The students in Grade 5M of the Orealia Kelly Primary School had an exciting time in their classroom when Ms Roxanne (Roxxy) Webster, an emerging popular Anguillian singer, addressed them on the subject of music. Her appearance there was of much interest to them as they had an assignment on the contribution of music to the island.
On Friday, January 31, the day of Ms Webster’s visit to the school, she told The Anguillian: “I saw some interesting projects that the students did on Anguilla music and how it contributes to the Anguillian society in the different types of genres like reggae, soca, gospel and rap. Quite a few students in the class did a project on me and I came to show my appreciation to them. I want to make sure that they not only did their assignment, but understand what music is all about; where it came from originally on a whole; and how it developed in the Caribbean from the days of slavery until now. I also came to educate them because while most of them know that I sing soca music, they are not sure that I sing calypso as well.”
Asked about her developing singing career, Ms Webster replied: “I have been singing for eleven years. I started at the age of ten and I am now 21. I started off singing calypso in Anguilla and I have now branched off to St Maarten where I have moved from a junior to a senior calypsonian. I compete in soca competitions here in Anguilla. I have been singing soca for quite a few years now and after my first hit single – Delete – I did a music video and got an award in 2012 for the International Best Soca Music Video of the Year. I did a lot of collaborations over the years, working on a lot of soca and calypso music.”
Ms Webster was asked where her career development is taking her.
She replied: “Basically, I am making a contribution to my two homes – Anguilla and St Maarten – to make our culture bigger and better. I want people to recognise that even though Anguilla is small, our talents may come in small packages but they are definitely big and definitely great.
“I intend to go further afield, and I am working on a lot of big projects to come including pop. It is going to be very interesting and more into the US market. You have to try different things and, as you know, I am very versatile so I am willing to try.”
Meanwhile, Ms Meesha Richardson, the Grade 5M classroom teacher at the Orealia Kelley School, said that culture was the particular social studies subject for the day. “I gave them an assignment on music in Anguilla and they were supposed to choose a genre,” she explained. “Most of them chose soca and did their assignment on Roxanne or had a photograph of her on their assignment.
“I showed Ms Webster the assignment and she was very surprised. She liked the effort and the fact that we are trying to preserve Anguilla’s culture. She therefore thought it best to come to the school and surprise the students; to thank them for their work and encourage them to do well in school. They did well in their work. Some had clippings of Roxanne from Anguilla Life Magazine; others had print-outs of her video from You Tube; and photos of her from Facebook and various different websites.”
