King Tag

I still remember the sound of the truck horns, the signature fast-paced tempos and pumping bass. It was Labor Day in 1997, and “Big Truck” by Machel Montano and Xtatik was blasting through the speakers as I stood near the corner of Brooklyn’s Utica Avenue and Eastern Parkway. I used to be nine years old and it was the primary time my parents brought me “on de parkway” for The West Indian Day parade. I heard the lyrics “Run, if yah cyah keep yah must run, when de driver blow de truck horn, run, everybody follow de song badang, badang, badang, bang….Hold on to de big truck!” At the identical time, I saw 1000's of masqueraders jumping and waving...