BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FROM the tender age of four, Konris Maynard started singing Calypsos at his pre-school’s talent show before capturing six Kaiso Monarch titles in his mature age. But where is he now?
Sitting in the office of SKNVibes Entertainment, the 30-year-old said that he was always surrounded by music as a child looking up to his father Linkon Maynard, also known as the Mighty Contenda, and his uncle Antonio Maynard (Mighty Director).
“My father was always my motivation even though he never won a competition. Just seeing him onstage made me want to one day be there. So I started to write some music and at age six I performed my own song,” Maynard said.
Where it all started for King Konris
King Konris, at age 10, wrote, recorded and released his first song called ‘Cool Skool’, where he portrayed going to school as a way for students to “be cool”.
“To enter the competition, I needed a name, so I asked my father for a name and he told me Konris. So I decided to use my name and call myself King Konris,” Maynard said when asked about the concept of his stage name.
In 1995, Konris decided to enter the National Junior Calypso Competition with a song called ‘We Gotta Fight’; a social commentary urging the society, old and young alike, to fight the evils of crime and drugs. He placed First Runner-up.
However, not to be daunted, in 1996 and 1997 the talented young man from Basseterre began his winning streak when he was crowned Junior Monarch in both years with his singles, ‘Boys in Danger’ and ‘Dat’s on my Mind’ respectively.
Other accomplishments
Being blessed with the ability and knowledge to compose song and to sing melodiously, Konris also excelled throughout his high school years and was presented the Principal’s All-Round Student Award.
Konris, on two occasions, had won the Best Overall Actor Award in the National High School Drama Festival in 1996 and 1999, the only years in which he participated.
Maynard, as a Youth Parliamentarian, debated many times in the National House of Assembly. He also went on to represent St. Kitts at the annual Leeward Islands Debating Competition in 2001, where his homeland placed second.
While at the Basseterre Junior High School, Konris said that he learned to play the steel pan and later produced and recorded his own pan arrangement, ‘Le Tropical’. Also at that school, he learned to play the trumpet was a member of the Symphonic Band.
Maynard, at just 15 years old, started arranging music for local calypsonians and in 2000 started the KGM Studio Productions, where he produced various genres of music but mainly focused on Calypso.
He later graduated from the Basseterre High School with nine CXC subjects and went on to Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College for his Advance Level subjects.
Konris had entered the Senior Calypso Monarch Competition on six different occasions, with a winning four-peat from 2005 to 2008. He repeated his winning performance in that competition in 2011 and 2013.
Since then, he has not competed.
SKNVibes Entertainment’s interview with this young legend will continue in Part Two, where Konris talks about becoming a father and his new role as a politician. He will also answer the much-anticipated question about his return to the Calypso arena.
Editor-in-Chief’s Note: SKNVibes solicits suggestions from the public in identifying other individuals who have made significant contributions to the Calypso art form in St. Kitts and Nevis. Feel free to email us at newsroom@sknvibes.com or call us at (869) 466-9242 or (869) 662-3901 and pass on the relevant information.
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