Soca music is a genre of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s and developed into a range of styles during the 1980s and after. It is an offshoot of Calypso/Kaiso, with influences from East Indian rhythms and hooks. The name "Soca" is derived from "Soul of Calypso" and represents a fusion of African and Caribbean Kaiso and Calypso and South Asian rhythms. Soca music is characterized by its up-tempo beat and encourages audiences to dance, emphasizing synthesised sounds and electronically mixed effects.

Soca music has evolved over time and has incorporated other musical styles and trends such as Reggae, Zouk, Latin, Cadence, EDM, Afrobeats, and Dancehall. There are different types of Soca music, including Groovy Soca, Jam’n’Wine, and Conscious Soca, which still retains the Calypsonian tradition of social commentary on current affairs.

Soca music is largely carnival music, and the challenge for power soca songwriters is to write songs that can move audiences but not be a regurgitation of the jump and wave theme. The line between different kinds of soca music is becoming less and less clearly defined, and there is so much fusion taking place that it is often difficult to tell whether a song is really a soca song.

In summary, Soca music is a genre of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s. It is an offshoot of Calypso/Kaiso, with influences from East Indian rhythms and hooks. Soca music is characterized by its up-tempo beat and encourages audiences to dance, emphasizing synthesised sounds and electronically mixed effects. Soca music has evolved over time and has incorporated other musical styles and trends such as Reggae, Zouk, Latin, Cadence, EDM, Afrobeats, and Dancehall.