Myths were dispelled, hopes were shattered and expectations were surpassed. So, statements such as “If Dice was there [in the competition]” became moot, and complaints that a woman can’t win a crown were silenced.
The hopeful high-octave chorus heard over the past few weeks that Soul Puss was the man to beat painfully deteriorated into a single base-voice of disappointment and even hurt. Yes, the calypso season culminated last night with an exercise in emotions—emotions that ranged from joy to pain to pride.
Enjoyment of calypso goes beyond just the listening and viewing. Calypso also demands discussion and interaction. Therefore, I always choose to stand in the crowd, among my fellow regular people. It is interesting to hear the opinions and arguments of the patrons as they engage each other in personal commentary and critiquing. What amazes me is the friendliness of a calypso audience: no physical fighting, a willingness to speak to a stranger standing next to you, and the easy-going way fans of the art form enjoy themselves. But alas, no human is allowed a perfect ride. As accommodating as the atmosphere was, the weather was not, rendering many of us unable to dispute the judges’ decision with any degree of certainty.
Due to the skyline of umbrellas in the first round, it is impossible to assess Caressah, Explosion and Dice. Prosper would have been included on this list, but hearing him botch his lines was enough to know that he could no longer be a contender. Prosper’s forgetting his lines was greeted with empathetic amusement as it was no major surprise. Soul Puss repeating his, however, received a more despairing reaction as many knew then that predictions made before the grand finale were in danger of being toppled.
When Prosper returned the second time, he brilliantly made light of his situation by poking fun at himself with lines such as “Allyu, what happen in de first round nuh? Calypso obeah man!” With this, he won his audience back into roaring applause. Soul Puss, on the other hand, completely shattered the hopes of his fan club by closing the competition with a second round of repeating. A dream died. We cheer you on and live with the promise that you will be a phoenix who will rise from the ashes next year.
Leandra opened the show on a high note. She delivered poetic lines with confidence and clarity. Her backup singers’ beautiful harmonizing added that extra charm to her song ‘Pray for Me’. From what we heard of Explosion, he too sounded compelling. The imagery used in the ‘Ash Falling Down’ is in a class of its own. Unfortunately, neither of these two calypsonians could stir the audience when they returned. Their lyrics, though on point, were just fair, the delivery, basic. Explosion’s metaphoric play on medicine was lost in his delayed arrival, bouncy movements and lack of clarity.
Checker and the incumbent Caressah are polar opposites of each other. While Checker gives the calm, gentlemanly, frill-less yet effective performances, Caressah opts for theatrics, and I daresay that sometimes, there are weaknesses in his songs that are overshadowed by his glamorous elaborate, presentations. There was some debate in the crowd that he may have overdone the ‘Fouchette’ presentation, with the bois-bois, plethora of glittering cutlery and so forth. Still, whatever one thinks, he keeps his audience’s attention rapt, and a crowd can’t help but get carried along in the enthusiasm.
But enthusiasm for Caressah paled in comparison to the excitement that swelled within us all for Sye and Logus. Logus had two strong rounds. Even his first song which was not very familiar, he proved himself quite capable of competing seriously. His hit, ‘Internet Children’ was delivered competently, even with his shades off! An upset though was Sye who could have and should have placed. Solid is the only word to describe this wronged calypsonian. Round 1, solid! Round 2, solid! Judges’ opinion? Sordid!
And then, there were two.
Again, from what we heard, Dice sounded clear and provocative with the ‘Ten Commandments of Calypso’, but seemed at times to (angrily) talk his way through, ‘Send Me’. His signature one-foot jumping, high energy and commanding stage presence sent the audience into frenzied euphoria and the execution of fire-works almost convinced us that he would be King. But memories of Tasha’s presence before him created some doubt. Majestic in her rendition of ‘Let the Children be Children’, and impressive in her choreographed interpretation of ‘Woman Time’, Tasha was crowned Queen.
Despite being a woman myself, emotionalism will not sway me into ignoring some minor flaws in the story line or thematic view of ‘Woman Time’, but there is no disputing her consistency. I congratulate Tasha on her worthy, historic accomplishment.
So, Stardom Tent may have struggled in the season’s battles, but they emerged victorious in the calypso war, conquering three of the top 4 positions.
Hats off to all of the calypsonians who entertained and intrigued us over the past two months. The season comes to a close until next year, and we will wait patiently and faithfully for when the highs and lows, controversies and inspirations, witticisms and brazenness return to thrill us into the intellectual, soulful yet roguish enterprise that constitutes our local calypso.
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lovely piece of writing….i totally agree with you in regards to sye placing in the top four…sye had two brilliant performances and i was really disappointed when he did not make it in the top four. while dice had a great performance, especially the second round he ended the lines to the songs in an angry talkative way and i think that made him lose some points. but overall i think it was a great show. enjoyed prosper’s upbeat attitude in the second round.
