BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – HIS journey took him through many avenues of the entertainment industry stretching as far back as the late 1980s to his most recent accomplishment when he shocked some, fulfilled the expectations of many and now has his eyes set on retaining the coveted Power Soca Monarch crown that he won last December.
Leslie ‘Sugar Bowl’ Morton is known as a popular DJ and local television personality, and while his presence is currently very much noticeable, few know of or even remember his humble beginnings and even fewer might know of his aspirations.
This article aims to highlight Sugar Bowl’s journey from junior calypsonian to his plans for the immediate and distant future.
How it all began
As a student of the Basseterre Junior High School, Sugar Bowl entered the Talented Teen Pageant (which was then open to both genders). He said he sang a song which was given to him by a Mr. Clarke. Having placed First Runner-up in the competition, he made another attempt in the following year but failure at that resulted in him calling it quits for the junior calypso arena.
What next?
Sugar Bowl stayed clear of the entertainment arena from that point until 1995 when he was in need of a job. He explained that having applied to several businesses and being told that his applications were put on file, a visit to a shop to purchase a meal of ham and rolls indirectly kicked-started his DJ career.
“…One day I was getting some rolls with ham from Juggy shop up in the Village and I heard the radio in the background saying that ZIZ is looking for persons and so on…So I applied to ZIZ, they called me, I went for an interview and then it was pretty easy. I remember Polly Manchester, the manager at the time, asking me which department I wanted to go in. I thought it was a pretty easy one so I said radio and she said go over and Mr. Bradley was going to help me…”
The Signature
He was shown the ropes – operation of the console, music library etc. – and the time eventually came when one of the announcers was absent and Sugar Bowl was asked to fill in. The task was basic but, according to him, “the basic stuff just was cutting it for me because that wasn’t my personality.
“I used to be on mostly in the night and I started explaining songs, getting into what songs are actually saying and Mr. Bradley would call and say: ‘No, no Leslie, just say the time, just basic stuff…’ But I just couldn’t be basic!”
Holding down the graveyard shift and learning from his friends that they did not listen to that particular radio station, Sugar Bowl said he decided to stamp his signature on the segment by injecting different types of music, using dialect etc., which increased his popularity.
14 years in
Sugar Bowl said after such a long stint and dealing with both radio and television and still not being able to break past the $2000/month barrier, it was just time to move on.
“I went to SKNVibes which opened up my eyes and my ears in terms of what I was missing out on. I was just at ZIZ and didn’t realise my full potential that there were other things out there you could do. That was a pretty exciting time!
“At ZIZ I used to do the Sugar Bowl Show and when I went to SKNVibes I used to do Pep Radio, which was an online thing and we linked with Radio One. Also, that’s when PEP TV got started where we would produce a DVD and give it to the Cable and they would play it every Wednesday night.”
Entrepreneurship
Sugar Bowl explained that when he left SKNVibes in 2010, he left with rights to the PepTV enterprise. “That’s where real entrepreneurship came, where I learnt how to be a small business person.”
Having left SKNVibes, he continued as a DJ with FreedomFM.
Entering the Soca Monarch Bullring
“When the Soca Monarch first stated, Music Festival and so on, I would do some freestyling and so on…and get the crowd into it; same thing at shows. And while MC-ing the Soca Monarch, I used to think I could do this, because the way the Soca Monarch show is, you don’t have to be the best singer in the world. Once you perform and keep the crowd entertained, you have a chance.”
Sugar Bowl said he also received encouragement from others including his Pep TV producer and Groovy Soca Monarch 2014/2015 Janos ‘Mr. Bagnall’ Bagnall.
Following up on the encouragement, he attended a Carnival Committee meeting with prospective Soca competitors and explained that in some respects the decision was made for him.
“I went to the meeting and listened. At the end of the meeting we took a photo of persons in the meeting and the next day I came to work and I’m getting messages from people saying they would come to the show to see me. I didn’t know what they were talking about. The picture was posted on the Carnival Facebook page and that was it.”
In less than a week, Sugar Bowl said he was able to build a beat with the assistance of music producer ‘Dijon’ and the song was written. And within two weeks it had already been recorded.
The Soca Monarch Semis
Confidence was the main ingredient, Sugar Bowl acknowledged. He said when he entered the competition and the Semi-Finals were being held, his biggest concern was remembering the lyrics to his song. But after doing his best and leaving the venue following his performance, he knew that he had done well. So well he did that he was at the top of the lot.
Shaking off the nerves
Whether he is hosting a live show or performing, Sugar Bowl bounces onto the stage with obvious and infectious confidence. He however admits that he suffers from stage fright but had learnt how to deal with it effectively.
“I’m scared when I go on stage; so can you imagine then at 14 years old? Yes, now I am scared! I normally do my stretches and warm-ups and so on in order to try and get rid of that.
“I learned the warm-up thing in drama. I joined the national drama group, National Players, and they would teach us how to do warm-up exercises. Red leather, yellow leather, vocal exercises, tongue twisters etc. And also physical stretches to loosen up your entire body. I do that everytime, whether I am going to MC or anything to do with performance, PEP TV. Those are traits that I’ve learnt and I have found that they work.”
The Finals
Those who attended the event can attest to the fact that Sugar Bowl brought the energy and outperformed his competitors. However, he admits that he was not at his best and was “running on fumes” on that evening.
“Mentally, I was drained because we had to be there before the show started, so I was behind there sitting down. I came out to watch certain people perform, like Janos who I had to support. If I didn’t want to see Janos perform, I probably would have gone home to sleep for a bit. So I basically was running on fumes while I was on stage. I didn’t feel like I was at my best.”
Nonetheless, when his time came, the last of the lot, he took to the stage and gave a crown-winning performance.
What’s next?
Junior calypsonian, popular DJ, radio personality, television show host, entrepreneur, father, and Power Soca Monarch, Sugar Bowl has accomplished much over the past 20 years and he informed that he has every intention of defending his crown this year and promised that his Power Soca song would be flooding the airwaves by September.
He also said he just might try his hand at the Groovy Soca crown.
On a personal note, Sugar Bowl said for 2015 he would be working on acquiring his “own space”, his own home.
