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Ebony Empress: from Lagoon, Portsmouth, to the carnival stages, a bouyon voice for women

Published October 20, 2026

Ebony Empress, born Everlyne Walters in the village of Lagoon, Portsmouth, Dominica, and now based in St. Maarten, is one of the most complete female voices in bouyon today. Breakout in 2018 with “Quality Bumper”, groovy success with “Cosy Corner”, second runner up in the St. Maarten Senior Calypso competition in 2024, nominated for Bouyon Artist of the Year at the Caribbean Music Awards 2026, she carries in parallel a catalogue of anthems for women, from “Strength of a Woman” to “Woman is Boss”. Her latest news shows her in full relaunch: “Back Up Your Chat” with Foxy Jael, the first song she ever created, brought back in a modern sound, a feature on General Pye “Largent”, and “Bounce 2D Riddim”, presented under the billing she gives herself in her own credits, The Goddess of Bouyon. This profile follows that path with the published sources, attributing every title and every crown to those who give them to her.

Who Ebony Empress is: Everlyne Walters, from Lagoon to St. Maarten

The profile published by Lazie Indie Magazine in its Edition 60 of April 2025, which gives her a full interview, supplies the verifiable biographical markers for the artist. Ebony Empress was born Everlyne Walters in the village of Lagoon, in Portsmouth, Dominica. Portsmouth is the island second town, in the north, far from the capital Roseau, and that Dominican north is where she comes from. Her musical journey, the same profile says, began at the age of ten.

What followed was a move many Dominican artists know: leaving to study and work elsewhere in the Caribbean, without breaking the link with the sound of the island. Settled in St. Maarten, she took a first degree there, an Associate Degree in General Liberal Arts at the University of St. Maarten, while continuing to write songs and poetry. It was there, between classes and writing, that the childhood dream took the shape of a trade.

Now based in St. Maarten, she claims in that interview a dual belonging she does not hide: Dominican by birth and culture, St. Maarten by life and stage. She explains herself that balancing the two cultures is not an easy task, but that bouyon music is well accepted in St. Maarten, which gives her the opportunity to push her music both on the inside and the outside. Her video accounts carry both flags, Dominica and St. Maarten, in their very account titles.

Her full civil name appears, in two close forms, in her own published credits. The official video of “Bounce 2D Riddim” credits the writing to Everlyne Walters and Philisburt Carette. The Black Island Girl Multimedia article on “Back Up Your Chat” credits the writing to Everlyne Leandra Walters and Aurelle Joseph. This profile keeps the full form Everlyne Leandra Walters as it appears in that 2026 writing credit, and the short form Everlyne Walters as it appears in the St. Maarten press, which names her Everlyne “Ebony Empress” Walters.

A name as a manifesto: Ebony Empress, The Goddess of Bouyon, attributed titles

Asked by Lazie Indie Magazine about the inspiration behind her stage name, she answers without detour: she chose the name Ebony Empress because it defines her true identity as a black African Empress. The magazine profile develops the same idea: a name affirming her dark skinned beauty, her African heritage and the regal strength she embodies on stage and off it. The name is therefore not a simple commercial alias, it is a declaration of identity, laid down from the start and consistent with her whole catalogue for women.

Other titles travel around her, and this site attributes them instead of awarding them. Her own official “Bounce 2D Riddim” video presents her with the hashtag The Goddess of Bouyon: that is the title she gives herself in her own credits, and it is quoted here as such. Lazie Indie Magazine titles its portrait “The Reigning Voice of Caribbean Culture and Queen of Bouyon Fusion”: that is the title that magazine gives her, quoted as a press billing. None of these titles is presented here as an established fact, in line with this site rule on artist crowns.

That caution takes nothing away from the force of the positioning. In a genre historically dominated by male bands and male carnival voices, an artist who names herself an empress, who presents herself as the goddess of the genre in her own credits, and whom an international magazine calls a queen of fusion, occupies a precise symbolic place. She says, by the name before even the music, that bouyon also has sovereigns, and that their authority is not something to ask for.

The choice of bouyon: a Dominican childhood dream turned into a trade

Her relationship to bouyon is, in her own words as reported by the interview, a matter of childhood and culture. Seeing that she is from Dominica, she explains, she chose to do bouyon music because it plays a huge part in the culture of the island. As a little girl in Dominica, her dream was to become a bouyon artist. Her first single was a bouyon song, and up to this day, she says, she is still composing bouyon music. The path is therefore the reverse of artists who reach the genre by opportunity: with her, the genre comes before the career.

She describes herself in the same interview as a quite versatile artist, and her published catalogue confirms it: bouyon at the centre, but also soca, Afro soca and calypso, the forms the magazine profile associates with her current sound, fed by the cultural flavours of St. Maarten. That versatility is not dispersion. In St. Maarten, an island of intense carnival shared between a Dutch side and a French side, an artist who wants to last has to be able to hold a bouyon fete, a text driven calypso contest and a groovy stage. Her path, detailed below, shows exactly those three grounds.

The Dominican context gives that choice its weight. Bouyon was born in Dominica at the end of the 1980s with WCK, it gave the bouyon soca started by Dada in 2003 according to the signed testimony published on this site, and it remains the sound signature of the island, from Roseau to Portsmouth. Choosing bouyon, for a child of Lagoon, means choosing the music of home rather than an imported sound. Our history of bouyon page traces that lineage in which she stands, from the founding bands to the female voices of the current generation.

It is also worth noting what her base in St. Maarten brings to the genre. Dominican bouyon has always travelled with its diaspora, to New York, London or the neighbouring islands. A Dominican artist building a career from St. Maarten, winning calypso prizes there and dominating, according to the magazine, its groovy carnival scene in 2023, extends that geography: the sound of Portsmouth heard in the fetes of Philipsburg, and from there toward the carnivals of the northern Caribbean.

The breakout: “Quality Bumper” in 2018, then “Cosy Corner” on top of carnival

The magazine profile dates the breakout precisely: her rise began with her 2018 bouyon single, “Quality Bumper”, a track that became a crowd favourite and catapulted her onto stages in New York City, Holland, England and across the Caribbean. In the interview, she tells the same story with the spelling “Quality Bumpa”: that track became her hit single in 2018, and that was when she first got the opportunity to travel abroad to perform live in many different countries, like NYC and Holland. The two spellings, Bumper and Bumpa, name the same track in the published sources, and this profile flags both to avoid any catalogue confusion.

The second documented peak is groovy. “Cosy Corner” is presented by the magazine as one of her recent hits that solidified her presence in the region carnival scene, a track that dominated St. Maarten groovy music scene during carnival 2023. She herself describes it as one of her biggest groovy singles, loved by many people near and far, which stayed number one during the carnival season. In the hierarchy of St. Maarten stages, the groovy segment is the one of melody and held singing, as opposed to the fastest segments: ruling there says something about her voice as much as about her feel for the fete.

The international stages cited by the magazine complete that touring picture: notable performances at Notting Hill Carnival in the United Kingdom and during Labour Day Weekend in New York City, the two great gatherings of the Caribbean diaspora. Her most memorable moment so far, she says, remains performing on the road during Notting Hill Carnival in England, seeing thousands of people singing, dancing and waving to her music in the streets, in a crowd so thick that she was determined to sing to them and let them vibe with her music.

She also speaks, in the same interview, of an obstacle many female artists of the region will recognise: one of the challenges she used to face as a female artist was getting her music played. That is not an issue anymore, she adds. The sentence is short, but it documents, from inside, the practical ceiling that her anthems for women, detailed in the next section, attack in their lyrics while her career attacks it in fact.

The anthems for women: strength, domestic violence and “Woman is Boss”

The catalogue that sets Ebony Empress apart in bouyon is not only festive. The magazine profile notes that she uses her voice to address self love, domestic violence and female empowerment, through anthems like “Strength of a Woman”, “Domestic Violence”, “Woman is Boss” and “10 out of 10”. Those four titles, named by the source, form the message core of her repertoire, and they are carried in the verified discography of this page.

Asked what message she hopes to convey to women around the world, she answers that most of her music speaks volumes: she sings about love, life, having a good time, relationship issues and being true to yourself. Some of her songs, she says, really empower and uplift women, like “Strength of a Woman”, “Domestic Violence”, “Woman is Boss”, “Quality Bumpa” and “10 out of 10”, and those songs had a huge impact in uplifting queens everywhere. The word queen returns in her speech as working vocabulary: it links her stage name, an empress, to her audience, queens to uplift.

That positioning matters in the economy of the genre. Party bouyon traditionally speaks of dancing, the road and desire, in a most often male voice. Placing inside that same fast, festive format titles that name domestic violence, the strength of women and the fact that a woman is boss, is to use the dance machine as a loudspeaker, without leaving the tempo that makes it work. It is also what makes her presence on the lists of the scene different from one more presence: she brings there a message repertoire that few rival profiles document track by track.

The track “Cheers”, credited to her in the published track listing of the Dbreakaway Show, and her continuing collaboration work, announced by herself in the 2025 interview, show the other side, that of pure fete. The balance between the two sides, anthems and fete, is the most stable signature of her published record: none of the sources consulted reduces her to one or the other.

The calypso ground: “Cartoon Character”, “Revolution Change” and a senior second runner up place in 2024

The fact most often absent from bouyon profiles of Ebony Empress is her result in contest calypso, and yet it is one of the best documented. The St. Maarten press, in its report on the crowning of the 2024 Senior Calypso King, reports that Everlyne “Ebony Empress” Walters took the second runner up place, with 441 points and 3500 dollars in prize money, behind King Fish Da Mega Boss, 485 points, and first runner up Mighty Dow, 468 points. The final was held at the Jocelyn Arndell Festival Village, sponsored by Nagico and the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation.

The same report holds up her song “Cartoon Character” among the standout performances of the evening, and gives its point: a catchy tune highlighting the lack of seriousness in many leadership positions, with several cartoon characters joining her on stage to elaborate the message. This is the most classic tradition of contest calypso: social commentary, humour, staging, and a jury scoring the lyric as much as the performance. A bouyon artist who steps onto that ground and takes a podium place there does not only change genre, she proves a pen.

Another track from that ground is documented by the reporting on the SCDF and Nagico senior calypso eliminations: admitted to the final as a replacement, according to that reporting, Ebony Empress defended there a song entitled “Revolution Change”, alongside The Pensioner with “Who Else”. This profile cites that title with the caution it requires: the reporting consulted does not state, in the text opened for this page, the year of that precise eliminations edition, so no year is stated for “Revolution Change”. The title itself is published, and it joins “Cartoon Character” in the verified discography.

That side also sheds light on her work with poet Clifton Wilson, a calypso judge for about eight years before turning to writing, who worked with her in 2024 and 2025 according to the Caribbean Culture programme for Sint Maarten. That workshop work anchors her 2024 result in method, not chance.

2026, the relaunch: “Back Up Your Chat”, “Largent”, “Bounce 2D Riddim” and a regional nomination

The 2026 news starts with a story ordinary profiles do not tell, because it comes from an artist confidence. Black Island Girl Multimedia, in an article by Semaj Bernard published on 15 May 2026, announces the release of “Back Up Your Chat”, an energetic bouyon remix by Ebony Empress featuring Foxy Jael. The published credits are complete: produced by YoJoshii and Yung Pierre, mixed by Cleverns Pierre, mastered by Khallion, written by Everlyne Leandra Walters and Aurelle Joseph, recorded at Felix Studio. The text describes a track with infectious bouyon rhythms and confident, no nonsense lyrics celebrating women knowing their worth.

During a livestream interview on Jael show, the same article reports, Ebony Empress revealed that “Back Up Your Chat” was actually the first song she ever created. She decided to bring it back years later and modernise it for today sound, because the beat had changed a little in the meantime. The point of the track, she explains, is aimed at men who promise everything and deliver nothing, who have more talk than action: everything that you saying that you will do, you are not doing. Foxy Jael, whose debut single “Ah Coming” launched her persona, adds there, according to the article, flair and attitude, with a verse that goes straight to the point, no long talk, in Ebony Empress own praise of her guest.

The same season shows her featured with General Pye, on the track “Largent”, presented as Bouyon 2026 on YouTube, produced by Fr3EzE and mixed and mastered by Xavvoknockin. And her official video “Bounce 2D Riddim”, shortened to B2DR, presents her on a solo title: a song written by Everlyne Walters and Philisburt Carette, produced by McGyver, with dancers Denise Edwards, Shantel Duruo and Yaya, and a presentation calling listeners to bounce to di riddim, a song for young and old, made to engage and dance. The video presents her under her own attributed billing, The Goddess of Bouyon, and points toward streaming of the track on Spotify. No official link being confirmed in the strict sense for this page, this page schema keeps its sameAs list empty, and her Instagram handle is not published, for lack of direct profile verification.

Regional recognition follows. The Peoples Tribune SXM, in April 2026, counts Ebony Empress among the St. Maarten artists nominated at the Caribbean Music Awards 2026, in the Best Bouyon Artist category. This profile therefore presents her as a nominee, not a winner: reporting of the September 2026 results gives the Bouyon Artist of the Year title to Mr. Ridge. Being nominated in the bouyon category of a ceremony that, that year, put the genre forward in Trinidad and Tobago, nevertheless places her name, from St. Maarten, in the most visible regional conversation of the genre. To follow the branch in which she competes, our bouyon soca page and our bouyon playlist gather the tracks and names of the season.

