Lester Ricardo Charles or De Professor said his winning calypso came about from a lot of reading and his disappointment at what he reads in the newspapers. “My songs are an art based on my country. I feel this beautiful country has a weak judiciary system and so a lot of people get away with wrongdoings. There is a lot of abuse and these culprits cannot come up with justice.”
When asked if he ever feels scared or reluctant to sing controversial songs, he said: “I always feel scared. My father advised me not to sing songs about certain things and people. He sometimes says I am too harsh. But my mom says ‘You are right! You ain’t abusing nobody – you just singing what you see.’
“I feel Calypso is deliberately getting shifted mainly because of its content and that the social commentary is deep. People must look forward to hearing Calypso because of the message, Mighty Rebel was perhaps one of the most controversial and greatest singers of his day and from that time onwards Calypso has been shifting. People say [Calypso] is not marketable but that is not true. If things are put in place to encourage the youths to participate then there would be better commentary. I want to see Calypso treated with respect. I want it to get a different, more positive kind of attention… and the prize money should be raised to encourage this.”
Charles made these remarks prior to reports surfacing about the 2013 Calypsoes being banned from airplay on NCN radio.
The 2013 Calypso Monarch, although he went home with the $600,000 prize money, felt that this year’s competition was the stiffest. “I was looking at Lord Canary, Bill Rogers, Queen Makeba – their songs were powerful and everyone upped their game. In both organisation and audience support the competition was a stiff one.”
Charles said he felt surprised when semi-finalists Junior Calypso Monarch, Niossi Alsopp and Abigail James were knocked out of the competition. “They both didn’t deserve to be eliminated because of their message,” he said. On the night of the competition, Charles said, he prayed hard, not to win, but get the chance to deliver his message. “I wanted to prove what I am capable of.”
Charles was born on the Wismar shore of Mackenzie, Linden in November 1970 to Shirley and Joseph Charles. He grew up in a loving and religious home with his parents and their ten children—five boys and five girls—he is the penultimate child.
His mother was seen as more as the disciplinarian since she took it upon herself to raise her children right. Because of this, his father did not have much of a say in their upbringing. His main responsibility was to work and provide the family income. Charles said his mother, a fulltime housewife, took care of her children, who up to this day to show their gratitude. The now 75-year-old woman is being looked after by the ones she raised.
In the early 70s, the family moved to Self-Help Amelia’s Ward, Linden, which at that time was a growing, residential community. There were a lot of children in his age group, he took that advantage to play games and sports, especially football.
Charles revealed that he took his stage name from his nickname, which originally, was ‘Nut Head’ or ‘Professor Nut’, since he had a “big coconut head” as a child. He said he cried a lot over the nickname, but learned to embrace it as he grew up. Eventually, the last part of the nickname was dropped and he became ‘De Professor.’
In a telephone interview with The Scene, Charles said it all started around 1994/95 when the Reynolds Bauxite company held a ‘Brothers and Sisters in Concert’ event to bring the Aroaima community (Small bauxite village 64 Miles from Linden) closer together. The concert was highly anticipated and Charles himself was excited. He was encouraged to join and when he did he was overwhelmed since it was the first time he had sung in front of an audience. The huge support he got motivated him to continue up to this day.
Charles said his mother has encouraged him throughout the years of his career as a Calypsonian. “It makes her smile when I sing,” he said.
In 2005, he entered the annual Calypso competition to challenge his boastful Calypsonian friend, Linden ‘Super Tex’ Carmichael. “The workers of Repsol motivated me to challenge him. He was a good singer indeed and he went around saying that he was the best. …Three of us [workers at Repsol] went to the senior Calypso auditions in Linden. I ended up going all the way to the finals in Bartica,” Charles said. He did not enter the competition in 2006 or 2007. He returned in 2008 and the next year, 2009, he won the title with his song, “Save the Land”. He won again in 2011 with, “Dem Get it So” and now in 2013 with “God Nah Sleep”.
Charles said he is inspired by calypsonians such as: The Mighty Rebel, Lord Canary, Sweet Kendingo, Bright Colours, The Mighty Voter and Young Bill Rogers, whom he dethroned. “They are all very powerful Calypsonians, but Bill Rogers is a close friend of mine. We are the closest of all in the entire Calypso arena and he is a very nice person. He encouraged me a lot,” Charles said.
He said Reynolds is now Rusal and he is still employed there as a plumber. Apart from his music, Charles loves football and wants to do more with the sport. “I want to venture out into it and give the children in the community the opportunity to excel. I want to take them around the country and have people know that Linden has exposure to football.”
Charles currently lives in Berbice with his wife of eight years; they have six children together – four girls and two boys. But he says Linden is his birth place, which he will always represent.
