Sivers Tha Third Releases 12 Days of Independence Project: A Blend of Hip-Hop and Rap Reflecting on Barbadian Nationhood

Sivers Tha Third, whose real name is Darian Kevin Sivers, reached international acclaim when he became the first Barbadian rapper to be featured by Shout Out Miami — an international magazine with well over a million readers.

Coming off of his international success. Sivers Tha Third released his 12 Days of Independence project, which reflects on Barbados’ nationhood as the island celebrates 57 years of Independence.

“The reason I decided to release this 12 Days of Independence project is because I feel like every year independence takes a back seat to the discount sales and Christmas songs and shows,” he said.

“As there are 12 days of Christmas, I wanted to dedicate 12 Days of Independence. The only way I knew how to do that was to produce music. I pitched it to my team and in 2022 we released the first installment of the project. I intend to release one every year, 12 songs, 12 visuals which depict both the positive and the negative aspects of Barbadian culture.”

Sivers Tha Third said he became infatuated with music at 10-years-old after being introduced to Notorious BIG and Method Man through his brother Antonio Sivers who was playing rap music in their home. Since then, he has been making a name for himself in both the local and international market and his project 12 Days of Independence is a beautiful blend of hip-hop and rap that has an international sound but with some Bajan flavour.

Speaking about the project, he said it was produced by Mad Mixy and has some notable Barbadian entertainers featured on the 12 songs.

“Mad Mixy is featured on the song Bamsey, the lovely Leigh Phillips is featured on the song Bread and EZ Billy, formerly known as Billy Kincaid, is featured on Drinks and Spage on Tease. I decided to utilize these artistes to relieve the dark and sometimes serious tone of the music on this year’s project, ” he said.

The former student of St Michael School and Harrison College said the album contains something for everyone as it delves into many themes which are reflective of Barbadian society in 2023.

“The project touches on pride and industry, slavery, pension, childbirth and child rearing, diabetes, sugar consumption, love, as well as fetting. The album could be best described as a zeitgeist of Barbadian cultures and stories that I have collected from the early 2000s till present date. Some of the verses are a bit lengthy but if the public takes the time to listen to them, they will slowly realise each one has its own charm,” he said.