Weeks away from defending his crown, Groovy Soca Monarch Kees Dieffenthaller has released a collaboration with international hip-hop icon Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus.
The multi-platinum rapper, actor and television star is featured on the remix to Dieffenthaller's song, "Stress Away". This song is voiced on the 4D Riddim, which was produced by HD dancer and producer, Klase Gonzalez of 1stKlase Productions.
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Released to DJs and radio stations worldwide today, Dieffenthaller said that the collaboration was a dream come true" and would "open doors for soca music".
"We were looking for the right track to collaborate on and when I heard it, I felt it was the perfect track to get Snoop on because of the theme and the concept and the sample Klase used, so we got it done quietly and I think we put it out at the right time.
"For me to have Snoop on a track is definitely a dream come true because my first hip-hop albums were The Chronic and Doggystyle, so I'm definitely a fan of his work."
Questioned about the possibility of "Snoop" coming to Trinidad to perform the song during the Carnival season, Dieffenthaller said that getting the rapper to Trinidad is "the next obvious step". He said:
"Well, we're working on it and it's the next step, you know. When you collaborate with someone on this level, you really want to bring two worlds together and having a hip-hop giant like Snoop come to Trinidad Carnival to perform it would be a huge accomplishment. Many thanks to Question Mark for the work they've been doing and I know if it's possible, we will achieve it."
The release of the "Stress Away Remix" also heralds the release of the music video for the original song, which was filmed by local director Ryan Khan. Watch the video here:
"I'm proud to be one of the artistes from Trinidad," said Dieffenthaller, "who's always pushing the bar up and trying to achieve different things in the industry. The video for Stress Away and the remix with Snoop are both out-of-the-box kind of ideas that we feel can make the world look at Soca music and Island Pop, everything we do and Trinidad and Tobago as a whole in a different light - and that's exactly what we're about."
Kes The Band will stage their third annual concert, Under The Trees, at The Normandie on February 9 and a number of "surprise" acts and guest collaborators are expected to appear.