Jacob Edgar: 50 miles off the coast of Florida, across the turquoise waters, there is a storm brewing.

[ Thunder claps ] Its force could change the landscape, altering the world around it.

It's happened before, and it will happen again.

But I'm not talking about a hurricane.

I'm talking about music.

Julien Believe: ♪ Dance with somebody just wine ♪ ♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ ♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ ♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ ♪ Dance with somebody just wine ♪ ♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ ♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ ♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ ♪ Dance with somebody just wine ♪ Jacob Edgar: This is the birthplace of rake-and-scrape, Junkanoo, and Goombay.

This is where rhythm and rhyme collide.

Julien Believe: ♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ ♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ Jacob Edgar: This is The Bahamas.

Pilot: Flight 527 ready for departure.

♪♪ ♪♪ Man: Ladies and gentlemen!

Once again, "Music Voyager"!

Jacob Edgar: You may think you've heard everything, but the world is full of surprises.

And when you're hanging out with musicians, nothing is off-limits.

Is this is what you guys do every weekend?

Every night.

Every night!

Yeah, every night.

My name is Jacob Edgar.

Music is my life, and life is short.

So crank up the volume and let the voyage begin.

♪♪ ♪♪ You know the expression -- big things come in small packages, and that's certainly true in The Bahamas.

D-Mac: ♪ Time to wind up in the dance ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ Edgar: A country with a population of less than half a million spread out over hundreds of separate islands.

♪♪ But when people come to visit, they always bring a little bit of The Bahamas home with them.

Oh, my God, that is so good.

It could be just memories or photos, a tacky T-shirt from a souvenir shop.

Or it could be a rhythm, a melody, a song.

Music travels, and this little country has a loud voice, and it's one that carries.

On this episode of "Music Voyager," we're going to be hitting the streets and looking for the next big superstars of Bahamian music and maybe of the world.

DMAC: ♪ Bring out the sunlight ♪ [ Waves crashing ] Edgar: I start my exploration in Nassau with the Bahamian musician, Fred Ferguson.

Here we are.

This is downtown Nassau.

It surely is.

You want to show me around?

We could talk a little bit?

I will do my best.

Fred's career has straddled numerous musical eras and genres.

He was a member of the Baha Men, one of The Bahamas' most successful bands, and he's an in-demand funk, soul, and disco guitarist and producer.

We walk to the Straw Market on the world-famous Bay Street.

So what do you have to drink?

I have the authentic Bahamian Goombay Punch.

Ooh, that sounds good.

Goombay Punch.

Yeah, it is.

It's in a bottle and it's a can.

You can't go wrong with a soda that has a face on it.

It turns out Fred looks to Bahamian roots music for his biggest inspiration.

Joseph Spence is my ultimate folk guitar hero.

He developed a style that has resonated around the world.

He brought a fire to this thing that still behooves all of us.

I try to play that, I tell you now -- I play it nothing like what he does, what he did with a thumb and two fingers and that drop D thing that all the rhythmic stuff that goes on between it is it's -- I can't explain that stuff.

Ferguson: Two, three, four, five.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ So as a child, you grew up listening to this very traditional music.

While it's inspired by tradition, it's also pretty contemporary.

Ronnie Butler came along.

Tell me who Ronnie Butler is.

Ronnie Butler came along and became the pop rake-and-scraper.

The progression continued through the Baha man and Dr. Offfff and others.

We've tried to move the Junkanoo sound forward, the next generation of K.B.

and D-Mac.

There are still some persons who are experimenting with the sound.

So how do how do people know about these artists?

Well, we have lots of radio stations.

Every now and then, a popular song will rise to the top and it will override everything else that's out there.

[ Band playing upbeat music ] ♪♪ Edgar: As Fred and I walk through downtown Nassau, we hear tropical melodies wherever we go.

It's clear this city has music in its soul.

You know there's an energy here, Jacob.

There is an energy.

When you walk this, you can feel it.

You know, it's something that The Bahamas just -- especially Nassau, part of The Bahamas, if you went to the islands, it'll be a different energy, but it'll still be that Bahamian exciting, you know, yet peaceful kind of energy.

And always with a little bit of music in the background.

Always.

I'll tell you, this is my friend coming up.

This is somebody you know?

Yeah, of course.

I think I know them all.

