By Monique Washington
“There is a lot of hope in calypso” veteran calypsonian King Meeko, explained after three junior calypsonians outshined their older peers in a calypso competition last week.
Reigning Culturama Junior Calypso King, King Sookie (Shamari Mitchell);reigning National Carnival Primary School Calypso King Invincible (Terren Webbe); and first runner up for Culturama Junior Calypso Prince Akedo (Akedo Nisbett) were the top three winners in the St. Thomas’s Festival Calypso show.
The juniors took on senior competitors,Daddy Hog, RakoWestside, All Out,Lust Man andYoung J. All calypsonians went head to head with one song at the end of the night and King Sookie was crowned king, Prince Akedo was first runner-up and Invincible was second runner-up.
The nine-time Culturama Senior Calypso king Crefton Warner, known throughout the world as King Meeko told The Observer on Thursday that the standard of calypso for the festival was very high.
“For the type of festival, the standard was very good,” Meeko said. “These children have a lot of potential, the youngsters were very good. They are very interested in calypso and have a good future ahead of them.There is a lot of hope in calypso.”
Meeko, who served as part of the parish festival calypso committee, noted the importance of having the youth do something even if it is calypso.
“When other youngsters see their peers on stage, they might be encouraged to do the same,” Meeko explained. “These young calypsonians can encourage the other youngsters to keep away from crime.”
When asked what makes a good calypsoian the king noted “a little bit of everything.”
“They have to be well-rounded, they need good lyrics, they must be able to perform, clearly,” he said. “The total package is a little bit of everything.”
Meeko noted that there is a lot of potential in youthacross the island in the art form of calypso.
“For this festival I was able to get nine calypsonians. Three of them youths. How many others are out there? This was just a little parish show. But there are many more,” he said.
