When I asked Scott Shephard, founder of FFConnect, where his passion for music came from, he explained it started in his early youth — routinely tuning into BBC’s Radio 1 Hip-hop show, hosted by Tim Westwood. His career in the industry, on the other hand, flourished after he secured a gig at Death Row Records. With his foot in the door, Shephard eventually decided to leave college and pursue a full-time career in the music industry, starting a digital content management company. He got an early start in digital marketing experience with help from Johnny Lawes, owner of Jago Management, and his career breakthrough came when he started working with R&B singer Mark Morrison.

Between his work for Mack Life Records and roles as President of Global Music Group’s European division, Founder and CEO of digital media company SC923, and most recently a playlist curator for FFConnect–Shephard is fully embracing the digital age.

Since the launch of FFConnect, Shephard has been able to accumulate over 22k followers on Spotify alone. While browsing through his network page, his playlist Caribbean Summer Vibes immediately caught my attention. Chatting with him about this specific playlist made his keen industry insight evident, so it's no surprise to find Caribbean Summer Vibes is the largest playlist both in follow-count and in artist streams.

“What a lot of people don’t realize about Caribbean music, is that it's constantly impacting the charts. It’s always gone hand-in-hand with hip-hop and R&B–but you can also hear elements of Caribbean music in most of today’s pop music.” A favorite example of his is last summer's undeniable smash from Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee f/Justin Bieber, "Despacito."

Ultimately, his playlist was inspired by the dance vibe that comes from Caribbean music and its a feel-good playlist you don’t want to miss out on. It features upcoming artists such as Ramriddiz and Samkul, while still showcasing internationally known artists such as WizKid and Stefflon Don. You can check it out below...