SO...
I missed the NCF'S meeting for Calypso stakeholders to share ideas on the improvement of Calypso competitions and the like recently held at the Queen's Park Steel Shed...let me appluad the NCF for their efforts to get the perspective of the stakeholders and interested parties as we aim to to take our national festival to the next level...while we appreciate the visitors-Nuff Bajan Yankkes included- that patronise the festival...Crop Over is we ting.
TWO CENTS WORTH...
My humble contribution to the discussion would have been as follows...No song taking part in the Sweet Soca or Party Monarch competitions should be allowed in the Pic-O-de Crop.
My reasoning for this is simple...
I applaud the NCF for their 1995 introduction of the Party Monarch Competition;
1.Musically, calypso and its exponents needed to be given the green light to experiment within the then burgeoning soca genre and then there was Ringbang as well...The content, tempo and performance of these songs was certainly not what was expected in the alleged Calypso Monarch contest known as Pic-O-de-Crop a name which some argue is highly problematic as it renders the purpose and content of the competition debatable...
2.Demographics change and a younger, more energetic, less subtle generation was emerging...they and their artistes-NEW TALENT-and modes of expression would be surely stifled within the confines of Pic-O-de Crop...but still, Edwin Yearwood-then dubbed 'voice of the youth' won the said Pic-O-de Crop competition with the same song he captured the inaugural Party Monarch with earlier that season...While this is true and this scenario would repeat itself with the first Sweet Soca contest, Edwin's ode to Obadele was as much a party song as it was a social commentary applauding and praising Barbados' then newest folk hero Obadele Thompson, who, like Edwin was another fine example of the talent which existed in Barbados' youth.
3.From a marketing/economic standpoint...the Party Monarch competition was the perfect solution for what the younger audience demanded and, with the emphasis on partying, must have been more appealing to younger visitors to the island as well...The perennial 20,000 strong crowd that attended Party Monarch during its heyday at the 'Calypso Bowl' on East Coast Road must have resulted in a highly profitable gate receipt.
The reasons for the introduction of the Party Monarch surely go beyond these 3 points but in my view these are the essential reasons for the creation of a Party Monarch as a separate contest to Pic-O-de Crop, despite that inclusive of Edwin's triumph, calypsonians would occasionally share a song between the two contests.
I applauded the NCF for the introduction of the Sweet Soca competition in 2009;
1.Ragga Soca as it was known hitherto in Barbados and Groovy Soca it was called in Trinidad and Tobago and elsewhere in the region had grown in popularity with the audience-some of whom were of the first soca generation who no longer had the desire to 'wuk up' at 140 bpms...They groovier, easier on the ears and waist with a laid back tempo was what the audience now demanded.
2.Musically speaking, the Groovy Socas lent themselves more to experimentation and arrangement and instrumentation with a greater emphasis on melody and singability as opposed to the party soca that places great emphasis on the rhythm the ability to follow instructions and the enegery levels of both performer and audience...The interpretations of our favoutite 'sweet' socas in competition are annual reminder of the arranging and performing genius of many of our talented musicians...both established and upcoming...
3.From a marketing/economic standpoint...the Sweet Soca competition was a needed boost to the Party Monarch competition that had begun to lose its appeal, especially with the 'older' younger crowd who would attend Sweet Soca but no longer really interested in the Party monarch.
But depsite the realization that the groovy socas were now in demand and needed to be given the opportunity to grow and stand out in competition as opposed to fighting against the uptempo socas which were sure to beat them on crowd response ...TC won the first Sweet Soca contest with Hot Sun and Riddim which captured her first Party Monarch win that same evening beating Natahlee Burke's This is What we Do into second in both conests. Surely somewhere the NCF had got it wrong allowing the same songs to be entered in both competitions...Certainly critics were entitled to argue that the Sweet Soca competition was not necessary as Ragga socas could hold their own among the uptempo party songs...this was promptly corrected the following year with the socas being limited to one competition and further limited with the imposition of a tempo limit for sweet soca which perhaps stopped the competition from being used as a second chance for their soca tune...Though that was the exception to the rule...
Another problem occurred.; artistes were given the opportunity to compete against themselves in the Sweet Soca and Party Monarch contests...while I agree it strengthens the interest in the contest and potential gate receipts and arguably performances I find this problematic as well and will discuss in depth in my next post...
My point however is simply that the NCF created new competitions to cater to the demands of changing demographics and to promote experimentation and evolution within the Calypso genre...why then do we continue to allow Sweet Soca and Party Monarch tunes to infiltrate the Pic-O-de-Crop despite boasting their own purpose made competitions...Traditional calypso perhaps more now than ever needs an impetus to continue and this policy of Anything goes for the Pic-O-De Crop wll certianly faster lead Kaiso's demise.
A Pic-O-de-Crop where emphasis returns to traditional kaiso will certainly help to keep Junior Monarch's and ointerested in Calypso...One song per competition and two orginal calypsos for the pic o compeitiion
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