Well, look, I brought my little Portuguese braguinha here.

What's a good local song?

I heard when you pulled up here, you were listening to some André Toussaint.

Yeah, yeah.

And it's called "Calypso Island."

Oh, I love that song.

Yeah, I saw you dancing to it when you pulled up.

[ Chuckles ] You're rake-and scrape.

Two, three, and -- [ Singing ] ♪ Calypso island is calling ♪ ♪ Calypso island is calling ♪ You got it.

[ Scatting ] ♪♪ One more time.

♪ Calypso island is calling ♪ ♪ Calypso island is calling ♪ [ Scatting ] ♪♪ ♪ Like the natives do ♪ "Like the natives do."

Is that how you do it, you natives?

Like the island boys do.

[ Both chuckle ] Completely, Jacob.

You're so cool, man.

[ Chuckles ] No, man, you're cool.

[ Chuckles ] You are the man, you're cool.

♪♪ I take Fred's advice and scan the local radio.

One station in particular piques my interest.

Hello there.

How are you?

My name is Malcolm McKay, and this is "Island Classics."

Edgar: A wise man once said, "To predict the future, you must first understand the past."

So I reach out to Malcolm McKay, who invites me to his house.

Take a look at those.

Oh, my goodness.

Look at this.

These are classics.

Blind Blake.

I hope to learn something about the golden era of Bahamian music in the '50s and '60s when the calypso craze was at its height and numerous nightclubs of Nassau rocked with the sounds of a music known as Goombay.

So it's interesting, you know, they market these as calypso.

The Bahamas had a different sound from... Goombay.

Goombay, exactly.

So why were they calling this calypso?

Because no one from the United States, Canada or Europe could make the distinction.

So what is the difference?

What is the distinction between, you know, this Goombay music, as you call it, and calypso?

Uh, it's a beat.

Uh, it's based on the goombay drum.

Mm-hmm.

I love this music.

You clearly love this music.

Why?

Just nostalgic, or is there something about it?

It was just good-quality music.

The musicians in this country were very high-end, and a lot of them to this day have emigrated to the United States.

And most recent is Baha Men.

Of course, right.

And they're Bahamian.

Right, I don't think a lot of people realize that.

As we pore through Malcolm's enviable collection of vintage Bahamian vinyl, he tells me about the glitz and glamour of this high point in Bahamian music history.

A famous nightclub owner, Peanuts Taylor... Edgar: Yes, I've heard of him.

...had the Drumbeat Club, and he introduced the Kennedys to Martin Luther King in his nightclub.

Really?

But he didn't introduce the Kennedys to Marilyn Monroe.

Not that I know of.

I've never heard that story before.

By the late '60s, the sun had set on the Goombay era.

All that remains of that musical time are worn-out records, some faded photographs, and the nostalgic memories of those who were there to experience its magic in person.

Delbon Johnson: ♪ ...springtime in Nassau ♪ ♪♪ Edgar: By the '70s, a new sound and style started to take The Bahamas by storm.

[ "Funky Fever" by Jay Mitchell playing ] ♪ Mama ♪ ♪ Mom and Dad ♪ Edgar: By the time The Bahamas gained its independence from Britain in 1973, local musicians were looking to the Black power grooves of American funk, soul, and disco.

Some even argue that disco owes its sound to the tropical Junkanoo beats of The Bahamas.

KC and The Sunshine Band, one of the disco era's most successful groups, was originally named K.C.

& The Sunshine Junkanoo Band.

Bahamian bands such as The Beginning of the End and T-Connection charted a number of hits, including the disco classic "Funky Nassau."

One of the unsung heroes of that time is Jay Mitchell.

I was excited to hear Mitchell was going to be performing on Grand Bahama Island, but I was shocked to find him singing alone and unrecognized in a touristy restaurant.

[ Singing ] ♪ You're the only girl I've ever loved ♪ ♪♪ Mitchell has been compared to James Brown, Otis Redding, Teddy Pendergrass.

And there was a time when he was managed by Michael Jackson's father, Joe.

His rare classic vinyl is highly prized by collectors.

♪ I'll be right, right back ♪ Edgar: Probably most of the people, probably all of the people, they walk in, they hear you playing, and they don't realize what an amazing talent they have there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And what history you have and how important you are to the music scene in The Bahamas.

Yeah, well, the Bahamians do, but not the tourists who walk in.

Right.

But you know, in The Bahamas, you got to find a pocket to sit in.

You got to make your living, too.

I learned in life that -- that, uh... the vibration goes in circles.

It moves and moves.

And when you pick what you're going to do, you wait a while and you ride on that a bit.

You -- like I said, just like a wave.

So you go with the flow.

That's what I've said.

Just like you're on a wave, and you just ride.

Island style.

[ Chuckles ] Yeah.

♪♪ Waves of Bahamian music have washed up on the shores of the US over the years.

For artists like Jay Mitchell, music is an inescapable part of life, something that's been flowing in his veins since he was very young.

I was kind of born with the sounds in me.

Yeah.

As a little kid, I was about four, four to five.

I used to, like, get the plastic, put it over the can and make a sound and give it to the guys.

Yeah.

Give it to the guys to play, and I would have an orchestra because I would make some wood, put some string...

So out of anything you could find.

...strings on the wood particularly, the wood, and make an orchestra 'cause I always heard sounds in me that, uh, I was never able to bring out.

There wasn't technology to bring it.

Right.

Unaware of the history and talent he represents, people walk past Jay Mitchell singing his heart out on their way to the buffet.

In many ways, it's symbolic of the rich culture of The Bahamas that goes unnoticed by most visitors.

But away from the tourists, the all-you-can-eat buffet, the cocktail umbrellas, and the drum machines, the true soul of The Bahamas reveals itself.

[ Singing ] ♪ Goodbye, my love ♪ ♪ Goodbye, my love ♪ ♪ I've got to find, mm ♪ ♪ Someone who'll give their heart to me ♪ ♪ When I give mine, yeaaah ♪ ♪ I'd like to, I'd like to fly away from here ♪ ♪ Somewhere, somewhere to some other land ♪ ♪ Ohhh, just higher, clip my wings ♪ ♪ And I will never understand ♪ ♪ Oh, it's a hard world we're living in ♪ ♪ People get hurt again and again ♪ ♪ Make up your mind ♪ ♪ You're gonna be weak or you're gonna be strooong ♪ ♪ Ooh, I can't wait to start again ♪ ♪ I'd never forget the lesson I've learned ♪ ♪ I'll see you in ♪ ♪ Oh, another place and tiiime ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeaaah ♪ ♪ Oooooh-hoo ♪ ♪ Oh, ah-ah-ah-aaahhh ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

Thank you so much, thank you.

♪♪ Edgar: After the '70s, little music from The Bahamas made an impact outside of the country.

But that silence was broken in the year 2000 when a group called the Baha Men unleashed the song "Who Let the Dogs Out" and crossed over to the international pop charts.

Even though we were mainly doing pop music, the whole sound is based around Junkanoo.

While they've always tried to bring the sounds of the Caribbean to the mainstream, they never would have predicted the massive success of their iconic hit.

Were you surprised when that song became as big of a hit as it did?

Man, if someone had said that to me, I'd have said "No way."

Do you feel like that has been the best thing that ever happened to your band or the worst thing that ever happened to your band?

Um, to me, it's a double-edged sword.

You know, it was extremely good, but at the same time, extremely bad.

Right.

And when I say bad, I mean everything you put out after that, it killed it.

And you also have that song as being perhaps one of the most loved and perhaps one of the most hated songs of all time.

Yes, yes, yes.

Because of the success.

Because it's so popular and it's mental glue.

You cannot get it out of your head once you start having it in your head.

Yes, you are right because I have actually heard people say, "If I hear that song one more time!"

[ Group chuckles ] But the Baha Men are more than a one-hit wonder.

They remain one of the most popular bands in The Bahamas and widely respected for using Bahamian traditions as inspiration for their radio-friendly songs.

[ "Night & Day" by the Baha Men playing ] ♪ Whoa-oh-oh-ohh ♪ ♪ Ye-ea-ea-ah ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Gonna live life like there's no tomorrow ♪ ♪ And party, just gonna let it flow ♪ ♪ Every night and every day ♪ What's been happening with the Baha Men in the last ten years?

Rehearsing, getting material together, just preparing ourselves to get back into the studio.

I've been partying.

