CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Pressure BussPipe is the road march champion for the 2019 St. Thomas carnival.
BussPipe is the first reggae artist to win this annual contest, beating all comers with his soca song called “Do it And Done.” The song was released on the Busspipe Records label two months ago.
“It wasn’t a competition really, the road march winner is determined by the judges who decide which song was played the most during the road march when the bands are judged in the middle of the square in the island of St. Thomas,” Pressure BussPipe said.
The road march is a two-day event that took place between May 2 and 3.
“This is my first ever soca song, so I would never in my wildest dreams think that I would have won the road march contest,” he said. “This song has surpassed all my expectations, I just wanted to make a soca song that would be on par with the work of the great soca artistes, nothing to make anyone say ‘Pressure should stick to reggae,’ so I am pleased that people love this song.”
BussPipe dedicated the win to his father, Irving “Brownie” Brown, a well-known radio broadcaster who had the number one calypso show in the territory for several years.
“My Dad Irving passed away last year and all he ever wanted me to do is calypso and soca,” he said. “On his radio show, the only reggae song he ever played was mine, ‘Love and Affection.’ Now, he is not here to witness me winning the Road March he would have been head over heels with this achievement, so this win is something I will dedicate to my pops.”
Pressure BussPipe will be releasing a new album later this year, and he has been in the studio recording several tracks. He released his last album, “Red Rose.” in November 2016 which peaked at number eight on the Billboard Reggae album chart.
This was the second entry on the chart by the US Virgin Islands native, whose given name is Delyno Brown.
The 12-track set features songs including “Time Is The Master,” “Once Again,: “Lost Without You,: “Woman Of The Nile” and “Moments.”
In 2007, Pressure BussPipe scored a massive reggae hit worldwide with the single “Love and Affection.”
His song “Virgin Islands Nice” song is used in U.S. Virgin Islands tourism promotions.