Back in the mid-2000s, only those operating in the soca industry would have known the name Full Blown Entertainment. Two brothers, Kory and Kevon Hart, were working quietly behind the scenes, writing hit after hit for some of the genre’s biggest stars.
Collectively, the brothers’ songs have taken home five Soca Monarch crowns and one Road March win. For Machel Montano alone, they penned “Vibes Cyah Done”, “Mr Fete”, “Fog”, “EPIC”, “Bottle of Rum” and “Like a Boss”. They wrote Benjai’s “People’s Champion”, Kes the Band’s “People”, “Body Talk” and “Falling”; Kerwin DuBois’ “Too Real”; and Voice’s “Cheers to Life” (earning him his first Soca Monarch title).
Still, it was not until 2025 that they truly stepped out of the shadows. The Big Links Riddim, created entirely by the brothers, produced some of the biggest soca hits all year. The riddim featured Yung Bredda (“Greatest Bend Over”), Kees Dieffenthaller (“No Sweetness”), Machel (“The Truth”), and the Hart brothers themselves (“Good Spirits”).
According to The Soca Source, “The Greatest Bend Over” ranks second among the top five soca songs on Spotify for 2025, averaging 40,000 streams daily. “No Sweetness”, “The Truth”, and “Good Spirits” sit in Spotify’s second tier (5,000–20,000 average daily streams).
There was hardly a major stage they did not touch during Trinidad Carnival 2025. And after the season wrapped, they found themselves on the road — performing across the Caribbean, the United States, the United Kingdom, and even on tour in Nigeria.
“For me, it was just a year of learning,” Kevon said. “Between when we dropped Big Links in December and before Carnival was over, my life changed. I can’t walk in the grocery store properly without people running up to me. That is not something I would willingly sign onto. That part is weird for me. But I am learning how to adjust; to operate on a day-to-day basis; to find time to write and be creative while travelling; and how to perform together.”
The shift from writers to artists began during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when the brothers started building their home studio. “There was no Carnival, so we decided to do what we felt to do,” said Kory. “That process helped us find our sound. We had no limits. No one was asking for Soca Monarch or Road March songs. So, for the first time in years, we had the liberty to experiment.”
Kevon was the one who voiced demos, and their songs began to carve out a soca niche that blended R&B influences with island energy. They released the Palm Wine Riddim (2021) — including their track, “Full of Love” — knowing that without Carnival hype, people would listen. Their track received ample airplay.
“That is when we realised there were people who wanted to hear that type of music,” Kory said. “So, every year, we promised to give the audience something fresh.”
Growing up, the brothers got their first taste of songwriting when their father rewrote popular songs they had to learn for family events. Their talent bloomed in secondary school, when Kory asked Kevon to write a jingle for a biology project on pollution. The jingle became a hit among the students.
They weren’t trained musicians, but they loved making music with friends, beating rhythms on desks, and singing harmonies. While repeating A Levels at Queen’s Royal College, Kory met schoolmates who were producers and introduced him to production software. Those same friends later introduced the brothers to Kasey Phillips of Precision Productions, who recognised their writing talent immediately.
“Kasey asked if we ever thought about writing soca,” Kory said. “We said no. It wasn’t that we didn’t like soca but in terms of writing, it felt limited — like all we could write about was jump and wave or wine and jam. We grew up on R&B, so we wanted to write love songs. Soca didn’t feel like it had the space.”
Kasey was insistent. From a beat on a CD Kasey gave him, Kevon wrote “Vibes Cyah Done” for Machel in 2012. Montano asked to meet them, and the duo went on to shape what many consider his strongest era in music.
Today, as they step out from behind the scenes and grow into artists in their own right, the Hart brothers want to inspire the next generation.
“That is why we feel strongly about being artists now,” Kevon said. “We could show people that you can be different. You don’t have to copy Machel or Kees. You can create your own lane and be successful.”
“You don’t have to copy Machel or Kees. You can create your own lane and be successful”
Full Blown Entertainment originally started as a trio with Trinidadian gospel singer Nathanael Fisherman, who later left to focus on his ministry. The brothers consider him a close friend and still credit him for shaping their production knowledge. “He taught us how to produce and structure the music,” Kory said.
Despite their catalogue of hits, they feel no pressure to recreate their past success.
“We have been doing this since 2011. First year we won Soca Monarch. Second year we won again. Third year we won again. We didn’t try to win any of those. Even now, as artists, we are not setting goals like wanting the number one song for Carnival. We just believe in creating what we enjoy, and we trust that people out there will enjoy it too,” said Kory.
He recalled performing at Kes the Band’s IzWE concert in 2024 — their only gig that season — based on the strength of their song “Wassy” (sampling Baron’s “Dance Floor”). After the show, a patron came up to them with tears in his eyes to say “Full of Love” got him through a hard time.
“That to me was better than getting all the bookings,” Kory said. “We definitely don’t feel any pressure when people are responding like that. That is what we treasure most.”
The brothers also love helping others grow. They were instrumental in developing Voice’s career, helping him become the youngest Soca Monarch winner in history. They helped Nessa Preppy gain her first international gigs with “Tingo” and are now working with Tobago-based singer Juby.
Their one longstanding goal is to win a Grammy. Thanks to the Big Links Riddim and the global attention around it, that dream feels closer. They have been receiving calls from artistes all over the world, and worked with the likes of Ghanian-American singer Moliy (“Shake it to the Max”), whose verse they wrote on the “Greatest Bend Over” remix.
“A part of our mission is to expand the boundaries of soca — which includes lyrical content but also the sound — and to show it could sound a bit like reggaeton or Afrobeats, but it is still us,” Kory said. “It is not about selling out, but showing people who may not have noticed that we are very similar. We are braver now with the experimentation, and now we are seeing the results.”