After Dropping His Debut LP While Battling Cancer, Dominica’s Trilla-G Is Ready to Take Bouyon to the World: ‘I Want to Be Like the Greats’
Trilla-G is Billboard's Caribbean Rookie of the Month for April.
Black News 
During summer 2024, “Someone Else,” a rollicking bouyon kiss-off anthem, became one of the buzziest songs to come out of the island nation of Dominica this decade, winning soca collaboration of the year at the 2025 Caribbean Music Awards. The infectious track also spelled the official launch of the career Trilla-G had been flirting with for most of his life.
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Born Gael Jno Baptiste in Goodwill, just outside Dominica’s capital of Roseau, Trilla-G’s musical origin story is centered around an event that helped shape an entire generation of listeners: Michael Jackson’s world-shifting death in 2009.
“One of my core memories was discovering Michael Jackson after his death because I didn’t know him before that,” Trilla-G, 27, tells Billboard. “I used to emulate his dance style and try to sing like him, using my living room as a stage. I remember being amazed by the whole package.”
Although he grew up preaching and singing in church, the joint forces of MJ’s towering artistry and the horizon-broadening nature of Saturday morning VH1 music video countdowns helped Trilla figure out his unique approach to music-making. After pulling inspiration from YouTube parodies, Trilla earned his first local hit with a remix of Soulja Boy’s “Pretty Boy Swag.” He would employ that strategy a few more times — like when he flipped Magic System’s timeless “Premiere Gaou” into 2017’s “Sweet Talk” — eventually making a name for himself across Dominica with “The Prayer” in 2020.
As the eldest of four on his mother’s side and the second youngest of eight on his father’s, Trilla-G is a family man— so much so that he bought into the “small island mindset that certain jobs are ‘good jobs’” not worth giving up in pursuit of more precarious aspirations. He tried to stay the corporate course, balancing his duties in a credit union marketing department with a surge of performance opportunities following the explosion of “Someone Else” in 2024. “My job was not as lenient as I thought it might have been,” he reflects. “So, before it got ugly, I bet on myself and quit.”
Within the next year, Trilla was performing around the world and pumping out hits like “Rags” and “I Like Your Woman (Side Man Confession).” But that all came to a harrowing pause when he was diagnosed with cancer last July. (As of February, Trilla is officially cancer-free, after completing several rounds of chemotherapy beginning in September 2025.)
Below, Trilla-G walks Billboard through how he crafted his debut album Take Me as I Am while battling cancer, his calypso background and how Jay-Z influenced his approach to songwriting.
When did you decide to pursue music professionally?
During form three in high school, I remixed a popular band song in Dominica, which happened to be a remake of “Gangnam Style.” That was the first time I went viral and got recognized for my talent. I would also freestyle and battle rap in college, and one friend recorded [a session] and posted it on Facebook. That too went viral, so, at that point, people around me were like, “Music is calling you.” I was a bit reluctant, but everyone was encouraging me, so I gave it a try,
My best friend was friends with a popular guy in Dominican spaces who had a family store in town. He was connected with radio [DJs], and I went to him with the first song I recorded, and he told me, “No, that’s not good. We’re not doing that. Try again.” I felt a bit defeated, but then I started freestyling to [TLC’s] “No Scrubs.” I changed “scrubs” to “pirat,” a word we use in Dominica to refer to promiscuous women. That went viral, too, and convinced him that I had something.
I was still in school at the time, so he paid for my studio time, and I got familiar with two other artists who were rising in the music space at that time: Reo and Keks Mafia. We performed together and even made a group for a short time.
Did “Someone Else” feel like a special record when you, Quan and Litleboy first recorded it?
We recorded a few songs that day, and this one was kind of random because Quan was recording for a separate Big Belly song, but he kept it for something else. Litleboy already had the hook, and I thought it was a fun song. I remember advocating for a music video early on, so that’s when I felt like it was going to be special. But I didn’t expect the impact it made for all of us and how popular it became.
When did you start working on your debut album, Take Me as I Am, which Billboard named the No. 4 Best Caribbean Album of 2025?
I needed to use the momentum from “Someone Else” to introduce myself to the wider market. I also got a lot of new bookings and couldn’t just show up singing one song. Dominica has a heavy Creole influence, so I had a Creole song on a zouk beat, saying, “I no changing/ The only thing that changing is money.” That eventually became “Take Me as I Am,” which led me to make the full album.
Last July, I was diagnosed with cancer, so I knew there was going to be some downtime towards the end of the year as I took treatment. We definitely need something to hold fans over during that time. “Take Me As I Am” became a staple track of mine, especially outside of Dominica, so I just continued that theme for the album.
What’s it been like navigating your rising career alongside cancer treatment?
It was a little difficult, but the people around me made it easy. My manager was very understanding, and he’s a friend to me outside of the business. To have somebody you work with understand what you’re going through was paramount. And my family was there with me; I stayed with my brother in New York during treatment
It was also stressful trying to figure out which gigs to take, because we were trying to keep [the diagnosis] a secret. Picture promoters calling you, and you cannot tell them exactly why you cannot make the show. Previously scheduled bookings were even more troublesome to work around. I remember doing the Uber Soca cruise straight from treatment and still being woozy and drained; I had to leave early and go right back to New York for a body scan. All of this showed me how close death was so I can better appreciate life.
How do you describe bouyon?
Bouyon music, simply put, is the modernization of our traditional songs and instruments from Dominica. Early on, the WCK Band experimented with blending our folk instruments with digital production, and everything has evolved from there. To me, bouyon is an expression of our daily life and our culture as Dominicans.
What’s your recording process usually like?
I used to write to beats before, but now I’ve evolved into freestyling. I know what my topic is, and I know what I want to say as soon as I hear the beat. I started practicing freestyling a lot more because the greats like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne tell you they don’t write. I want to be like the greats. Even the “WYFL” bouyon freestyle — no writing, no pen, no paper.
Who are your dream collaborators?
Skillibeng. My ultimate favorite artist of all time is Kanye West. I love how outside of the box he is and how he doesn’t follow what everybody else is doing. He’s one of my biggest influences, even in the way I put my album together and rolled it out. Drake too.
You released a country-inspired acoustic version of “Ain’t Thinkin’ Bout You” last month. Where did the inspiration for that come from?
We were in the studio playing around with a guitar loop, and I started singing “I had another shot of liquor that night,” because I know they like to talk about drinking alcohol and missing girlfriends in country music. I was just freestyling, but everyone got hyped and told me to finish it. So, I finished it the same night.
Some Caribbean islands have a deep love for country music. Where do you think that connection comes from?
I’m not sure. There was country music growing up in Dominica, but not a lot. I was surprised how big it still is in Saint Lucia. We came up on radio, and a lot of those country hits were introduced to us that way.
What do you love most about calypso music? What’s been your experience creating in two different genres at the same time?
I was the Calypso King in 2023, but I had been doing music since 2017 at that point. People knew me, but they weren’t really checking for me until calypso time, because that introduced me to a whole new set of people. Calypso is national — and I won.
I really learned how to perform properly on stage, manage my diction, polish my songwriting, and flex my wit and humor. I definitely became a better writer and performer thanks to calypso.
What are you listening to right now?
My unreleased music. [Laughs]. I have a collaboration with a well-loved female bouyon artist that will come out in time for summer. I’ve also been playing Alkaline’s [NPT] album a lot. And all the new boys [in the bouyon scene].
