Dr. Jay de Soca Prince presents a gateway to soca

Well, it took us a while to get there, but we're smack dab in the middle of summer. And for Torontonians, particularly its Caribbean-lineaged residents, one of the most prominent signs of summer is the annual Caribbean Carnival. 

The annual festival is a carnival celebration of all things Caribbean, including colourful costumes, steelpan competitions, and, of course, the parade happening this Saturday.

But, at the centre of it all is the calypso and, more recently, soca music.

Dr. Jay de Soca Prince is part of a generation of soca DJs that helped connect generations of young Torontonians to their Caribbean roots.

And so, during the 50th anniversary of what many Torontonians have affectionately called Caribana, we asked Dr. Jay to prescribe us a soca playlist that could give us a sense of the music's evolution over the decades.

Songs played in this segment:

Ras Shorty I aka Lord Shorty, 'Om Shanti Om' 

Arrow, 'Hot, Hot, Hot'

Charlie's Roots feat. David Rudder, 'Bahia Girl'

Machel Montano & Xtatik, 'Big Truck'

Bunji Garlin, 'Differentology' 

Ultimate Rejects, 'Full Extreme' 

— Produced by Ty Callender