For Steven Ramphal, six times proved to be a charm. His outstanding performance coupled with the words of his song “Rang Ke Bhare Main Bhool Jao” (“Forget About Your Colour and Let’s Live in Love”) won him the 2019 Chutney Monarch crown at the final of the competition sponsored by Banks DIH Ltd at the Anna Regina Community Centre Ground last Sunday.
Steven, who was performing on a high at having placed second in the Soca Monarch competition the previous night at the National Park, told The Scene in an interview: “Words cannot explain what I’m feeling right now. But from where I started to where I am right now, I’m very proud of my accomplishments.”
Steven’s song strongly emphasizes on love and unity of Guyanese and he scored 11 points more than last year’s Chutney Monarch Bunty Singh, who placed second.
Meanwhile, his composition which took him to second place in the Soca Final and two points short of taking the title from Brandon Harding, who was also last year’s monarch, is “Soca in Meh Vein”. This was Steven’s first venture into the soca competition, and he said that it should have happened a while ago as he has long had a love for soca, adding that its hyped-up vibe easily draws one to the music. Meanwhile, this is his sixth time participating in the Chutney Monarch competition.
“I’ve been singing since I was 8 years old… But I started singing professionally at the age of 17,” Steven said. He has been singing for almost a decade already.
The artiste who was born in Suriname to Guyanese parents came to live in Guyana before he was a year old. His love for music was bolstered by an uncle who was also fascinated with music and who took it upon himself to groom Steven into the artiste he has become today. Steven is not just a singer and performer but has written all of the songs he has performed to date. He is also a musician and can play the keyboard well, having had a pianist for a grandfather.
As a boy Steven attended St Angela’s Primary and Tutorial High schools. Never one to participate in school activities he kept to himself but found a love for poetry, though he found himself in the Science stream prior to graduating.
Initially, Steven was not very sociable and therefore his first appearance onstage was nerve-wracking, but he said that encouragement from the audience helped him move past this and he now performs with ease. “Performing onstage is an amazing feeling especially when you have thousands of people supporting you and cheering you on,” he noted. Such encouragement led to him being more outgoing and today he easily says that meeting people who have a similar passion for music is one of the perks of being a singer. However, sadly, such openness has seen him have a few run-ins with musicians who perhaps did not want to see a fellow artiste excel and tried to do whatever they could to prevent that from happening.
Asked who he saw as his strongest competition, Steven said himself adding that only he can take himself to new heights or prevent it from happening. In fact, having placed in previous Chutney competitions, Steven saw himself as a frontrunner and more so because he knew his ability when it came to giving his all.
“Music is life,” Steven said. “Music is love. Being an artiste is not just about singing. For me, it’s more about using my talent to spread a message, a message that will unite us all as Guyanese, to stop racism.”
Some of the challenges he has encountered include releasing a song, ensuring that it is being heard, managing to keep it playing and ensuring that fans are satisfied. While that is quite a handful, the young man said determination allowed all of his hard work to pay off.
How does he do it? How does he keep on going? The singer said his biggest inspiration is his son. “… He encourages me to be a better person every day,” he shared. His wife, he added, is his biggest supporter as she stuck it out with him through thick and thin. His mother. too, he said, had always rallied by him and aside from being his support was also his form of guidance and her passing greatly affected him. Becoming the monarch is a moment he would have wanted, more than anything else, to share with his mother, he added.
Though Brandon Harding is Soca royalty, for a long time Jumo ‘Rubber Waist’ Primo has been dubbed ‘the Soca king’. Asked what it meant to have defeated Jumo, Steven said, “I don’t think of it as defeating Jumo. For me it’s been a privilege to perform on the same stage and to make it to the finals with someone like him. We all have our good and bad days.”
From 2013 to now the singer has written and recorded a number of songs, which are still to be released. 2019, he said, is going to be a bigger and better year and this is already in the making.
Steven mentioned that the local music industry has remarkable support already and what it needs now is for artistes to be more supportive of each other for the industry to move at a faster pace. As he moves forward, he sees himself reaching higher heights while promoting love and harmony. He plans to take on the Reggae genre in the near future.
The new Chutney Monarch noted that being humble takes a man to higher levels and he encourages aspiring artistes to stay determined and remain humble, adding that this is the key to success.
Though he can’t say at the moment what he has planned for this year, Steven is convinced that it can only get better. He is slated to perform at a number of Mashramani events as well as some overseas.
Steven is a full-time photographer and videographer at Steven Ramphal Photography. His free time is dedicated to his family.
The Capricorn-born title holder loves the colour blue and his favourite dish is “anything my wife cooks.”
Steven’s Chutney Monarchy prize is $1 million along with tickets for two to any Caribbean destination. In addition, he won $750,000 for finishing in second place and another $100,000 for being awarded the Best Newcomer at this year’s Soca Monarch Competition.
He can be found on Facebook at Steven Ramphal, on Instagram @stevenramphalphotography and on YouTube at SR Productions.
