DOMINICA-Dominica crowns new calypso monarch

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Dominica crowned a new calypso monarch during the early hours of Sunday after 24-year-old Gael “Trilla G” Jno.Baptiste, won the competition from a field of 10 contestants, including two former monarchs at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium Forecourt.

Jno. Baptiste, who was making his debut in the competition as part of the Carnival celebrations that climax here on Tuesday with the traditional street parade and jump-up, won with his tunes “Dick Taylor Ship’ and ‘De Boy Cut.’

“People keep saying that I am young and maybe calypso’s future. I consider myself to be one of the bright stars in calypso,” he told reporters soon after he was crowned, adding, “but I think we can revolutionize the calypso genre a little bit more, bring it back to what it used to be before, and try to create albums so that people can play at any time.

“I do not want calypso to be a dead genre after Tewey Vaval. (Ash Wednesday),” he said, noting that the tune ‘De Boy Cut,’ sung for the first time on Sunday night, “was written to understand it now.

“I listened to my team, and I had a solid team supporting me, and they advised me not to release the song,” he said, describing the song as one that anyone can enjoy.

“We put a presentation together, and that is why we went ahead with that strategy; clearly, it worked. My music is about sending a message, and that is what I came into calypso to do; anything else was just a bonus,” he added.

Nine-time calypso monarch Dennison “Dice” Joseph placed second, while Chester “Daddy Chess” Letang placed third.