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Calypso rigging??

Terresa McCall
Reporter - SKNVibes.com

{Basseterre; St. Kitts} The National Calypso
Sub-committee Chairman and his team have once
again come under attack for what has been described as “calypso rigging”.

Concerns were first raised by members of the
public when the former Chairman of the Calypso
Committee Nigel Herbert was “unceremoniously”
uprooted and replaced by Lester Ible.
Recently, however, these concerns have been
heightened following intensified talk of “calypso
rigging” and the removal of “Unexpected” from the
Soca Monarch Competition. Monday night’s Soca
Monarch Competition which was won by King Konris
did very little to dispel these concerns.

While the judges’ decision is final, persons who
approached SKNVibes and also those interviewed by
SKNVibes, are of the opinion that the crown
should have gone to “Mentee”, legally known as
Alphonso Richards of the Small Axe Band, who
captured the First Runner Up position.
SKNVibes understands that when King Konris was
announced as winner of the competition, the crowd
outwardly expressed its displeasure with the outcome.

When contacted by SKNVibes, Mentee said that he
performed to the best of his ability and feels
that he is the winner of the competition. He also
made it clear that if he felt that he was not the
winner, he would have said so.

“To me I won the competition. They just want to
give the guy the crown. My performance was first
class. People started to argue when they heard
that it was Konris who won…” he said.

King Konris was also contacted and he explained
that “people will always talk” no matter what the outcome may be.
“That’s always an issue in these kinds of
competitions. On the night itself, there didn’t
seem to be any query about that as the crowd was
extremely small. I have nothing to do with what
the judges decide but I am glad of course that
they found that I fit the criteria best on that
night. It is amazing that people will always find
things to say whether you are the best or not and
if you take those things to heart, it can make
you a bitter person. … I had a good performance,
I have some good lyrics and I have a very good
melody. So based on those, I don’t see why I
could not have been the winner and that is what
the judges chose. If they chose to put me in 12th
position that is their decision. People will
always find things to say. Even if you come a
million times better than somebody else, people
will always find something to say,” the King explained.

In what may be a strange twist, there is also
talk of “rigging” of the Female Calypso
Competition, which is to be held later this
evening. Sources have suggested that plans have
been formulated and may be in effect to ensure
that the Calypso Monarch crown does not change hands this year.

SKNVibes contacted Chairman of the Calypso
Monarch Committee, Lester Ible, in an effort to
shed some light on the situation and he explained
that he is not in direct involvement with the
Female Bacchanal and the Soca Monarch
competitions, but knows of no calypso rigging. “I
have no knowledge of any event being rigged,” he emphatically stated.

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