King Pearai dethrones De Professor with “indigenous” performance

Feb 22, 2015 News

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By Kiana Wilburg
Dethroning the 2014 Calypso Monarch, De Professor was deemed to be an extremely hard task. But the screams, continuous applause and a standing ovation that followed the truly outstanding performance of Manoel ‘King Pearai’ Ferreira, was testimony that it could be done effortlessly.
It was unanimously decided that King Pearai deserved to be this year’s monarch as he knocked De Professor into the second position.
Coming in third was the Mighty Believer with his piece called, “They tekkin pay”, while the fourth place spot was shared between Ras Marcus and Diana Chapman.
The Calypso Competition was held at Thirst Park which was packed to capacity with thousands of kaiso lovers who couldn’t help but chant “King Pearai” for several minutes after his rousing rendition.
Other competitors included 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,  Diana Chapman, and this year’s Junior Calypso Monarch Daniel Prowell. They were backed by the melodious sounds of the Mingles Band.
The contestants were judged on lyrical content, melody, compatibility, diction, intonation, attire and showmanship among others.
However, the one performer who truly captivated everyone was King Pearai. His showmanship and music featured entertaining indigenous elements.
The moment he stepped onto the stage, the audience screamed for him. He was adorned in a yellow and blue headdress and a matching straw bag skirt. Though his topless appearance moved some to laughter, his self titled piece was deemed by many to be, “honest, refreshing and absolutely funny.”
The calypsonian sang, “Everyone tekkin they eyes an pass buck people, but buck people aint stupid.” His brash confrontation of several misconceptions about the Amerindian race tickled many.
In his kaiso piece, he called on the authorities to take a serious look at the abuse of the Amerindian people because he refuses to sit idly by and watch his “brothers and sisters die without a fight.”
What was also hilarious about the entertainer was at the end of the chorus, he would break into a few seconds of “howling” and chants of “Yack, Yack” which stirred much hilarity.
He was truly appreciated for how he displayed aspects of the Amerindian dialect. Even the audience joined in to show their support by imitating the native howling and hooting sounds.
King Pearai is now the second Amerindian winner to capture the Adult Calypso Monarch. The first was Vivian “Mighty VJ” Jordon who won the title in 2002 and 2003. Jordon was also the first calypsonian to win the Monarch in two consecutive years.
But there were other notable performances.
Perhaps, it was De Professor’s decision to avoid the overly capitalized pool of politics that cost him the 2015 monarch. Clad in a suit which represented the colours of the National Flag, he sang a piece that called on Guyanese men to halt the abuse against women.
His faithful fans who were mesmerized by the piece rushed to the stage to sing and dance along with him.
The Mighty Believer’s “They tekkin pay” anthem was also one that remained on the patrons’ minds.
Adorned in a black suit and an old man’s beard, he stole the hearts of the audience as he sang catchy political phrases about those public officials who take bribe for not upholding their offices.
He lashed out at the former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, the House Speaker, Raphael Trotman, the A Partnership for National Unity and even the nurses, who he believes to be “tekking pay” because they are not doing their jobs efficiently.
“And if I don’t win this year, then the judges tekking pay,” was the brave note upon which the bold calypsonian ended.
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.  The audience found him to be harmonious, entertaining and at the same time, very informative with a hint of humour.
Ras Marcus’s song, “The law is an ass” was also a crowd favourite. He incorporated into his presentation, a child riding a donkey as he sang the chorus, “The Law is an ass I tell ya, it causing eye pass…Donald riding de donkey…”
The message of his piece was that the Constitution is so riddled with contradictions that it is being used by the current administration against citizens to “create a lot of eye pass.”
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 present as she cunningly exposed those lies men usually tell in the bedroom.
The Calypso competition was described by many to be highly entertaining this year. And even in between short breaks, the life of the Calypso competition never skipped a beat, for it was sustained by the Wickedee Boss himself, Malcolm Ferriera who served as a witty and amusing host for Friday night’s proceedings.
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.
The Judges said nonetheless, that all the contestants did a really good job at going the extra mile to ensure they are scored favourably.
One judge opined that De Professor should have stayed with politics because that really is his “niche”. “What makes The Professor so unique is because he has that zeal for the art form. He is passionate about it. And when you listen to his lyrics you can tell easily that he has been working on it for a long time.
It was not written a few weeks ago. And he also goes after the song with extreme confidence. He is high quality. He isn’t easy to beat. King Pearai was exceptional. But it was also good to see De Professor try his hand at something else and still manage to place well.”
King Pearai as the 2014 Monarch walks away with a trophy and $600,000 while the runner up will receive $450,000. The Mighty Believer will be awarded $200,000 while the fourth place winners will receive $100,000.

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