Adult Calypso Semi Final Competition...Mighty Believer to give De Professor a run for his money

Adult Calypso Semi Final Competition…Mighty Believer to give De Professor a run for his money

Feb 09, 2015 News

With performances that had an audience of almost 1000 rocking, local Calypsonians threw down the gauntlet to reigning monarch ‘De Professor’ who many would agree will be hard pressed to retain his crown.
And as was predicted by the judges, this year’s Adult Calypso Mashramani Competition was filled with too much politics and perhaps, too little entertainment.
This was aptly displayed at the semifinal round of the competition, which took place on Saturday last at the Bartica Community Centre.

The Mighty Believer in action

Supported by the melodious sounds of the Mingles Band, 20 contestants fought ‘tooth and nail’ to win not only the crowd’s appreciation but the judge’s approval for entry into the final leg of the competition which will be held at Thirst Park on February 20. But in the end, only ten were successful.
Those making the cut were Kenroy “Mighty Believer” Fraser, Ivan “D’ivan” Harry, Ras Marcus, Abigail James, Karen “Queen Makeba” Bennette, Roger ‘Young Bill Rogers’ Hinds, Martin ‘Mighty Voter’ Byrne, Manoel ‘King Pearai’Ferreira, Diana Chapman, and this year’s Junior Calypso Monarch Daniel Prowell.
Those who sought to be different, according to the judges, “messed up big time” costing them a place in the final round.
Some who are known to be ‘regulars’ tried their best to be creative and kept the political topics at arm’s length.
While others just couldn’t resist the temptation to sing about the hot political issues of the day.
Many had similar tunes on the drama at City Hall involving Town Clerk, Carol Sooba, the No-Confidence Motion, the prorogued Parliament and the alleged threats against Kaieteur News by Attorney General Anil Nandlall.
But there were those who managed to pull it off with the political commentary effortlessly. At the end of the show, it was the Mighty Believer’s “They tekkin pay” that remained on the patrons’ minds.

King Pearai entertaining the audience with his piece

There were other notable performances in the first half of the semifinal round.
D’Ivan’s piece, “We need a change”, spoke about the need for accountability in Guyana and for the abuse of the state resources to come to a halt.
Ras Marcus’s song, “The law is an ass” was also a crowd favourite.
This year, Queen Makeba kept her distance from the popular political subjects and spoke this time about a man’s “Lying Tongue.” Without question, this relatable piece was highly favoured by the women.
However, the one performer who truly captivated everyone was King Pearai. His piece was deemed by many to be, “honest, refreshing and absolutely funny.”
The calypsonian said, “Everyone tekkin they eyes an’ pass buck people, but buck people aint stupid.”
The contestants were judged on lyrical content, melody, compatibility, diction, intonation, attire, showmanship among others requirements.
Judges who spoke with this publication at the conclusion of the show said that while they applaud the efforts made by the contestants, there are still “major areas” that need to be improved.
They opined that generally, there still remains the issue of poor structure. They found that the melody for some songs were too ordinary and more could have been done to improve some of the songs presented, had the calypsonians taken more time to do research and refine their lyrics.

Diana Chapman during her performance

The winner of the Adult Calypso Competition will walk away with a trophy and $600,000 while the runner up will receive $450,000. The Calypsonian who comes in third will be awarded $200,000 and the fourth place winner will receive $100,000.
When this was announced at the semi-final round, it caused most members of the audience to throw tantrums. Some described the prize monies as “chicken feed” and demanded that Guyanese calypsonians be treated with “some level of respect and dignity for their talent.”