BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ONE of the Federation’s seasoned performers is criticizing the Sugar Mas Soca Monarch Competition and its artistes, citing that they lack creativity.
The performer is Devon ‘Lord Kut’ Liburd who, while speaking recently with SKNVibes Entertainment, expressed that the Soca Monarch Competition should be one that stretches and challenges the participating artistes to engage their creative side.
He said several artistes appear to have a cookie cutter mentality and rather than showcasing their individuality and creativity, they are write their songs around one specific rhythm or beat.
Lord Kut pointed to last year’s competition in which three Soca artistes produced and performed songs to the popular “stickle riddim”.
And for the upcoming Sugar Mas 45 season, at least three Soca songs have already been created on the “spray starch riddim”.
“Everybody who participates in the Soca Monarch Competition sings one tune. A man makes up a beat and everybody sings on the beat, and they mislead the whole art form of Soca. That is not how it is supposed to go. You have to be creative and it is not just about jump up and jump up, you should have a little story to tell,” the veteran calypsonian said.
Lord Kut said he had wanted to throw his hat into the Soca Competition ring but changed his mind after something he claimed he was told did not sit well with him.
“I had promised to go into the Soca Monarch Competition and I already had my song prepared. But you know what they told me? They said I had to go to a specific person. I forget what the name of the person is but they say I have to go there because he makes the beats. I want to make my own beat and beat them with my beat. That is how creativity goes.
“A couple of the Soca artistes, last year, sang from the same beat and, to me, it was the same thing. You couldn’t tell who was who. How can you do that? How can you divide a song into seven pieces and give one person some and another person some? Come on! There is no creativity in the competition.”
The seasoned calypsonian said the Carnival Committee via the Soca Monarch Committee has a responsibility to mandate that the artistes showcase their creativity for their good and the good of the Soca art form.
