BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – EIGHT calypsonians will be battling for the National Calypso Monarch title on December 29 following the Semi-Finals held Saturday night (Dec. 19) at Carnival Village.
Making the list from a total of 16 competitors are Big Lice, Nevis’ King Astro, Queen Kibbie, Singing Jackie, Nevis’ Hollywood, I-Soursop, King Dis ‘N’ Dat and King Socrates.
Big Lice, in his first song, said he is not apologizing for a past incident in ‘No Apology’ and followed it up also an uplifting one entitled ‘A Search for Hope’; while King Astro, who was the Second Runner-up in last year’s National Calypso Finals last year, told his audience that he intends to seal the deal this year with ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘Criminals be gone’.
Queen Kibie, who never fails to entertain, is hoping to be the first female National Calypso Monarch with her tunes ‘Job Vacancy’ and ‘Job well done’ while the reigning Female Calypso Queen, Singing Jackie, who many thought should have worn the national crown last year, teased the crowd with ‘Can’t be business as usual’ and the very inspiring ‘Turn your scars into stars’.
Hollywood, the only local calypsonian to ever beat the 4-peat King, Konris Maynard, in a National Junior Calypso show, dazzled patrons with his ‘Kitti-Nevi’ and he paid tribute to past calypsonians with ‘Calypso Jersey’. Reigning Culturama King, I-Soursop is hoping to end the year with two crowns as he sang ‘Living de life’ and ‘Time Tell It’.
However, King Dis N Dat hopes to disrupt his plans by taking the crown with his songs ‘Papa’ and ‘Bail Out’. King Socrates, a former four-time crowned National Calypso Monarch, told SKNVibes he sat out last year’s competition so that he could plan and come stronger this year. He performed ‘Let Justice Reign’ and ‘The Real Health Scare’.
The night however featured a number of glitches and technical difficulties, including a late start and several breaks during the performances as well as one calypsonian whose performance was interrupted because the lights went out.
The Legend’s Band and the Proud Sounds Band provided musical accompaniment for the 16 calypsonians, and they have been doing so at the tents during the past weeks leading up to the Eliminations and Semi-Finals.
Other calypsonians who participated in last night’s Semi-Finals are Mighty J, Mighty Takeover, Baker, Godfrey, King Dwighty, Quantash, Singing Angie and the popular Lord Kut. Special mention must be made of Lord Kut’s showmanship, especially when he performed his popular ‘Ho-mea’ hit and drove the crowd to frenzy.
Lord Kut stood on stage, directly in front of the judges, watching and pointing directly at them head on ,as he sang about transparency and fairness during the judging of calypso shows.
Although his performance did not grant him a seat in the Finals, it could be a winner for the ‘Best of the Rest’ competition that will be held on December 27 along with the Female Bacchanal competition at Carnival Village.
Maynard, the reigning Calypso Monarch, has decided not to compete in this year’s Calypso Finals, much to the disappointment of his fans.