[ Group chuckles ] ♪ Daaaaaay ♪ ♪ And day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day ♪ ♪ And night, night, night, night, night ♪ ♪ Night, night, night, night ♪ ♪ And day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day ♪ ♪ And night, night, night, night, night ♪ ♪ Night, night, night, night ♪ So Rik, what's your opinion about the music scene in The Bahamas today?

Definitely a lot going on.

Oh, yeah?

It feels active to you?

It's very active here.

Great.

The most active I've seen in my whole career.

You know, it's quite an exceptional sound, and it's not just one sound.

Right.

You've got rake-and-scrape, you've got Junkanoo.

All these, you know, this -- all this whole Goombay thing.

I think it's time.

Uh-huh, yeah.

I really think it's time, and a group like Baha Men has been doing this, you know, we've been the catalyst for decades.

It's just been crazy work for the past two years, believe it or not, and I'm very happy that I took that time to party my -- party myself to... [ Group chuckles ] ...to oblivion.

[ Chuckles ] ♪ And day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day ♪ ♪ And night, night, night, night, night ♪ ♪ Night, night, night, night ♪ ♪ Day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day ♪ ♪ And night, night, night, night, night ♪ ♪ Night, night, night, night ♪ ♪ And day, day, day... ♪ I got to ask this question, guys.

Who let the dogs out?

Who really let them out?

Not again.

Oh, no -- I mean, I didn't mean it.

I mean, I just had to ask.

Well, some questions deserve to go unanswered.

But I still want to find out who is the hottest voice of the new generation.

Who is the undiscovered Bahamian talent on the cusp of becoming an international star?

♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ ♪ Dingo-lay, ding-dingo ♪ ♪ Dance with somebody just wine ♪ Edgar: It could be Julien Believe, the young singer I hung out with during Junkanoo celebrations.

I should probably ask the experts what they think, so I head back to Island FM.

Thanks for starting your day right here to hold Bahamian music and culture... Eddie Carter is the program director at the station and hosts his own morning show called The Boil with co-host Sannie.

Island 102.9 FM, broadcasting live from our studios right here.

He invites me on air to discuss the future of Bahamian music.

You mentioned today's artists.

Yeah.

Let me give you a quick sample.

Play me a recommendation.

♪ 'Cause if it's drinks you want, then we got this ♪ ♪ Anything at the bar, I got ♪ ♪ If your friend's drinking, then I got this ♪ ♪ Just dance, I just wanna see you sliii-iiide ♪ ♪ Up and away ♪ So that's an artist right there called Dillon McKenzie, D-Mac, as he's known in the industry... D-Mac, so that's the second time I've heard that name.

...the next generation.

D-Mac... Is it possible I've been on the trail of the next Bahamian superstar this whole time?

You hear the sound of that.

Now, if you listen to traditional rake-and-scrape, you'll hear a lot of those elements there, but you're hearing more of a modern sound.

It's pumped up.

Yeah, that's a good way of saying it.

The bass too.

They go, "boom".

Yeah, absolutely.

But you still hear the scrape.

Absolutely.

And you're seeing that a lot from Bahamian artists today, the guys coming up like D-Mac's and all of those.

All right.

I think it falls on them to take it to that next level.

And so with that advice, I reach out to D-Mac, who tells me to meet him at one of his favorite spots.

We're gonna get some authentic Bahamian music, we're gonna get some authentic Bahamian food right here on Potters Cay Dock in The Bahamas.

We hit Skinny's restaurant on Potters Cay for some of the freshest conch you can find.

I can't say that looks very appetizing, I'll be honest.

Not now.

No, but you're going to make it beautiful.

I'm going to make it beautiful.

I can tell you've done this a few times.

Here we go.

Skinny's conch salad.

Mm.

Oh, yeah.

I'm ready to go, man.

[ Chuckles ] You just ate the giant snail.

[ Laughs ] Where are they, where are they?

Now, this one here is the killer right now.

When you see this play at any parties in The Bahamas, this is what our music is all about.

This is called "Da Gaulin Song."

It's the story behind it.

I'll tell you about it.

But so here it goes now.

One, two, three.

Watch this.

