Soca Artist Profiles

Shurwayne Winchester

Shurwayne Winchester

Born on the beautiful Caribbean island of Tobago, he was only 12-years old when he entered the competition foray, consistently placing in the top three. Never one to be intimidated he even competed against seasoned Trinidadian Calypso veterans such as Calypso Queen Denyse Plummer, Calypso Monarchs Cro Cro and Luta in the Carib Independence Calypso Competition. As a result of his performance, he was hired for various calypso tents both in Trinidad and Tobago from 1980 through 1996.

Shurwayne performed in a number of fledging bands on the Tobago and Trinidad scene before landing the contract as a frontline singer for one of the top Soca bands, Caribbean Traffik Jam.

His first recording was made in 1998, with the tracks “Leave it in” and “Soca Baby” with Traffik. At the time, his voice caught the attention of record producer Devon George and he then recorded “Get out of my dreams” written by Marlon “Socket” Clarke. The song, released in December 1998, remained in rotation for two years until July 2000 a rarity in the Soca genre!