BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN his last interview with this media house, the reigning Calypso Monarch of St. Kitts and Nevis, Konris Maynard, hinted that his second song would be ‘hitting’; and indeed it is after he released ‘By De Breath’ earlier today (Dec. 20) on Freedom FM.
In this hard-hitting, cleverly crafted calypso, Maynard speaks about an issue that he faces almost every Carnival, which is the negative feedback and criticisms about his many wins so far in the Calypso, Soca and Road March arenas.
He told SKNVibes that people who are always successful would face those with the ‘crab in the barrel mentality’, where they are under the impression that he is winning for a specific reason and that the Labour Government is helping him.
“They seem to forget the hard work people put in, the resources and finances to win and actually having a good song etc. It takes a lot, and sometimes people can take that for granted. Everything that I have done in the entertainment arena for the past couple of years, they always have things to say,” he said.
Maynard noted that there were things said about him when he won the Road March crown and also the Calypso crown four times in a row.
“Before I could sing a song like this, I needed to be able to sing a song like this…I can’t sing a song like this after one year. I have now gone through a number of competitions. I have won regional crowns, I have won around six national crowns, including Silver Jubilee. I have won Road March and I have won Soca Monarch, so I think I have a little bit of lea way now to sing this song.
“It seems as though I have persons going by de breath and I think I needed to speak and I did it in the song,” he said.
In the first verse of the song, Maynard spoke of December 23, 2011 when he lost in the Groovy and Power categories of the Soca Monarch Competition, stating that persons rejoiced as if they had won the world cup.
“Last year, when I competed in the Soca Monarch, and for a number of reasons I didn’t place, even though I thought I had a decent showing in the Groovy Soca but I know I lost quite a bit of points for overtime and I never complained about that, some people were extremely happy. They were thinking ‘they get the king now, that was a great show’, just because I didn’t place. And they were hoping for that to translate into the Calypso Monarch Finals, but calypso is very dear to me and I will do everything in my power to always defend well.”
His second tune takes jabs at other well-known calypsonians, and if one is an avid listener to the art form then one can guess which calypsonian he is possibly singing about.
And, so far, his song has been a buzz around town, with many persons sharing it on popular social networks and references it ‘by de breath’ phrase.
“The feedback has been quite interesting. I think I have some going by de breath in terms of wondering if they should support me or not, and it’s creating interesting reactions and I love it. It’s calypso…it’s good for Carnival and it’s entertainment,” he said.
As Maynard sings, there is nothing like final night kaiso; the excitement of the performances that include stage presentation usually leave a lasting impression on kaiso fans who make their way to the venue an hour or two before starting time just to get a good seat.
And it will all go down next Friday (Dec. 28) at Sugar Mill, where Maynard will defend his crown against Calypso Craig, Big Lice, Rudder, Ace, Lady Diva, I-Soursop, King Godfrey and Singing Jackie.