[ Singing ] ♪ Said she promised she gon' marry me ♪ ♪ Ohhh, yeah ♪ ♪ She ran away ♪ ♪ Man, she promised she'd be faithful to me ♪ ♪ Ohhh, yeah ♪ ♪ She scheme on me ♪ ♪ Man, this gal take all my money ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ She take my car ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ My virginity ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ But she got that now ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ I burn a little crazy ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ I can't even eat ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ I can't even sleep ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ I don't want nothing to drink ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ I should've listened to my mommy ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ I should've listened to my poppy ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Man, this gal had to, had to take my ring ♪ ♪ Man, I nearly married da Gaulin ♪ ♪ I nearly ♪ ♪ I nearly married da Gaulin ♪ ♪ Man, I nearly married da Gaulin ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Man, I nearly married da Gaulin ♪ Give it on the harmonica.

Rake-and-scrape.

Watch him rake-and-scrape.

[ Instrumental breakdown ] ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ Said she promise she gon' marry ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ Edgar: It's clear from D-Mac's modern take on Bahamian rake-and-scrape music that both locals and foreigners love his sound.

My thing is all about making it exciting for the younger people.

It's about bridging the gap.

It's about bringing that connection.

The song I sang earlier about marry da Gaulin, it's a very old folk tale because a lot of our music is folk story.

I use the folk tale, brought it into a modern type of beat type of thing, and then use some concept that would attract the younger people.

I don't think the old folk tale said, "I lost my virginity."

No, no, the folk tale didn't say that.

[ Chuckles ] I don't know if the old folk tale would say it in quite that way.

But it wouldn't say it that way, but it meant to say -- it means the same thing.

Why did you choose to ask us to come here?

When you're talking about me showing you guys what it is to be a Bahamian, I got to bring you to where it is that I come.

So I bring you to a local hangout wherever we're at on Potters Cay dock, where, you know, just over from us is the big Atlantis hotel that we're from, but this is this is like more of my inspiration point.

When I come here, I can sit down, I can play dominoes, I can hear the gossip of the guys and they're talking in the background, and it's amazing the amount of things that you hear, and a lot of my song ideas and concepts come right from out here.

Could you imagine waking up in the tropic like this?

Could you imagine waking up every morning and you could come and get a [Indistinct] and a conch salad?

Man, come on.

It's paradise.

It is paradise.

Now you eat yours.

Let me see how you gonna eat yours.

All right.

[ Chuckling ] Oh, man.

That's eating conch.

That's serious.

This is the wimpy -- Yeah, that's for real men.

[ Chuckles ] I'm moving up to that.

I have to work on it.

♪ Here we go ♪ Edgar: Well, it's the beginning of the end for Music Voyager's visit to The Bahamas.

But in many ways, the end is just the beginning.

While it's impossible to predict the future, one thing you can definitely count on in the Caribbean is there will be another storm, and don't be surprised if the next category-five musician comes from The Bahamas.

♪ Oh, yeah ♪ Put some rake-and-scrape.

Show them rake-and-scrape.

[ Singing ] ♪ Back dat bam bam on me ♪ ♪ Back dat bam bam on me ♪ ♪ Back dat bam bam on me ♪ ♪ Back dat bam bam on me ♪ ♪ Oy, pressure, pressure ♪ ♪ Oy, pressure, pressure ♪ ♪ Oy, pressure, pressure ♪ ♪ Oy, pressure ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, I eat right ♪ ♪ And nice and nutritious ♪ ♪ And I bet that crab and rice is very delicious ♪ ♪ Ay, ay ♪ ♪ Keep running your tab, don't stop ♪ ♪ Ay, ay ♪ ♪ Just run it and back it up ♪ ♪ Ay, ay ♪ ♪ Back it up, eyes on the road ♪ ♪ You sing as we turn around ♪ ♪ And back dat bam bam on me ♪ ♪ Back dat bam bam on me ♪ ♪ Back dat bam bam on me ♪ ♪ You better back dat bam bam on me ♪ ♪ Oy, pressure, pressure ♪ ♪ Oy, pressure, pressure ♪ ♪ Oy, pressure, pressure ♪ ♪ Oy, pressure, pressure ♪ ♪ You better back ♪ ♪ On me ♪ [ Laughs ] ♪ On me ♪ [ Laughs ] ♪ On me ♪ Now you've got to sing with me.

♪ Oy ♪ Both: ♪ Oy ♪ ♪ Pressure, pressure ♪ ♪ Oy, pressure, pressure ♪ ♪ Oy... ♪