC New York interview represents another important artist conversation from Julianspromos’ expanding 2014 coverage.
Filmed outside the Brooklyn Museum, the interview placed Vivaa in front of the camera and Julian C. Hackett behind it, continuing the interview format that had become an important part of Julianspromos’ Caribbean media work.
By this period, Julianspromos was documenting artists in several different environments — at concerts, fetes, mas camps, Carnival events and through dedicated one-on-one conversations.
The KMC interview stands out because of its timing.
It captured an established Soca artist during the space between two very different chapters of his career: after stepping away from Carnival and before making his competitive return in 2015.
What began as a contemporary New York interview now also serves as a snapshot of KMC at a turning point.
Interview Details
Artist: KMC
Full Name: Ken Marlon Charles
Interview Date: July 26, 2014
Location: Outside the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
Julianspromos Host: Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson
Shot & Edited By: Julian C. Hackett
Topics: Soca, Carnival, his time away, “Boom Box,” “Thing,” his future and his fans
Video Upload Date: July 27, 2014
