Latest update January 17th, 2025 6:30 AM
Jumo reclaims 2015 Carib Soca Monarch title
Kwesi ‘Ace’ Edmondson failed to defend his crown, as Jumo Primo emerged as the new soca king at the coveted 2015 Carib Soca Monarch competition.
Best Newcomer Jory Hector performing
This weekend’s competition proved a clash of prowess as each of the 15 artistes vying for the 2015 title brought their “A” game to the National Park to impress both the crowd and judges. From fireworks to elaborate costuming to big mechanical cranes, contestants definitely managed to wow the crowd with their showcases.
By the end of the spectacular showdown Ace copped the $500,000 second place prize while former Junior Soca Monarch Ernesta ‘Nesta’ Nelson secured third with her song “AIn’t Stopping”. Rounding out the finalist of winners was Melissa ‘Vanilla’ Roberts.
Meanwhile, new to the soca realm, Jory Hector, walked away with the Best Newcomer prize of $100,000 with his crowd whistling performance of “Whistle”.
The competition kicked off around 23:00hrs, with patrons trickling onto the National Park tarmac, filling the venue close to capacity. At the show’s height, crowds reached to roughly 600 patrons, giving performers a sizeable energy to feed off of.
Arriving on a tractor to jumpstart the show was Kwesi Ace, whose “Forking” performance was accompanied by farmers and forks to complete his agricultural motif. His showcase created a lot of hype for the crowd, even referencing the current political climate as an added spark of relevance. He also mentioned the difficulty his song faced on the airwaves as it was not permitted to regularly play on the radio.
As the night continued, female performers like Vanilla, Lady T, Kemmy and Nesta definitely proved as opponents to be reckoned with.
Vanilla impressed the audience with her vibrant and literally high stakes showcase that had her swinging on a makeshift contraption above the crowd.
But of the ladies it was Nesta who won the favour of the judges as her performance of “Ain’t Stopping” managed to still energise the venue even though she was the last. Her costuming also captivated eyes as it was considered an elegantly flowing Mashramani themed attire.
While most of the competition steered away from bashing the other competitors, some still participated in the dishonorable behavior. Crowds did not respond kindly to Levar Gittens’ stunt involving a “Law and Order” mock up that targeted the other competitors. Members of the crowd even booed the performance for its tasteless charade.
Another remarkable performer was Jory, whose whistle song had huge sections of the crowd blowing their whistles in support. This was the first time the usual dancehall artist and popular Sophia native, has entered the soca arena. He excited the masses with his militant back-up dancers ,engaging whistle blowing antics.
By the time Jumo arrived on stage the audience was ready for a performance that was electrifying and nuance. Jumo incorporated styles of contemporary hip-hop and traditional Mashramani elements. The performer even gifted the crowd with his signature dance moves, as he is also known as Jumo ‘Rubber-Waist’ Primo.
Moments after emerging as the champion, Jumo related that he lost two days of sleep in preparation for the event and was ecstatic that his hard work paid off. The new Soca King spent days campaigning across the country to garner support for his song “Unruly”.
Jumo believes that he won the competition due to his dedication, ambition and policy to stay away from bashing other performers during the finals.
“For the last three years artists been coming up and bashing other soca artists in the competition and I don’t understand why,” related Jumo, “it is not a dancehall or rap battle. This is being broadcast worldwide and you don’t want people to see Guyana in that kind of light.”
The artist commended Carib for choosing a clean performance that was injected with energy. He even said that he found the semi-finals to be a better experience since artists were focusing on producing top notch performances rather than bashing the competition.
“In order to build the music industry artists should keep recording,” said Jumo, crediting his victory to his versatile approach towards music. To that end, Guyanese can expect the “biggest and baddest” band come Mashramani Day from the Soca King.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
No conflict of interest exists
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Accusations of conflict of interest have a peculiar way of rising to the surface in Guyana.... more
Clarifying misconceptions about the Panama Canal
Sir Ronald Sanders (Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS) By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News–... more
Weekend Cartoon
