Senior Reporter/Producer
akash.samaroo@cnc3.co.tt
Akhenaton “Yung Bredda” Lewis and Anthony “Squeezy Rankin” La Fleur have, for the first time in their careers, made it to the semi-final round of the National Calypso Monarch Competition at Skinner Park, San Fernando.
The two, known mostly for their dancehall and steam music genres, will now perform on a calypso stage at Skinner Park, popularly called Calypso Fiesta, on February 22.
Yung Bredda tried the soca genre for the first time this year and has a hit with The Greatest Bend Over. However, he has gone to another level by also trying calypso, and has surprised many with his rendition of We Rise, which has earned him a place in the semi-final.
Squeezy Rankin has similarly entered the calypso arena after years in the dancehall genre and earned his place with Justice.
The 40 semi-finalists, out of the 199 who auditioned at the preliminary stage, were announced yesterday at the Radisson Hotel by the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO).
Former competition winners, Duane Ta’Zyah O’Connor, Karene Asche, Kurt Allen, Roderick Gordon and Terri Lyons have also made it to the semis. They semi-finalists will be vying for a chance to dethrone Machel Montano, who lifted his first monarch title last year.
TUCO president Ainsley King boasted that so far, preparation for the competition has been going smoothly with state and private sponsorships not being a major issue this year.
King revealed that first prize will be $750,000 in cash plus a vehicle valued at $300,000. The artiste placing second will receive $500,000 while the third-place finisher will take home $350,000.
King said over half of their tickets for the 12,000-capacity Skinner Park venue have already been sold and this year, TUCO is putting an end to complimentary tickets.
“And the complimentary (tickets) that we normally give out, we are not able to do it because the tickets are selling. If you want to be a part of the event, go buy a ticket,” he warned, saying early bird tickets are finished. But King said this year will be unlike any other, as he announced a renaissance for the artform which he hopes will bring more respect to calypso and attract younger participants and spectators.
“We at TUCO have decided to put some attention to calypso, to bring more visibility and attractiveness. So, what we decided to do is to declare the whole year, the year of calypso,” King said. He added, “We are going to put intensive attention by having activities throughout the year and setting up platforms to educate. Because we recognise where our music industry is concerned, the education is needed. Because what calypso means and its value, we realise a lot of people don’t know. We hear people saying calypso is a dying art, we hear people saying calypso is not drawing interest. But calypso is deeper than that. In fact, calypso is a spirit and one that would never die.”
King said changes have already been made, as there are no longer guarantees or “seeded spots” for calypsonians performing at the tents.
“We saw that as stifling and bringing a stagnation to kaiso. Calypso belongs to the nation, and every young person who chooses to sing kaiso. And that sort of structure and system would only force them to become discouraged. So, we have opened up the gate to give young and new people a chance. So, everybody had to audition.”
King said TUCO has taken note of the disrespect meted out to calypso, which he said is branded as an artform only for the elderly.
“We have planted a seed and this seed is to open up so young people can know this is not just for daddy and granny and them. You are seeing Yung Bredda and other people are coming because they have the understanding. Calypso is simply an artform that requires creativity and people who have a spirit with them. So, it’s not an old man thing or old people thing,” King said.
He admitted that promoting the artform has been a challenge in the past and that has led to what he is calling an “identity crisis” in this country’s music industry.
King lamented that soca and other genres have lost their local flavour and now sounds like an amalgamation of other styles of music. He believes calypso can bring more focus to T&T’s indigenous spirit.
“You can imagine you go to get a Grammy and your music sounding like R&B? But we accept it here because soca is any and everything and people are accepting the hype and not really having some form of identity or selling a product that represents the people of Trinidad and Tobago, we push that aside for hype. And these are things we need to be conscious of because we have been damaging this industry.”