|
|
Bodyguard Cops Young King Crown
Roger 'Bodyguard' Mohammed sings, "Ungrateful Pastor"
TriniSoca.com Reporters
Event Date: February 05, 2007
Posted: February 12, 2007
The singing policeman 'Bodyguard', copped the $100,000 first prize and the Young King Crown from a group of twenty-one other Calypsonians at the St. James Amphitheatre on Monday 5th February, 2007.
Giving a sterling performance of "Ungrateful Pastor", Roger 'Bodyguard' Mohammed amused as well as entertained the crowd. The song took on the "religious national budget". He dealt with an 'ungrateful pastor' who, instead of hearing the pleas of the people for proper social infrastructure, would give religious thoughts and no solutions. Taking on the character of a pastor 'Bodyguard' came dressed in his pastoral robes and armed with his Holy Bible.
Marvin 'Mr. King' Lewis and Roderick 'Mr. Chucky' Gordon both sang on the 'Bad Boy' style of life and tied for second place. Mr. King sang a Calypso version of his hit "Borderline" where he examined the numerous borderlines that are being placed, "...where one man 'fraid to go into a next man community".
'Mr. King', son of Calypso veteran Austin 'King Austin' Lewis, who sang the song "Progress", was a crowd favorite. Another crowd favourite, Roderick 'Chucky' Gordon, sang about the 'Street Justice' where he lamented the bandit's style of 'life'.
Fourth place went to Sheldon Nugget who asked the Nation to hold on their judgments of the homeless they encounter in his song "Life of the Homeless".
Rounding out the top five was Jervae Caesar, with his Calypso "Carry Me" which examined the injustice against young blacks and their apparent lack of direction.
Speaking that night was the Chairman of the NACC, Kwasi Mutema, who stressed the importance of celebrating the excellence of our artistes. He intimated that it was a privilege to listen to twenty-two of the best Calypsonians in the country render their tunes. He further urged the competitors to not only entertain, but to educate the communities of Trinidad and Tobago.
Deputy Mayor of the City of Port of Spain, Mr. Rishi Lakhan, also addressed the gathering. He firstly apologized for the absence of the Mayor, Mr. Murchison Brown, who had asked him to represent him. According to Mr. Lakhan, the NACC has contributed greatly to the development of the Calypso art form in the country. This particular competition, the Young Kings Calypso Competition, has produced several legendary Calypsonians and as a result, has grown in popularity over the years and has acted as a springboard for artistes to develop their career in Calypso, according to the Deputy Mayor. He also congratulated the two honorees, 'Swallow' and 'Surpriser'.
On that night, several artistes who have significantly contributed to the development of the Calypso art form were given tokens by the NACC. Receiving Makandal Baaga Challenge trophies were 1994 Young King, Franz 'Delamo' Lamkin, 1995 Young King, Wayne 'Watchman' Hayde and 1996 Young King, Kerwin Du Bois. Awards for outstanding achievements in the Calypso art form were presented to Clevin 'Surpriser' Romero and Rupert 'Swallow' Philo who both received an additional token of $5,000.
Hopefully, the NACC's attempt to recognize good quality Calypsonians would be copied by other organizations in the country.
NACC Young Kings Calypso Monarch Competition in pictures:
www.trinisoca.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=55591
|
|
