Stuff: The Return

Yow!
I’m back! “And I feeeeeeeeeeel like I just win a million dolluzzzzzzzzzzzzz”!

So yeah, that was that, that was a very refreshing and INTERESTING few days in Trinidad. Trinidad is always so interesting because basically half of my family lives there and we go to meet and it always seems to be a few more family members to meet. Like I’m almost 30 years old (as shit) and I feel like I’ve probably met about a third of my family (and that’s just on my Father’s side) (biggup Mama, whose family has spread everywhere - I’ll never meet all of them). But, in particular of course, biggup my Grannie, biggup my Uncles and biggup the man himself because, just as 'expected', my Father did show up (although I kind of knew he would) and biggup my Mother with whom he, ‘allegedly’, stayed on the phone with his entire trip (married 30+ years and still act like newlyweds).

So that’s that. Now, there was also the matter of a certain Soca Monarch competition and there was the matter, in that matter, that we had two new winners as Machel Montano HD took the biggest title of the night in Power and matching his fete in Groovy was Kes.

Even more impressive than that (not really) was the fact that out of the top eight positions (top four in both), I got seven correct in my predictions and because I predicted Bunji coming in third, I got actual position correct also. So I thought that I’d give my thoughts briefly on both and then tell you what to look forward to around here in March.

So, the top four in Groovy were:

Kes Groovy Soca Monarch 'Wotless'

1. Kes
2. Benjai
3. Destra
4. Blaxx

My Thoughts

Kes did one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my life and outside of calling up Lord Nelson, he didn’t really do anything too special. He just had a HUGE tune, ’Wotless’ (which I underestimated) (never again) and huge energy as well. When you do that, it’s pretty hard to lose. But Benjai did manage to do just that with ’Trini’, his performance was excellent as well, but he had neither the tune nor the energy of Kes. Destra didn’t do her best, but she still managed to come in third. Like I said, I’m picking Destra for EVERYTHING (and if they wanted to cancel the entire event and just give her everything, I’d go home with a smile), unless there was a WALL and Kes was definitely a wall, but Benjai was not and I think she could’ve beaten him with that tune, so hopefully she’ll play again next year (especially in Groovy, I think she can win Groovy). Blaxx also did very good with 'Tanti Woi', but Blaxx barely said two damn words his entire time on stage.

Other Stuff

• I don’t know what happened to Shurwayne Winchester with his ‘we are the world’ song.
  
• Biggup All-Rounder who is like 200 years old, had a blond thing on his head and gold spandex (which my Wife claimed was so tight she spotted male camel-toe) (what a lucky girl). NO ONE had a better time on stage than All-Rounder so DEFINITELY big him up!
  
• Biggup Saucy who did excellently with half a voice as did Patrice, but no one seemed to notice (I did!).
• Ras Star won the Digicel Rising Synergy Soca Trinidad Idol competition and it apparently earned him a spot in Groovy Soca Monarch . . . Ras Star (to my opinion) makes Reggae and hopefully he’ll be steered in that direction because he is well talented (and he looks almost exactly like Revalation) (biggup Revalation).
  
  
  In Power, the tops were:
  
  
  
  Machel Montano Power Soca Monarch 'Advantage'
  
  
  1. Machel
  2. Iwer George
  3. Bunji Garlin
  4. Fay-Ann Lyons
  

My Thoughts

As usual (with the exception of a couple of years ago in recent memory) there was controversy here, but if I’m trying to be COMPLETELY impartial (and I am), the top four, completely expected, were in the correct order. The main source of debate here was that a great deal of people thought Iwer deserved to win. He did absolutely AMAZING with ‘Come To Meh’ (although that performance was probably 2 weeks long), but for me Machel’s performance was on the greatest . . . Anythings I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It was Soca in the Matrix and he did what he needed to do to win and then some. If you take that same performance, with the exception of 2009 when we met Superblue, he wins any of the competitions in recent memory in my opinion. I remember reading an article with Bunji saying that he was going to move out of his house to prepare his show away from Fay-Ann and everything and while the performance was good, eventually he relied upon his main skill (more on that on Thursday) (I think) which are lyrics and with a bit of ‘gamesmanship’ towards Machel (which Machel, somewhat surprisingly, started in response to Bunji taking swipes at him in events prior to the show), he did what Bunji Garlin does best and although Machel‘s performance, like I said, was absolutely amazing and he pretty much FUCKED UP everything with that display (and I mean that in a great way), Bunji gave me my own personal height of excitement for the evening (can we just take Bunji and . . . I don’t know pick a fight with someone to get him at Sting this year???) (Kiprich will do it) (Merciless will too (Oooh! Does anyone else think Merciless looks a little like Benjai????).