Nice write up,Nadine,like Panman poetic view too,had me giggling,who vex with the results sorry for them, i enjoyed every calypso and tent i attended,,,Woman win so what, Woman won in Trinidad too,,,,Kindly remember folks the competitition is won on the night,and that night only,one can have the best song,singing voice,etc but any lapse on that night can be fatal;—many examples of that are there,,,, sorry Soul puss,Dice wheel and come again,, Karessa and Sye great performance too,,,,hey that HUMMER ting did not work for Explosion, –love the Ash track –keep up your unique style bro,,,Pat great writing talent but my my too much focus on POLITICS—-just too apparent…Hats off to the new writing talents emerging,,,,Gina Letang etc——that track by Checker is a classic can be sung anywhere
Just leave soul puss alone is too much pressure he getting from Marigot people. All those people that washing thier mouth on him. How many of you called him and complemented him for his excellent performance in Mass Camp? Do you know how depressed he was after he was cheated? How many of you congratulated him for his performance at the semi finals ? I must admit that he is a strong individual because he is constantly under alot of pressure form his community members who think that he should stop singing calpyso. Just give him a break it was not his time and you guys need to rally behind him for the next season.
Congrats to Tasha P!
Typical Dominica judges forcing history to have the first female monarch. First the song woman time has no relevance and it is by no means timely in Dominica or even on the world stage. First of all, the role woman in a domestic capacity is no easy task and it is actually one of the most significant contributions to society. It allows the Children to be Children. The lack of discipline in society today is a clear example of women being forced to give that role up for economic reasons and other negative attitudes towards those who chose to take up that role. The positions and contribution of women to Dominica in addition to their domestic roles is nothing new or recent. We had the first Prime Minister Eugenia Charles (Mamo) some years ago and other women in Dominica have been playing significant roles in serving and directing the country’s future for years now (Teachers, Principles, Speakers, Heads of different Ministries etc). Ophelia Marie (Lady of song) one of the most accomplished artists who has almost single handily help expose Dominica to the rest of the world and have paved the way for many other artist. Many have been recognized and awarded for their contributions at Independence celebrations and other occasion. On the world stage women have been leaders of powerful countries like Margaret Thatcher. Other accomplished and influential women like Maya Angelo, Oprah Winfrey, Diane Sawyer etc.. There are many with lower status but they are just as influential. Alix Boyd knight (Old Speaker), Noreen Joseph, Celia Charles, Jennifer White, Jennifer Walace, Pearl Christian, Miss Levy all Dominican women.
There you have it. Let’s not get it twisted women have made great contributions and continue to do so. Their time has always been regardless if it entailed Domesticity. Outside the Domestic environment their contributions and influences as Dominican women is nothing new but in fact goes back many decades.
Dice has been done an injustice! It is indeed wooo-man time Dice you are being woo-ed to come stronger next year-yeah they will have to take a n-u-m-b-e-r!!!!!!!
If I knew you I would shake your hand. All the woopla being made around Tasha’s win is just ridiculous. I am a woman and although I think it was time that a woman won, I do not see what all of this talk about woman time is about. Like you said so many women make contributions to society and still handle their business on the home front so yes how can children be children if their mother’s are being encouraged to give up domestic life.I think thes two songs were telling conflicting stories. Although Dice did not bring his A game at the competition, he was done a great injustice because of the vendetta that the judges have against him. Dice is a great performer so he will come back way stronger next year.Whatever issues people may have with Dice as a man, nothing can be said about his talent. He was born to be on stage and do what he does so no man can stop that. Anyways congratulations to Tasha for the crown she won for all the women like Singing Sandy who were robbed in the past.
everyday i here woman runnin there mouth talkin about woman time .. it pissed me off …the world is really coomin to an end .. cuz woman totally forget the perpers they was created for .. well fellers joint me in protest … from now on i stay my ass home and let woman go out and work and come feeed the family and pay themm bills
ehem… mwen la, do u even have a woman? last I checked 2 pay checks are better than one. what is wrong with women making their own money?. Many men stay shouting that they want an independent woman, a woman that has her own and when she has her own and makes more money than her male counterpart, u guys start complaining. You either want the woman home bare foot and pregnant or u enjoy the trip to Dubia that your joint income as allowed you to enjoy. Oh and how is the world coming to an end? Why do men have such big ego’s? So let me get this right, A woman sings a song entitled “Woman time” and the world is going to end and fire and brim stones are going to come from the earth’s crust? WOW!
haterz stop haterin on dice u can’t do better. he did a dam goog job.
