LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY PEOPLE.

Some of you have been supporting Million Vibes, Soulstice Sounds and Sunset Beats without necessarily knowing which one you’re supporting.

And honestly, I understand.

You come to an event and see me. Kayo is there. A few MV artists are around. Next weekend, there’s another name on the flyer, but you recognise half the people in the room.

At some point, you probably just decided, these people again.

Fair enough.

We’re friends. We work together, support each other and spend enough time around one another that the lines can look a little blurry from outside.

But I’ve been meaning to tell you about the different things we’re building, because the people behind them deserve that recognition.

And because I care about these people, I want you to understand what they’re putting their time into.

So let me explain small.

SOULSTICE IS KAYO’S WORLD.

Let’s start with Soulstice Sounds.

I had to go back to Kayo for this one, because the story started before the version some of us know.

Soulstice began in St. Lucia in 2017 as an unplugged event series. Kayo was creating a space for music, creativity and community, and in 2018, he brought the concept to Halifax.

So by the time you encountered Soulstice through a mix, a radio show or a conversation online, it already had a life behind it.

During the pandemic, he adapted the idea into a SoundCloud mixtape series called Soulstice Radio. From 2020 to 2022, that grew into a radio show on St. Lucia’s airwaves, first on Blazin FM and later on The Wave, co-hosted with Gen, a St. Lucian rapper raised in London.

I like knowing that history.

You can come across somebody’s work at one particular stage and assume that’s where it began. Meanwhile, they’ve been carrying the idea for years, finding different ways to keep it going.

With Soulstice, that has taken shape through live events, mixes, radio, interviews and podcasts.

For me, the storytelling is a big part of what makes it special.

The music leads you towards the person making it. Then you want to hear how they got there, what they’ve experienced and what’s going through their head.

There are people whose work I’ve enjoyed for years without ever really hearing them speak about it. Having somewhere they can sit down and tell their own story makes a difference.

You pick up things you might have missed in the music. Sometimes you recognise a part of your own experience in theirs.

That’s the part of Soulstice I want people to see alongside Kayo’s Artistry and DJing.

It’s his imprint. His ear, his questions, his relationships and the spaces he wants to create for other people.

And as someone who knows him, I like seeing that world take shape.

MILLION VIBES IS WHERE IT GETS PERSONAL FOR ME.

I could easily lose the whole article here, so let me behave.

When I think about Million Vibes, I think about the artists.

I know the people behind the songs. I know how much they care about what they’re making. And I’ve watched talented people try to figure things out while carrying all the other responsibilities that come with life.

That stays with me.

A lot of my motivation comes from seeing Black and diaspora artists struggle to access opportunities, particularly people who have moved here and are trying to build within systems that don’t always have an obvious place for them.

You can be living here, contributing here and making something worthwhile, and still find yourself on the outside of certain opportunities.

I’ve found that frustrating for a long time.

Within our circle, you have people bringing experiences from Nigeria, St. Lucia, Lebanon, Palestine and other places into Halifax.

I get excited hearing what happens when those influences meet. I want the people making that music to have enough support to keep developing it.

That’s what I’m working towards through Million Vibes.

The releases, visuals, creative direction, identity and opportunities all matter. So does having people around you who will listen to an unfinished idea, help you work through it and show up when it’s time.

We’ve developed a family-like relationship through all of this. That closeness is a big part of why I care so much about getting it right.

Of course, you’ll see us putting on shows. SNAXX gives people a more intimate space to discover artists and experience the collective, while The Million Experience brings us together for the annual live show.

But I’m thinking about what happens between those dates too.

What are we helping each other build? How do we keep moving when there isn’t a show to announce?

Those are the questions that keep me occupied.

SUNSET BEATS CAME FROM A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.

Kola and I founded Sunset Beats.

We both care deeply about Afrobeats, but we arrived at the idea with different experiences.

Kola studied law in Nigeria and went into entertainment law, which gave him opportunities to work with established names in the industry. He’d seen a side of the business and entertainment culture that shaped what he expected from the ecosystem. I knew the scene. I knew the people. I’d also become used to certain things without realising it.

Kola came with fresh eyes.

There were already people doing important work here. Josh and other promoters had spent years creating spaces for our music and community. We had an audience because people had been putting in that effort.

But in our conversations, Kola kept bringing a different set of references.

Those conversations became the starting point for Sunset Beats.

Kola and I wanted to build experiences people would look forward to, and a community they’d want to keep coming back to.

There’s a whole story behind what he noticed, what I’d become used to, and the people whose work made room for us. I’ll get into that in The Lagos Factor. I owe some people their flowers.

Afrobeats will always be central to Sunset Beats. It has helped create opportunities for both Kola and me, and championing it means something to us.

We’re also interested in global music and the connections people make around it.

Somebody finds a new favourite DJ. Two creatives meet and end up working together. Somebody who’s recently moved here finds people they want to see again.

I care about those things as much as what happens on the dance floor.

SO WHERE DOES SBSS COME IN?

Through Sunset Beats, we’ve had the opportunity to showcase more than 30 DJs from Halifax and beyond.

As that side of the work grew, I felt it deserved a clearer identity.

That’s where Sunset Beats Sound System, or SBSS, comes in.

The easiest way I explain it is that Million Vibes is the artist collective, while SBSS is the DJ side of Sunset Beats.

I want us to create more opportunities for DJs to share their sound, develop their craft and connect with an audience that will follow what they do.

Because a DJ can introduce you to a whole world of music you didn’t know you needed.

And our work through Sunset Beats reaches beyond nightlife too.

ROOTS, the showcase we created to champion Black diaspora artists during Black History Month, is something I’m particularly proud of.

When we bring people together, we have an opportunity to support the talent around us. I want us to keep finding meaningful ways to do that.

THESE ARE MY PEOPLE.

That’s probably why the association feels so natural.

I’m proud of Kayo. I care about what Kola and I are building. The artists within Million Vibes are people I want to see win.

Of course we’re going to show up for each other.

You’ll keep seeing familiar faces. Somebody’s project will create an opportunity for somebody else. We’ll collaborate, share ideas and probably end up in the same room again next weekend.

I love that about our circle.

I also want you to know who’s doing the work.

Soulstice Sounds is Kayo’s world of music, gatherings and conversation.

Million Vibes is where I’m building around the artists, the music and the support we need to keep going.

Sunset Beats is where Kola and I are developing experiences around music and community, with SBSS giving the DJs their own space to grow.

Each one carries somebody’s time, thought and belief. Each one matters to the person building it.

And every time you come out, listen, share something or bring a friend, you become part of what makes that work possible.

So if you’ve been supporting all three without knowing the difference, thank you.

Now you know a little more about my people.

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