El-A-Kru is an

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

soca Soca or SOCA may refer to: Places * Soča, a river in Slovenia and Italy * Soča, Bovec, Slovenia * Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport, by ICAO code * Soca, a village in Banloc Commune, Timiș County, Romania * SoCa, Southern California Other u ...

band. The name derives from "Little Antigua Crew". The band's single, 'Antigua Nice' (from their 2006 album of the same name) has been dubbed "Antigua’s new anthem", and was used extensively by the Antigua Ministry of Tourism in their customer care initiative for the

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the ...

. 'Expose', another single from the ''Antigua Nice'' album, topped MTV Tempo's Cross Caribbean Countdown for several weeks in 2007.Kevin Jackson
Catch di Riddim
, ''The Jamaica Observer'', September 17, 2007. Accessed 16 May 2008. Two tracks from El-A-Kru's 2007 album ''Fully Loaded'', 'Kick It Off' and 'Fully Loaded', featured in DJ Alex Jordan's 2007 Christmas program in her ''International Sounds of Soca'' series for BBC 1Xtra. The band was also nominated for the ''Overall Soca Band of the Year'' at the 2007 International Soca Awards. El-A-Kru are frequent performers at the

Antigua Carnival The Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of the emancipation of slavery in the country held annually from the end of July to the first Tuesday in August. The most important day is that of the j'ouvert (or juvé), in which brass and steel bands perfo ...

, where they have won the title of "Sweetest Band on the Road" four times of the last eight years, winning the title for a record three years in a row. In 2007, they toured the UK with the Antigua Carnival Roadshow, marking the 50th anniversary of the Carnival. The band also perform at the

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are numerous cultural ev ...

and the Saint Kitts and Nevis and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Carnivals and have appeared in The Caribbean Splashdown Music Festival in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In June 2008, they are scheduled to appear in the Antigua and Barbuda International Music Festival.

Background

The band was formed in 1990 as L.A. Crew. For their first seven years they performed mostly on the hotel and tourist circuits, and had several local hit recordings. In 1998, they recruited their lead singer, Tanzania "Tizzy" Sebastian, who has performed with the band ever since. They also changed their name to El-A-Kru. In 1999, "Tizzy" and El-A-Kru made a breakthrough at the

with their first hit single outside Antigua, 'Lethal Batty', performing in 19 shows over 28 days.

Current band members

*Tanzania "Tizzy" Sebastian, lead

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. "Tizzy" was named ''Female Soca Performer of the Year'' and ''Best New Female Soca Artist'' at the 2007 International Soca Awards. Before joining El-A-Kru, she was primarily known as a dancer and was one of the original members of The Antigua Dance Academy. *Rohan “Sylky” Hector,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

. He is the original founder of El-A-Kru and is also the band's producer,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, and musical director. *Glenroy “Zamba” Richards, vocalist and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

. He is also the primary songwriter of the group.

Former band members

*"Naycha Kid" (Junior Afori Edwards) – now a solo vocalist.Chosen Sounds brings the heat with first all star tour
''The Antigua Sun'', February 3, 2007. Accessed 16 May 2008. *Glenroy "Byke" Joseph – became the lead vocalist for Da Bhann. *Lincoln "Blade" Stanislaus Jr., second vocalist. In 1999 he was the winner of the Antigua song festival and went on to represent Antigua at the

Caribbean Song Festival The Caribbean Song Festival was an annual song competition held among countries that are members of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU). It was the largest and highest rated song competition of the Caribbean. It is often referred to as the Eur ...

final in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. He is now with the Burning Flames.

Discography

*''Lethal Batty'' (1998) *''Destination'' 2000 (1999) *''911 Emergency'' (2000) *''Social Ah Gwaan'' (2001) *''Soca Paramedics'' (2002) *''Raw Soul'' (2003) *''The One'' (2004) *''Changes'' (2005) *''Antigua Nice'' (2006) *''Fully Loaded'' (2007) *''Rocket Launcher'' (2008) *''De Road Show '' (2009) *''Soca Animals (2010)

References

Further Sources *Susan Noyce
WE Spotlight - All In-na ‘Tizzy’''WE Magazine''
(

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

), Issue 1, August 2007. Accessed 16 May 2008
Kru Mania

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

Music Festival.
El-A-Kru discography
on Faluma Digital Soca Music Label.

External links

El-A-Kru official web site

Caribbean Entertainment - Tizzy & El A Kru's Booking Agency

Video for El-A-Kru's song ''Off Limits''

Video for El-A-Kru's song ''Expose'' featuring "Tizzy"
{{Authority control Antigua and Barbuda musical groups Soca musical groups