Woman Time Ah Come
Listened to the show via the net. Enjoyed every bit of it. Think the judges did a great job. Congratulations to Tasha P and all women!!!.
calypso show aint gonna get my money ever again until patrons are treated well. The show , from what we could see, was great. However for most part after paying so much money we got wet, could not see, as other patrons plus umbrellas were infront of us. I say i want my $180 BACK PLEASE. UNLESS PATRONS ARE TRAETED BETTER I PLAN TO KEEP ON BOYCOTTING CALYPSO SHOWS. AND MY FELLOW DOMINICANS STOP BEING SATISFIED WITH BONES YOU ARE NOT DOGS, REQUEST BETTER CONDITIONS FROM HENCE FORTH
Dice is not de Monarch so why is picture dat up. Is woman time so please do it right
I aM IN total agreement!
come on DNO Please put some captions on the pics. I am a Dominican living abroad . I only two of the calypsonian. It sure would be nice to have a name with the photos.
POLITICS THAT GIVE TASHHA P THAT CROWN! LEAVE EVERYTHING FOR THOSE LABOURITES.D GIRL SONG,’WOMAN TIME’ WAS SO POOR AND FEMINIST AND SHE WON!COME ON!
Come on Anonymous…. Why does politics have to be in everything? Well, u need to open your eyes because feminism is not Dominican, it is now being embraced worldwide so wake up buddy
DiCE SHOULD HAVE WON.TASHA P SECOND WAS WEAK LYRICALLY UNLIKE DICE’S!
Come on!! DICE need to get to real business of competition and stop the foolish showtime dance, hopping on one foot and throwing his cloths in the audience. STUPID performance. Thank God Pat was not the one there to give his last 2 cents on the results
What did dice do so wrong
That is three crowns in a row for STARDOM TENT. Show Down Mas Camp was left with one place out of four.
Big Up STARDOM
Round 1, solid! Round 2, solid! Judges’ opinion? Sordid!!!!!
Leh i bon di i bon…Nice review Nadine.
Thanks for the pics
Once upon a time in a Kingdom of Kooboolee, a competion was held to see who would carry the burden of the crown. Its is rumoured that whilst the men declared open war on each other someone laced their microphone with a majic secret portion. Some forgot how to speechify, another’s speaker got lost in translation, another’s pleas to be sent went unheard. And in the middle of the noisy night, someone shouted “its woman time”. And so the story goes, a woman emerged as the winner and had to carry the doulbe burden of a crown too big for her head and too heavy for her neck because it was always worn by big men and thrice by a boy man. But she had a big heart, lungs to blow up a tank, broad shoulders and as all women know how to do too well she gritted her teeth, bore the pain and reighed hapilly ever after. And on this historic night calypso in the Kingdom of Kooboolee was forever changed.
Now that calypso is all over, I can rest peacefully
i like that, you are a poet
brilliant assessment Nadine. There has to be further discussion on the shortened season and the impacts on the calypsoes particularly the second song. this year proved the the second songs ,because of their lateness, had an overall negative effect on many calypsonians,hence revisiting the “change of date” discussion once again..
notwithstanding , tasha P deserved the crown, she was consistent , articulate, and delivered far better than her competitors.
Dice was good ( which is far less than excellent that we are accustomed to ) but uncertain,particularly on “Commandments”. that song also strained him,probably due to the lateness. Im sure he will b back , redeemed and ready.
In the second round he over acted, though aggressive.
This year calypsoes were the best in a long time, and the anticipation among the public was also there. Mass camp must be complemented for their success this year ,but they must also apologize for the lack of judgment for “champ of the camp”. A fatal mistake at the end of a supposedly most successful year, by giving dice king.
Great effort Nadine
This was a beautiful piece of writing, very captivating. Anyway, Please leave SoulPuss alone. SoulPuss was set up for this. He was given the crown for the entire season, He was given a team to work with, something that he is not used to. SO next time, please leave Soulpuss let him do his thing on his own.
But SoulPuss, what really happened nuh, where on earth did you find all those verses for your second song, I went Loubiere and come back and you were still singing we.
for real; went Elmshall and came back…lmao…still my favourite song
Nadine great article………… I felt the say way about Sie, he should have been in the top 4. He was great in both rounds with 2 powerful songs. I guess the judges didn’t see what most of us saw. Maybe somebody who knows more about judging calypso can explain to me where he went wrong. Big up to Tasha P…congrats on a job well done. “Let children be children” has been my favourite calypso since the season began.
I take this opportunity to commend Mr. Tony John for his great skill as a PROFESSIONAL photographer. The surberb portrait compliments well the high standard of calypso in 2011. I remain truly proud of you my friend and wish you every success in this field as you’ve already so well distinguished yourself!
it is women time. give them achance
Would like to know what was the problem with the storyline of its woman time as you mentioned you had some issues with it.
