In the closest and most dramatic calypso battle in over a decade, Young Bill Rogers edged out a righteous Prophet to snatch the calypso monarchy and crush the hopes of a town waiting to crown a Linden calypso king for fourteen years.
By a one-point margin, the long-time campaigning Roger Hinds better known as ‘Young Bill Rogers’ edged out Lester Charles called ‘The Prophet’ in his Linden hometown where the finals of the Adult Calypso competition wrapped up in unpredictable fashion early yesterday morning.
With a hard-hitting yet deeply patriotic piece titled, “We’re still a paradise”, Bill Rogers stormed into the finals as the top contender having racked up a victory at the semi-finals in Bartica a week ago but the dreadlocked Prophet from Linden preached a sermon so good the judges gave him a come-from-behind, close second place finish. Added to that, Linden was begging for an encore performance.
The calls for Prophet to preach his piece one more time were so loud and long that the Linden crowd had to be reminded it was a competition which was not yet over. At that stage, two calypsonians were still to sing including dethroned monarch, Mighty Rebel who performed a song called, “It’s a shame”. To quote from his own piece Rebel’s monarch’s defence was a shame, lacking a fresh melody and sounding more like last year’s entry that won him the title.
But though the Prophet was looking good, Bill Roger’s stirring performance was holding its own. In his piece Rogers mentioned everything troubling Guyanese from crime to VAT and even slipped in the gun incident involving a minister. He also mentioned the positives and reiterated throughout the song that in spite of it all, Guyana is still a paradise. He sung:
“The crime rate rising in de country
People getting gun down innocently
But we are still a paradise
Ah hear a minister perform like wild west to town
He nearly kill one and shoot up with a gun
But we’re still a paradise
Ah love me country, you love dis country
We all have to make it nice
Come on sing with me, we’re still a paradise”
The Prophet was at home and in good form when he performed his song, “Region Ten: the best region”. Celebrating Linden’s rich bauxite history and its football legacy, he capitalized on the sentiments of the home crowd and pulled off a flawless performance. Any non-Lindener present at the Mackenzie Sport Club ground would have been hard pressed to disagree with him or the mammoth crowd that threw its support behind him and unapologetically remained partial towards him and his calypso. The Prophet belted out:
“Every man has a right to like the region he come from
Whether ya race, accustomcy or religion
History gon show the first time Guyana mek the spotlight
Is when region ten start fe sell the world bauxite
Some say region one but that is dem opinion
Some say two, three and four is the best region
Some a seh five, six, seven and eight and some a seh nine
But outta all a dem region ten is the best in line”
Some appeared to be getting anxious as the judges delayed the results and it seemed as though a brawl might have broken out when Bill Rogers was crowned monarch but Prophet and Linden were gracious in defeat, so gracious that many including the runner-up joined Bill Rogers on stage as he gave an encore.
Visually impaired calypsonian Martin Bryne also known as “Mighty Voter” finished a strong third in the competition with his song, “Trafficking in persons”. Voter also walked away with a first place finish in the HIV/AIDS segment of the competition with “Get tested”. The newly crowned monarch placed second behind Voter in this category.
It was one of Voter’s better nights in a competition he has made home for over a decade but his success came on a night when local calypso got a much needed revival as the battle raged between Bill Rogers and Prophet.
Other calypsonians who performed at the finals were Black Hat; Mark Batson; The Mighty Believer; Lady Karen; Wicked Pertab and Sweet Kendingo. Of the lot, Kendingo; Batson and Believer made quite a lasting impression with their pieces.
Mighty Believer, dressed as a doctor, injected the Linden crowd with amusement when he performed “My injection”. While Batson appeared as a mechanic and was working the crowd as he performed every line.
Kendingo who placed fourth in the competition with “Do we VAT dance” left Lindeners dong the dance- a slight hop dance which he said comes naturally to people who are burdened by the tax.
