BASSETERRE, St. Kitts- FROM a field of eight calypsonians, the Mighty Zarky won his first calypso title last night (Apr.17) in Sandy Point at the first ever Black San Bang-A-Lang’s Carib King A De San Calypso Competition.
Each calypsonian performed two songs in the two-round competition which saw the Mighty Zarky, a Christian, winning the first round with his hard-hitting ‘Absent Fathers’; while I-Soursop led the pack in round two with a calypso titled ‘A Mother’s Pain’.
The Christian calypsonian won the judges’ nod and was declared winner of the competition with 287 points, beating I-Soursop into second place by seven points, while Quantash placed third with 262 points.
Listed below are names of the calypsonians, their renditions and the points they scored in each round, which were shown on a big screen after each performance.
| Calypsonian |
Name of first song |
Name of second song |
Round one |
Round two |
| Forest |
Country Bawling |
Liamigua Facing Dilemma |
128 |
132 |
| Quantash |
I have to sing |
Righteous Exalts a Nation |
125 |
137 |
| Little Willy |
Run Willy Run |
She Goin For Cane |
100 |
94 |
| King Lala |
Buy Local |
Puppy a tun dog |
115 |
89 |
| Lord Black |
Come sing me a song |
They band me a song |
123 |
110 |
| Mighty Zarky |
Absent Fathers |
Train Them |
142 |
145 |
| I-Soursop |
Aids |
A Mothers Pain |
134 |
146 |
| Unexpected |
Rock and Dirt |
Focus |
102 |
99 |
The competition was judged by Lenrick Lake, Jason Brazier and John Samuel, who each gave the contestants some very constructive feedback after their individual performance in the first round, which ended at 10:20 p.m.
The second round began after a short rendition from Calypso Reggie, who performed the duties of Master of Ceremonies for the night’s event.
The second round ended shortly before midnight and it was clear who the winner was as everyone had already seen the scores on the big screen.
The competition was held on an empty plot of land at The Alley in Sandy Point, opposite Daniel’s Trading Centre, with a relatively large crowd that seemed to be in favour of the judges’ decision.
Speaking briefly with the Mighty Zarky, he told SKNVibes that winning was not a big deal, but presenting the message.
“When I enter competitions it doesn’t matter if I win or not as long as I get my message across clearly to the people and they understand the message. That is what’s important to me,” he said.
Black San was organised by a recently-formed group of young people called Sandy Pointers Inspiring Real Improvement Throughout (SPIRIT), and the festival will continue on Thursday (Apr. 21) with the Silver Lining Gospel Concert at Cleverly Hill.
