Raeon “Maddzart” Primus defeated defending monarch Lornette “Fya Empress” Nedd to win the National Calypso Monarch crown at Victoria Park on Sunday.
In so doing, Maddzart made history, having won each of the major singing competitions of Vincymas – Power Soca, Ragga Soca, Calypso Monarch and Road March.
Sunday’s show was the second major Vincymas competition in as many nights that saw a defending monarch placing fourth.
Maddzart appeared to draw on his experience with the subgenres of calypso – kaiso, power and ragga soca — as he performed his craftily written double entendre “Contours”.
However, Fya Empress fans who were convinced that she — with her silvery voice — was the act to beat, left them disappointed after she sang a verse of her song twice, after promising “another verse”.
It is not clear whether it was her intention or if she was distracted by the cock costume with “Lee” on its chest that was one of her props in her presentation of “Hypocrites and Crooks”.
But Fya Empress, having told the musicians “one more verse” proceeded to sing the verse of the song that she had just rendered.
Second place went to Elvis ‘Abijah’ Abbey with his political commentary “Dem Pirates” while Robert Patches’ King’s “The Kingdom Must Come Down”, another political commentary, placed third.
Maddzart will take home EC$30,000 — EC$5,000 more than Fya Empress received last year.
This year, the Carnival Development Corporation has increased the prize monies for calypso, among other carnival competitions.
The other winners in the calypso competition will also receive larger prizes than their counterparts did last year.
The results were an echo of the Ragga Soca competition Saturday night, when Javid “Jay-R” Rouse, who supplanted the throne in 2023, found himself in a fourth-position tie along with the duo Claydon “Dymez” Roache and Elrico “Da Pixel” Hunte.
Do the Islands have any other culture? All they do year after year is sing calypso and drink rum. Argue about politics and when hurricane season comes, bawl.
I listened to Elvis ‘Abijah’ Abbey contribution and was very impressed. I am not surprised by the position he got. It’s also a song for the road.
“When you see your neighbors house on fire help him put it out at the same time wet yours”,it was not our neighbor house on fire but our brothers/sister life and livelihood in a disaster and we failed miserable to do anything meaningful to help but we did shake bumsee with the food and strength given to us from above,as only we can,but soon after i saw the outstretch hands and heard the voices seeking help from those that no one care was to listen to before,it begs the question who are we suppose to be giving help ?,the brother or sister that shake bumsee and refuse to reach out while their siblings were without water or roof ?, mothers and fathers of svg you have done it at last you have lead from the front to divide us as the powers that be could not have done on their own,is the grenadines indeed a part of svg?what did you tell your children ? that they dont matter ?,decisions like this will have consequences for us all
Does anyone remember the story behind Trinidad once having ” Mas in May ” ?