I agree..I was waiting to see what you had to come up with!
yes must say i am impress with your writting.keep on keeping us mentally high.yes mr puss better pass your —- in marigot let us deal with you.so long we tell you work with karessa, but your — too hard.next year pat will wtite but we from marigot will manage and do your presentations 4 u cause pat dem f—– it up.maykase reach up mr puss;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;.
Hey Nadine
Not bad. But this one pales in comparison to your first piece. But do keep it up.
Dice looked more like Santa Claus than Moses in his first presentation he should have been placed 4th. Come again next year, thought because you were out for 2yrs Karessa got the crown. Back to the drawing board you shall go, and you shall pay Pat Aaron for his 2 good songs he wrote you. Money time now boy. Should have included 1 more commandment. ” If a song is written for you, and you can’t deliver then you break the law of Calypso.”
your lack of judgment and criticism ofdice shows the hatred you have for the young man. when you criticize, do it constructively , since u are assumed to be intelligent.
do I smell hatred for the Dice stupessssssssssssssss!!!
He is not the 1st and def wont be the last to calypso monarch or calypsonian as a matter of fact to not write their song!!!
everyone has their gift!!!
You did not watch the show man observer? Stop hating on Dice! Do you know his price as 1st runner up? Try the stage too let us see what you can do!!
too much politics gave tasha the edge over dice……….as if he wasn’t feeling it last night..Congrats Tasha p. it’s Woman time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are right….and too much used and reused and abused lyrics from Pat Aaron camp…Just you listen. All the songs is a soup of the other and of course, ALL political so what you expect.. Hats off to Tasha P!
why DNO got the pic of Dice instead of the winner Tasha .P?????
Did you read the heading of the article? Any Calypsonian picture would have been fitting. DNO placed the photo of Tasha P in the rightful place – the article announcing the 2011 Calypso Monarch.
ADMIN
Thank you very much for explaining.
Admin…..get real
Explaining what? Give Tarsha P her petticoat, they should put her Picture instead of Dice.
put tasha p picture up shait man
What is DICE picture doing there instead of Tasha P?? Admin you need to get real for real.
your right, the wwinner should be pictured..
Nadine, very well written and objective. Like you, I just can’t understand how Sye was left out of the top four. I was extremely disappointed that Prosper forgot his words, but how happy I was that he made such a fantastic comeback in round 2 and was able to joke about it. It says alot about him. I am wondering if the judging controversy of Thursday (final night of Mas Camp) may have had a negative impact on the calypsonians of that tent last night. I am not making excuses, but one is left to wonder, especially when someone such as Soul Puss could actually mess up in both rounds. Something just did not seem right. I am of the view that the calypsonians, including Dice, were negatively impacted.
let’s call it calypso obeah. and proper is a vybes man, more an MC than a calypsonian, so no surprising his remarks in the second round. all this made the night even funnier……
*prosper
I saw both Dice and Soulpuss running around on the day of finals.. I saw Dice hustling at about 4 and Soul puss as late as 6 o’clock. Definitely there was some lack of organization in the camp too. And after seeing Tasha and the guys had to follow back to back also put alot of pressure on them in my opinion.
Soul Puss come out of hiding! We are waiting on d ghost town to cut your a…! We have d bull whip for d jouvert soaking in salt water just for you. Come out SoulPuss Come out! Time to face your music! Ii’s about time you get a Marigot cut ..! Bring your repetitive behind to d flat and come!
lmao
Oh lord!!!! He is in enough pain as it is. Doe give him anymore..Boy dar Soul Puss there make me vex last night….I wish I could have gone on the stage and drag out the mike in his darm hand…..how many verses his last song had? 8, 9? And he still didn’t want to stop!!!Wait till I see him.
I HAD SOUL PUSS AS MY KING. I understand the man – they give out hiss crown in MASS CAMP. So just leave him alone.
ALAS DOH KILL HACKI, FIND WHO DRUNK HIM OFF BACKSTAGE N BEAT THEM, HACKI WILL RISE AGAIN NEXT YEAR HE WILL BE STRONGER. HACKI YOUR GIRL IN JERSEY STILL HAVE YOUR BACK EH! YUR SONGS WERE GREAT TAKE COURAGE, WOE WILL COME TO THEM WICKED MEN SWIFTLY.WE STILL LOVE YOU HACKI
Beautifully written!!!!
For those of us who r not familiar with the artists u could have written their names by their photos
Thats one thing I wish DNO would to with the pics. Put some caption. All of the pics are like that. NO Captions
Seriously I think this thing puts what it wants. I am sure I typed” thats one thing I wish DNO would do with the pics. Put some caption. All of the pics are like that. NO CAPTIONS.”
that would be nice…