Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) on Tuesday, Aug. 11, announced “Journey of a Soca King: The Exhibition,” celebrating the life and career of acclaimed Trinidadian Soca superstar Machel Montano.
Opening on Aug. 22 at Central Library and created by the Machel Montano Foundation for Greatness, BPL said the exhibition is accompanied by programming at branches all across the borough, and showcases Montano’s lifelong contributions to Soca music and Caribbean culture.
“Over five decades, Machel Montano has been a major player in the worldwide spread of Soca music, a genre that originated in Montano’s native Trinidad and Tobago,” BPL noted, stating that Montano began performing in 1982 at 7, with his debut album, “Too Young To Soca” (1985), achieving widespread acclaim.
BPL said the exhibition includes curated artifacts from Montano’s career, including costumes, trophies, and vinyl records.
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to listen to a selection of Montano’s music at Central Library’s vinyl listening station and watch key moments from his life and career, “inviting visitors to experience the artist’s work in a personal and immersive way,” BPL said.
It said the exhibition follows the release of the documentary “Like Ah Boss: Journey of a Soca King” (2026), which centers on Montano’s 16 performances during the 2015 Carnival season and much more.
BPL said the documentary will be projected on the facade of Central Library on Sept. 3.
“’Journey of a Soca King: The Exhibition’ highlights the key role that Brooklyn played in Montano’s early career,” said BPL, disclosing that, in 1984, at just 9, Montano spent time in the borough after being selected for a scholarship to Marie Brooks’ summer programming.
“There, he engaged in workshops that were formative to his career,” it added.
BPL said Montano later debuted at Madison Square Garden, supporting calypso legends, like the Mighty Sparrow, the Mighty Shadow and Lord Kitchener.
In the mid-1990s, BPL said Montano lived on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn and recorded his first road march, “Big Truck,” in Brooklyn.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Machel Montano to Brooklyn Public Library,” said Linda E. Johnson, BPL president and CEO. “Brooklyn is home to one of the largest Caribbean populations outside the Caribbean, and the library is committed to preserving and sharing the stories, histories and cultural contributions of the communities we serve.
“This exhibition will offer visitors an opportunity to explore the enduring impact of Caribbean music and culture through the life and career of one of its most influential and beloved artists,” she added.
Montano said: “Brooklyn helped raise me. I lived here, I learned here, and some of my earliest audiences were right in these neighborhoods.
“So, for this work to come back to Brooklyn, in a place that is free and open to anybody who walks through the door, means everything,” he said. “The Caribbean community built a home here, and this exhibition is a way of acknowledging the mark we as a people have made on this city.
BPL said branches across Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean neighborhoods — Clarendon, Rugby, Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Brower Park — will present readings, arts and crafts workshops and cultural experiences for youth and adults. Details about programming can be found at https://bklynlib.org/montano.
“Machel Montano’s career offers a compelling lens through which to explore these broader stories as he has transformed Soca music from a regional genre into a global cultural movement while remaining deeply rooted in Caribbean identity,” BPL stated. “His work reflects themes of migration, innovation, resilience, entrepreneurship and cultural preservation– topics that resonate strongly with Brooklyn’s own history as a crossroads of global communities.”
BPL said the exhibition continues its tradition of “presenting exhibitions that explore people, ideas and movements that have shaped history while reflecting the diverse cultures, experiences and communities of Brooklyn.”
BPL also said the exhibition follows its exhibition on James Baldwin, as well as Printing Black America, which examined the life and legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois and the Black press.
In addition, BPL said the exhibition builds on its “longstanding commitment to music as a vital form of cultural expression, reflected in pioneering initiatives such as New York City’s first musical instrument lending library, its extensive vinyl record lending collection, and the internationally recognized Book of HOV exhibition in 2023.”
BPL said the exhibition is sponsored by Tourism Trinidad Limited, TATIL Insurance, Unit Trust Corporation (UTC), Horizons Art Gallery, Reliable Customs Service, The Lost Tribe Atelier Team and Kwamena Hayfron-Benjamin.
It said Montano — a singer, songwriter, producer and cultural icon widely regarded as the King of Soca — “spent more than four decades transforming Soca into a global genre through groundbreaking music, international tours, and collaborations with artists across the world.”
BPL said Montano is the most decorated Road March champion in Trinidad and Tobago’s history, having won a record 12 titles, and is also a National Calypso Monarch, Chutney Soca Monarch and recipient of the Hummingbird Gold National Medal.
It said the Machel Montano Foundation for Greatness, the philanthropic arm of the Montano family, was founded by Machel Montano and is co-led by his mother, Elizabeth Montano.
BPL said the Foundation invests in young people across Trinidad and Tobago, supporting education, mentorship and training for emerging Soca artists; sponsoring uniforms and equipment for young athletes representing their country; and funding health initiatives for individuals in need.
The Foundation also builds livelihoods, where rural cocoa-producing communities have received equipment, training and soft loans, allowing growers to make and sell their own chocolate, BPL said.
It said the Foundation is custodian of Machel Montano’s personal archive, which was inscribed in 2024 on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“’Journey of a Soca King: The Exhibition’ draws on that collection,” said BPL, one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions.