Bashment Soca is uniquely Bajan-derived; bashment is just another term for Jamaican dancehall music. It's challenging to pinpoint the exact moment when Bashment Soca emerged. However, almost every discussion regarding this music genre leads to Lil' Rick. Lil Rick during the early days was a DJ who made a living performing Bajan-style dancehall music (Jamaican-derived). Lil Rick used this chanting style and a prominent Bajan dialect to deliver the music that founded Bashment Soca. The Bajan dialect makes Bashment Soca sound different even if you find similarities in the music... it just sounds different to Ragga Soca.
In 1996, Lil' Rick released a song and style that many emulated and regarded as the beginning of Bashment Soca. The song was 'Hard Wine.' Bashment Soca became Crop Over music. So, how did the genre get the name 'Bashment Soca'? DJ Chilly has claimed the title of "Fraud Squad." He stated that while recording the song 'Tight Tight,' they called it Soca Bashment. However, they did not like how it sounded and changed it to Bashment Soca. Here is a quote from an article posted to Nation News on August 12, 2016:
“That night recording, we [were playing around] and said soca bashment, but it did not sound right, so we used the term bashment soca. Because it is not bashment that is changing but soca, we put soca behind to say what type of soca it is,” added DJ Chilly.
“We are the first group to ever use that term. [Actually], we were the first ever to use that term because no one used it before us." “Fusing dancehall with soca brought about bashment soca. And when we fused the two from Tight Tight, it evolved to ragga soca and slower beats per minute.”
DJ Chilly made it clear he did not invent the art form but the name. He said bashment soca has a future and room for growth. “This bashment, Soca, is really a Bajan thing. Others, including West Indians, love it, but we may need to slow our singing to take it further. So that the outside fans can understand [what is being said],” DJ Chilly reasoned.