What her path says about bouyon, and the limits of this record

The documented path of Ebony Empress draws a map few bouyon artists gather in a single career: a village in the north of Dominica, Lagoon in Portsmouth, a university formation in St. Maarten, a bouyon breakout in 2018, a groovy reign at St. Maarten carnival 2023, a senior calypso podium in 2024, diaspora stages at Notting Hill and in New York, then a 2026 relaunch in three tracks and a regional nomination. Every step is sourced in this profile, and none of them needs inflating to make sense.

That path also says something about bouyon itself. The genre has always been a music of circulation: born in Roseau, carried by bands, producers, mixes and the diaspora. An artist who sings it from St. Maarten, who defends it in calypso contest as well as in fete, and who writes into it anthems for women, shows that this circulation does not impoverish the Dominican sound: it multiplies it, island by island, stage by stage, without losing its home address, Dominica.

Finally, this profile states its limits, like every page on this site. The full streaming link for “Bounce 2D Riddim” appears, truncated, in its video description, and has not been rebuilt here. Her Instagram handle was not verified by direct opening during the research for this profile, so it is not published, and neither is any official link in this page schema. The exact year of the eliminations edition carrying “Revolution Change” is not stated in the text opened for this page, and the title “Quality Bumper” also travels under the spelling “Quality Bumpa” in her own interview answers. If those points are confirmed, this page will be completed, corrected and dated.

In the meantime, listening can follow the order of this profile: “Quality Bumper”, “Cosy Corner”, “Strength of a Woman”, “Cartoon Character”, then “Back Up Your Chat” and “Bounce 2D Riddim”. Twelve verified tracks, one birth island, one stage island, and a voice that never stopped composing bouyon, to use her own words.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Ebony Empress, and what is her real name?

Ebony Empress is the stage name of Everlyne Walters, credited as Everlyne Leandra Walters on “Back Up Your Chat”. According to the profile and interview published by Lazie Indie Magazine in April 2025, she was born in the village of Lagoon, Portsmouth, Dominica, she began her musical journey at age ten, and she is now based in St. Maarten, where she took an Associate Degree in General Liberal Arts at the University of St. Maarten while writing songs and poetry.

Why did Ebony Empress choose that stage name?

In her Lazie Indie Magazine interview, she answers that she chose the name Ebony Empress because it defines her true identity as a black African Empress. The magazine sees in it an affirmation of her dark skinned beauty, her African heritage and the regal strength she embodies on and off stage. Her own video credits also present her as The Goddess of Bouyon, a billing she gives herself.

Which tracks launched and established Ebony Empress?

Her breakout is her 2018 bouyon single “Quality Bumper”, also written “Quality Bumpa” in her interview answers, which took her to stages in New York, Holland, England and the Caribbean. “Cosy Corner”, her big groovy single, stayed number one during the carnival season and dominated, according to the magazine, St. Maarten groovy scene at carnival 2023.

Was “Back Up Your Chat” really the first song Ebony Empress ever created?

Yes, according to her own statements reported by Black Island Girl Multimedia in May 2026. During a livestream interview on Foxy Jael show, she revealed that “Back Up Your Chat”, released in 2026 as a remix featuring Foxy Jael, produced by YoJoshii and Yung Pierre, written by Everlyne Leandra Walters and Aurelle Joseph, was the first song she ever created, brought back and modernised years later because the beat had changed.

What result did Ebony Empress achieve in calypso, away from bouyon?

The St. Maarten press reports that in 2024, Everlyne “Ebony Empress” Walters finished second runner up in the St. Maarten Senior Calypso competition, with 441 points and 3500 dollars in prize money, behind Fish Da Mega Boss and Mighty Dow, with a standout song, “Cartoon Character”, mocking the lack of seriousness in many leadership positions. Reporting on the SCDF senior eliminations also credits her with a final song, “Revolution Change”.

Did Ebony Empress win Bouyon Artist of the Year at the Caribbean Music Awards 2026?

No, she was nominated there, which is already regional recognition. The Peoples Tribune SXM counts Ebony Empress among the St. Maarten artists nominated at the Caribbean Music Awards 2026, in the Best Bouyon Artist category. Results published in September 2026 give that title to Mr. Ridge. To hear the season, follow our bouyon playlist.

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