By Essiba Small, HER Magazine
If you have an Instagram account or you’re on TikTok, you would surely have seen videos by a user called Soca Sargeant. You can’t miss them, honestly. They usually feature Sargeant, a long-haired, full-bearded man in a fete, wining down low with female patrons, his red white and black Trinidad and Tobago flag in one hand. Sargeant is a proud Trinbagonian who was not born here. Read that again. But his father was – born and raised, with the family from Belmont. It is this T& T connection that is responsible for Sargeant’s genuine love for soca.
A quality inspector for turbine engines by day and a professional feter by night, who would have thought that a well-oiled waist and stamina would bring Sargeant fame? Certainly not JohnPaul Clark, Sargeant’s real name.
‘I started my Soca Sargeant IG (Instagram) for fun, honestly,’ he told Her magazine from his California, USA, home via Instagram. ‘I never expected my page to grow to this level. Once I reached 10K followers, I started to promote fetes, clothing and music. I’ve also had opportunities to host events and model at band launches.’
Sargeant has also appeared in the music video for Lil June’s song ‘OMG’. Currently, he has 33.8K followers on Instagram and 16.7K followers on TikTok.
‘I started the TikTok page as another avenue for possible opportunities and collaborations.
I got kicked off twice already because TikTok deemed some of my content as nudity, even though everyone was clothed. So this is my third attempt on TikTok.
‘My IG recently gained an extra 16k followers from a viral video of me at a fete here in Los Angeles, California. I am truly grateful to everyone that supports me!’
John-Paul vs Soca Sargeant
Soca Sargeant and John-Paul are yin and yang to one another. John-Paul is a dedicated father and family man. I’m hard-working, giving, ambitious and humble by nature. I believe that family always comes first, and as a father, son and oldest brother, it is my job to always look out for and protect my family.
Soca Sargeant, on the other hand, is a Jouvert
Family ties
I’m not from Trinidad, my father is. My family is related to Ellis Clarke, the first president of T& T, which is something we are very proud of. My family is large and has had a major influence on my life, so although I’m not from T& T, my roots and love for my Caribbean heritage are part of who I am. My father came to the US in 1985 to pursue more opportunities. Born in Florida and raised between New York and Texas, I have never lived in Trinidad, but I visit my family occasionally.
Humble beginnings
My family was never privileged. I come from very humble beginnings. My mother stayed at home to raise my brothers and me while my father worked jobs that would pay him under the table since he wasn’t an American citizen.
After my father became a citizen, he became a radiation therapist. He had many struggles as a fresh US citizen, but pushed through ough every challenge. I learned a lot from my father. He showed me how to be resilient while standing on my principles
Attention from female fans
The attention really doesn’t affect me.
I know that many can feel big-headed or boastful when receiving a lot of attention, but it’s just not in my nature. I was raised to always remain humble, remember where I came from and stay rooted in discipline. The love and support is amazing, but it won’t change who I am.
Significant other
My fiancée and I have a strong foundation built on openness, trust and communication. She has always been supportive of me and actually helps me curate content, records videos, styles me, rallies women to dance with me when we’re out. She is a more private person, so the attention can get a little over- whelming when we are out just trying to do us, but we talk about it and move forward. She has
Party animal
I go to as many fetes as I can! As soon as I reach, I feel at home. I am just now starting to really take IG and TikTok seriously, but the footage you have seen of me is from my fiancée or friends capturing moments when I was in my zone. It’s hard for me to capture the footage because once I reach the fete, the last thing on my mind is creating content, so what I post mostly Essiba Small scene is just me enjoying being on the scene. I do make guest appearances when I’m paid to host. You will never see me in VIP though. I am on the floor for the whole night until my legs lock up!
Spare time
My spare time is mostly family-filled. I’m always with my children (two – a boy and a girl) and fiancée enjoying time together. Outside of that, I go to the gym twice a day (five times a week) and I practise boxing occasionally. I also enjoy going to the gun range, debating, researching investment avenues and taking my fiancée on vacations.
Fit body maintenance
Thank you for considering me to be fit (laughs). I go to the gym twice a day, five times a week. I also drink plenty water and stay out of people’s business (laughs).
Personal playlist
If I shared my SoundCloud , you will find soca, calypso, parang, dancehall, R& B, 90s hip-hop, amapiano, dembow and Afrobeats mixes.
T& T visit
I am way overdue for a visit. The last time I was in T& T was in 2013 when I was returning from my contracting job in Afghanistan. I spent my time catching up with my family. I am making plans for Carnival next year 2023, though!
Weirdest fan comment
Do you get ‘excited’ when you dance on all these women? My inbox is mostly filled with love & support, but sometimes people ask weird things like this. To be clear, the answer is no! It’s just dancing for me and nothing more.
What’s next
I’m currently working on becoming a certified personal trainer and following other invest- ment opportunities. I remain open to possible opportunities Soca Sargeant can bring and I’m working on bringing many of my ideas to
One more thing
I’d like to big up my cousin Miguel who is a soca artist and my cousin Nakita Clarke, who has her clothing line.
