16 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, April 24, 2020
music
Bodine celebrates women's 'plum role' assigned by nature New song is a declaration of Bahamian heritage
By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net
W
ith concerts cancelled, Carnival postponed, and gatherings of any size prohibited during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bahamian entertainers have had to get creative to reach their audiences. One of them is Bodine Johnson, a veteran entertainer and educator, who despite the current lockdown has decided to release her latest single, “Sugar in a Plum”. “We’ve seen the entertainment industry be really forced to find creative ways to engage their audiences, whether that’s with karaoke (sessions), TikTok app recordings, or live performances and appearances with partners. The key is to adjust,” Bodine told Tribune
Weekend as she sharedher motivation for releasing her new song now. “I had to release ‘Sugar in a Plum’ because the message was too important to have to wait until the rest of the world gets too busy to internalise and absorb it. I also released it on my birthday, which was in the middle of the Easter season, because it’s a symbolic gesture of new birth and becoming one’s higher self. I’m now rebranding officially as BodineVictoria and the timing was perfect.” In the first verse of the song, she sings what she hopes will become a mantra for women of colour everywhere: “I’ze a coconut goddess, cocoa skin drippin’ madness.” It’s a recitation of power, self-affirmation and beauty, she said.