It was no surprise that Ife Alleyne was crowned the winner of the 2014 National Calypso Queen competition which took place on January 19 at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s. The competition was put on by the National Women’s Action Committee (NWAC), the women’s arm of the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC).
The results, which were released on January 22, declared Allison Bernard and Kerine Williams second and third place winners, respectively, with their compositions, Time to Arise and How Much.
Alleyne won with her composition, Child of Liberty, which was a tribute to Africa and keeping African heritage alive in the lives of Afro-Trinidadians. It also made a call for black men and women to realise the royalty in their blood as many would have come out of the bellies of African kings and queens, princes and princesses.
The song was not original. It was, in fact, one of the many songs performed on the night with the tedious theme of “calling down the African ancestors.” What won it for Alleyne was her beautiful and powerful voice, decent props and a performance that could have been a mini Emancipation concert.
It was rather disappointing to see Tammico “Spicey” Moore placed so low. It was not just her stage presence, but Moore, the evening’s first contestant had the partially filled auditorium eating out of her hands with her piece called D’Advice, which focused on the breakdown of relationships. Even one patron yelled from his seat “Oh gosh, de calypso was nice.”
Not only was the content authentic, exciting and humorous, but with very few props—props that made sense in comparison to some that were quite distracting and in some cases unnecessary—she was able to drive home a smooth delivery. She was also one of the stronger vocalists whose diction was quite clear.
Other notable performances included Natasha Nurse who sang A Farmer’s Plight, begging for the ban on hunting to be lifted. And a pan special titled Outta De Box, by Rachel Fortune.
Before the competition began, the organisation recognised two honourees who were presented with awards. They were Liseli Daaga, wife of Caricom Cultural Ambassador, Makandal Daaga and former calypsonian turned gospel artiste Denyse Plummer.
On receiving her award, Plummer thanked Daaga and the NJAC for welcoming her with open arms on her foray into the calypso arena when she entered the calypso queen competition in 1986. She spoke of her difficult journey as a lighter-skinned Trinidadian singing calypso.
Borrowing the words of African-American civil rights activist, Martin Luther King, she said: “In the US today, it is Martin Luther King Day and I am happy to be here tonight receiving this award, because it says that people have paid attention to all your hard work and contribution over the years.
I have had a very difficult journey, and mostly because of the colour of my skin. But I always remember Martin Luther King’s words, “Judge me not by the colour of my skin, but by the content of my character.”
She praised Daaga, saying even when he was heavily involved in the 1970 Black Power Movement, he still welcomed her without condition and that in itself was an honour.
She believes it was because of the competition in which she participated for a number of years and won the title on several occasions, that she was able to rise above her challenging start to become a well-accepted and loved patron of the calypso art form.
Results
National Calypso Queen
1st: Ife Alleyne – Child of Liberty
2nd: Allison Bernard – Time to Arise
3rd: Kerine Williams – How Much
4th: Stacey Sobers – Special Day
5th: Natasha Nurse – A Farmer’s Plight
6th: Meguella Simon – Ah Cyar Breathe
6th: Wendy Garrick – Not One Drop
8th: Roslyn Reid – Make the Right Choice
9th: Tammico Moore (Spicey) – D’ Advice
10th: Makeda Darius – Start Now