Merciless & Benjai

I digress. Fay-Ann looked amazing and her performance. Fay-Ann gave Soca Monarch blue balls with all of the pausing, but eventually everyone did what you usually do in such a case and took matters into our hands. Fay-Ann doesn’t even have to approach doing her best to thrill and after watching her performance - That song is LIVING in my brain and it isn’t going anywhere - ‘Consider It Done’.

Faya-Ann Lyons At Soca Monarch 'Consider It Done'

Other Stuff

• Shal Marshall did EXCELLENTLY with ‘Doh Drag De Flag’.
• JW & Blaze clearly had no chance of a repeat, but everybody warmed up to them throughout their performance (especially when they admitted that they wished they had ‘Palance’ again this year) (‘Wild & Frisky’ was their tune).
  
• Also doing pretty well, to me, was Patrice & Nadia Batson (they even called up Roy Cape) and even Tian Winter.
• After having watched the song presented, I think ‘Fetting For Days’ may’ve been more of a Groovy song actually.
• Skinny Fabulous didn’t do great (didn‘t do bad either) with his tune ‘Charge Up‘ in a third Soca Monarch competition, but if they keep allowing him to participate in the competition (and they are, because he’s NEVER going to lose in Vincy), one of these years he’s going to figure out how to win.
• Destra did a song, ‘We Own It’, which I didn’t expect her to do (was looking forward to ‘Welcome Me Back’), and she didn’t do too well and just stopped all of a sudden . . . BUT! Destra wins cutie of the night (with the greatest respect to Mrs. Achis who looked exquisite as she always does) because she looked damn delicious laying in that bed and she looked nice in the second half of her Groovy performance also.
  
• Three years running now (four actually, because Fay-Ann should have won with ‘Get On’ in 2008) that the tune that wins Road March also wins Soca Monarch (presumably, of course, but no way in hell Machel doesn’t take the road at this point).
  
• Biggup Daddy Chess who repeated as Dominica Soca Monarch as well.
  

And I think that’s it. Blood also did pretty good and Cassi did too in Groovy, but I’m all Soca Monarch-ed out and that will be it. It is in our plans to reach Soca Monarch in St. Vincent again this year (I believe that’s in July) and that’ll wrap it up for us as far as traveling away, although if I get the same offer to go to Spice Mas this year that we did last year . . . Doing that! And I just want to say that we had an EXCELLENT time and biggup everybody who even performed because I couldn’t do that shit. Oh! And this call of ‘anybody from Grenada. Anybody from Alaska. Anybody from Nebraska. Anybody from Pluto . . . ‘ - And saving Trinidad for last because you think it’s going to make the crowd remember where most of them are from - That shit is evil and it needs to stop, I swear ten people had to have done that bullshit and I fucking HATE it.

ALRIGHT! It’s a new month - What’s going on? Let’s see!

The Message Riddim

• Tomorrow I’m catching up with a big ‘Coming Soon’ post because obviously no one else is doing that for you.
  

• Reviews! Where else in the world can you get hard hitting (not really) thoughts on Soca Monarch and a review of Paille’s new album ”Inflammable”? We also have a review of Anthony B’s new album, “Rasta Love” on its way. And you can also look forward to reviews for albums from the likes of the aforementioned Kes. Maybe Singing U, maybe Ed Robinson and maybe even Machel Montano as well. Oh and maybe a double dip from Don Corleon also. And definitely look forward to the next 'Modern Classic' coming pretty soon.
  

• I’ve been in a pretty good mood as of late, so that means random shit. Look forward to a few, hopefully funny, ‘Completely Random Thoughts’.

• A lot of stuff I meant to do last month (which I won’t mention specifically because I don’t want to sound like a broken record) (again), hopefully we can get to in March).

• I alluded to this earlier - Thursday - If you don’t too much listen to Bunji Garlin, definitely find your way back here because I’m going to show you wait (some of) the fuss is about.
  

• I think I have to do a ‘Video Drop’ and I have a few other ideas I’m looking at and of course you can expect the general ridiculousness from Achis Reggae.
  

TUNE?!
Easy one yeah.



{Biggup Bredz who is a SCIENTIST on the computer}