It wasn’t written by Pat Aaron or performed by the likes of King Dice. You might not even hear it on your favorite radio station.
But a seemingly obscure presentation by an even more obscure performer at the Calypso Eliminations has turned out to be some sort of a hit on social media.
As a matter of fact the performance, Paying Rent by “The Unstoppable Predator”, has, up to Wednesday, been viewed close to 10,000 times on Facebook and YouTube.
Not bad for a song that probably the judges at the eliminations never even took a second look at.
Even “The Unstoppable Predator” himself said he was genuinely surprised that his performance had caught fire on the internet.
“I am very much surprised,” the first-time calypsonian, whose real name is Yarnelle Burnette, told DNO. “I wasn’t expecting it.”
Actually the performance itself is not award-winning in the pure sense of the term, but somehow it has caught the attention of thousands who see it the lighter side of Calypso season.
“A must see,” one blogger wrote.
“Hehehe!! Me too! I want my own home….Sing it padna!” another gushed.
Another described it as “pure marjee” with “pure kicks.”
But all the comments were far from Burnette’s mind as he spoke of the song and performance that has brought him internet fame.
He stated that he was unaware the performance was posted online until his telephone started ringing, literally off the hook.
“Six days after the performance, a friend told me that the video was on the internet,” he remarked. “And then I began getting a lot of calls from a lot of people.”
The idea of the song began taking shape in his head during a conversation with a friend, who is a teacher. He stated that the friend complained that he was tired of paying rent and wanted to have his own home.
“I wanted to write about something else,” Burnette said. “But after the conversation I decided to do something about rent because everybody pays rent, it is a fact of life and everybody wants to stop paying rent and own their own homes.”
He said although his performance at the eliminations was more about dancing humorously on stage, the lyrics struck a chord with many people.
“There is a message behind the lyrics,” he said. “Everybody wants to stop paying rent.”
Burnette admitted that his presentation at the eliminations was probably not the best but now he is a bit more polished since he was invited to perform at Stardom, which took place last night.
“Yes, I am performing at Stardom,” he noted. “I am here to have a good time, although I am recovering from a cold.”
He stated that he got lots of assistance from the Swinging Stars Band in putting the melody of his song together and promised that calypso season 2015 is not his last.
“I will be back next year. I am going to have a song that is going to surprise everybody,” Burnette assured.
Meanwhile, his performance continues to gather views and is being shared on countless walls on Facebook.
See “The Unstoppable Predator” at the Calypso Eliminations below.
REALLY….?????? This is all the big roro about. gosh. spoiling damn calypso. chuppssssss. PLS DNO publish something more entertaining.
I mean really!!!! You guys are joking right???? What crap is that???? We are a people wallowing in mediocrity. Smfh.
This is good though for someone who is also physically challenged. I taught him at school. I am happy he has carried himself well over the years. I appreciate this little performance
That would be fantastic if his cry is answered. Proplr like austrie, tony, skerrit, walters, isidore, timothy, ambrose,
hartley, charlie and some of the ministers could easily give mr a wonderful surprise.
I know him.But he lives with his parents. He is not paying rent.lol
That’s another Sour Sour.
I challenge the bands to take the song and turn it into a road march and doing the dance as well. just like the Bernie.
Is that the next DBS?
THE TRUTH WILL SET ALL OF US FREE………
Dude many of us feel the same as you do . We all want our own , but the way things are with VAT and no price control in this country of ours , rent is just the way and yet still with a stagnant economy we can’t even afford to pay at end of month . Some of us are being evicted plus taken to court , sad . For a short rendition , I do believe many of us hard working D/cans can attest that no matter how hard we work in this country , we still can’t afford it , whilst there are ministers who build two to three , villas and we see them getting wealthier before our own eyes . They had nothing to begin with , but blooming . We see their kids as compared to our kids like angels and our own like kids left in dump yards . I wouldn’t expect your rendition to go past elimination , but I know it touched the hearts the judges for sure and those who are guilty of it .
Good performace. I am hearing that MasCamp preceeding the quarters, Friday the 16th will be only $10. I can afford that. That is my commission along with iron tablets.