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Posted: Tuesday 29 December, 2015 at 12:50 PM

Astro repeats history-making performance at Calypso Finals

Sugar Mas 44 Senior Calypso Monarch, King Astro
By: Stanford Conway, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN a hotly contested competition last evening (Dec.28) at the Sugar Mill on Port Zante, history was once again made by Astro when he successfully retained his title as the National Senior Calypso Monarch.

     

    Last year, Astro was the first Nevisian to have been crowned Calypso King at the national level, and last evening he had proven that he is still the cream of the crop when he beat his closest rival by 23 points.

    With the political landscape providing much fodder, the eight finalists zeroed in on topics such as corruption and social ills, while one of them, Lord Kut, had some members of the large and appreciative audience guessing what he meant in his satirical and witty rendition about ‘My Son Peter’.

    In the first round, Astro, who was the second competitor onstage, hit the audience with a song called ‘Reparation’, which addressed the days of slavery during Colonial dominance in the West Indies. He pointed out that it was a crime against humanity and no amount of money could pay the price for the depravation and lives lost during that era.

    That rendition went down well with the audience, but it is believed that his second song in the follow-up round was the one which impressed not only the judges for him to gain their nod, but also the audience and commentators.

    The song, ‘Throne Speech’, spoke to him being the messenger of the ‘People’s Parliament’, relaying to the Team Unity Government what the people are looking forward to during its tenure, noting that the Administration has to come better than its predecessor and that he would put fire to its tail in order for the Ministers to keep their promises and govern with decorum and transparency.

    For these two renditions, Astro amassed 759 points and kept the coveted crown.

    Queen Jackie, formerly Singing Jackie, was adjudged First Runner-up with 736 points.

    In the first round, she dished out one called ‘Precious Boat’ in which the vessel symbolised the voting population of the Federation in the last General Elections. She claimed that there was corruption in the Elections, pointed fingers in the direction of the then Supervisor of Elections and sang about the various court battles. She also sent a very strong message to the team Unity Administration, stating that the Government would expire if it does not deliver.

    Her second rendition, ‘Dear Guardian’, was an invocation of the African spirits, such as the Moca Jumbie, calling upon them to intervene culturally and socially in order to suppress the social ills and abhorrent behaviour experienced in the Federation, especially by the young. She implored them (the spirits) to “shine your light on that”.

    Like King Astro, both of Queen Jackie’s renditions were well appreciated.

    In the Second Runner-up position was I-Soursop with 733 points, whose first rendition, ‘Dey Lose’, also spoke to the last General Elections. He stated that despite ballot box padding, the former Administration still lost and it was the work of the Almighty that caused Team Unity to win.

    Second rendition, ‘Carnival Pressure’, was a deviation from his normal pieces. It was more of an up-beat tempo with musical accompaniment that included an iron band and props that also included Moca Jumbies. 

    This was new ground upon which I-Soursop had trodden. He is particularly known for songs of political commentaries, but took a swing at up-tempo where he was seen dancing and prancing all over the stage in carnival jam fashion. However, like all of his previous pieces, the two renditions were well written, but his vocals remain the same.

    Calypso Craig was adjudged Third Runner-up with 729 points singing ‘Our Dilemma’ and ‘How we reach Dem’.

    ‘Our Dilemma’ spoke to crime and punishment in the Federation. Calypso Craig said the murder rate is too high and, despite Amnesty International’s stance, hanging is the main solution for its reduction. He claimed that gunmen are on a killing spree and the authorities should employ his suggestion as a counter measure.

    His second rendition addressed a major social ill that exists not only in St. Kitts and Nevis, but the Caribbean as a whole.

    He talked about the vulgar and criminal-intent songs played on air that influence adolescents behaviour and appealed to the DJs to desist from so doing and choose those with more sober lyrics for listening pleasure and educational benefits.

    Among the other finalists was Ayatollah, who sang ‘One Family’ and ‘Put Down De Guns’. After some years away from competing, much was expected from this veteran calypsonian but he had failed to impress the judges even though he had headed the list of finalists at the Semi-Finals, where he had managed to bring the crowd to its feet. 

    Conclusively, he had some vocal difficulties in the second round and that may have been the reason for him not being in the top four.

    The other finalists were Queenie G who sang ‘Patriots Arise’ and “A Son’s Remorse’, Lady Diva with ‘So Far So Good’ and ‘Queen Lady Diva The First’, and Lord Kut with ‘The Oracle’ and his witty ‘My Son Peter’.

    All contestants were presented with participants trophies.
     
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