Kernal Roberts: The Stories Behind Palance, Jumbie & It’s Carnival

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You know the songs. Now hear how they happened.

Kernal Roberts joins us to share the stories behind “Palance,” “Jumbie” and “It’s Carnival”—from an unexpected phone call and a melody inspired by Roman trumpets to a visit to his father’s statue that helped unlock a missing lyric.

The songwriter, producer and musician takes us through his journey as the son of the Grandmaster, Lord Kitchener, while building a musical identity of his own. We revisit school calypso competitions, his first paying gigs, touring with Traffik and the opportunity that brought him together with Machel Montano and Destra Garcia for a Carnival classic.

We also get into preserving Kitchener’s legacy, grieving his mother, AI’s place in music, friendly Road March rivalry and why even an experienced hitmaker can’t always predict which song will last.

Plenty history, plenty laughs, and the stories behind music that continues to bring us together.

🎧 Part 2 is available now on Patreon, where we continue the conversation.

Which Kernal Roberts song holds the biggest memory for you? Tell us in the comments.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Preview: The stories behind the hits
01:42 Intro & supporting the podcast
02:20 Meet Kernal Roberts
04:00 School days & calypso competitions
06:39 Keeping Lord Kitchener’s legacy alive
10:12 Remembering his mother & “Sugar Bum Bum”
11:28 Pelham Goddard’s contribution to the classics
12:10 AI, Suno & the future of music
17:02 Can you predict a classic?
18:47 How the “Palance” story began
20:06 Part 2 on Patreon
20:31 Writing “Palance” for JW & Blaze
26:34 When “Palance” took over
27:59 The Roberts family’s Road March legacy
30:20 Competing with Fay-Ann Lyons
32:28 Creating “Jumbie” & his father’s inspiration
42:37 Machel Montano & recognising a winning song
44:01 Being ready for your opportunity
45:14 Advertise with us
45:59 Living the rock star life
46:44 Leaving school & choosing music
48:35 Drumming, steelpan & his early opportunities
57:48 The opportunity to join Traffik
01:04:28 Years with Traffik & moving to Machel
01:06:42 Destra, friendship & finding his voice as a writer
01:08:57 Working with Charlies Roots & Superblue
01:12:12 “Tremble It”: The song they believed in
01:16:14 A disappointing follow-up & starting again
01:17:20 Turning “Time After Time” into “It’s Carnival”
01:19:22 Finding the right collaborator
01:20:10 Touring struggles & pitching the song to Machel
01:26:38 Bringing Machel & Destra together
01:27:23 Learning “It’s Carnival” on the road
01:30:40 What’s coming in Part 2

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