Staying on the course he has adopted over the last several years, Roger ‘Young Bill Rogers’ Hinds competed in both the Calypso and Chutney Monarch competitions this year, and added one more title to his collection when he won the calypso competition.
Hinds, who also scored third place in the chutney competition, said that he is both grateful and humble as he continues his journey to keep both genres of music alive, and not only at Mashramani time which is when they are usually highlighted.
Hinds won the Calypso Monarchy with his song “Yuh Can’t Stap the Old Time Days” where a contrast between Guyana in the 90s and present day was made. For the Chutney Monarch competition his entry was “She want an Oil Man” which aimed at promoting and showing the great value of Guyana’s developing oil industry.
The local singer, songwriter and actor explained to Stabroek Weekend that his decision to continually participate in both competitions was because he holds both genres close to his heart. His intention is to become a legend in the industry and he is appealing to older calypsonians to join him on the journey of leading by example for upcoming performers.
“I’ve been in the calypso industry for 32 two years so far and I’ve never move aside and I’ve never given up on it because I always say that I am an example and I’m a senior guy in this thing so I always want to portray a high quality of calypso at all times,” Hinds said. “This year, I realized that there were only four senior competitors in the calypso competition and all the rest were youths. I’m not saying that the youths aren’t good because it’s good to push them and to let them follow in our footsteps but I’m just appealing to senior calypsonians to continue to take up their position and not to fall back on it because we need to let the youths see how serious we take our calypso…”
Asked how he prepared for two contests, Hinds said it was hectic as previous times but also rewarding, since he had a good feeling about himself. “I felt eager that this year I had to go out there and win this year’s calypso competition because I know I had a great song based on the feedback that I got and many persons that were even there at the competition said that the song had them reminiscing on their old days,” he said.
Although he enjoys the Mashramani festivities and competitions, Hinds who currently has a role in the Guyanese film, Brown Sugar too Bitter for Me 2 is appealing to the government and general public to help bring back certain traditions of the occasion that have been lost. He referred to the Mashramani Caravan and Jamboree which he believes will help to unearth the hidden talents of many Guyanese who have not had the opportunity to participate in the various Mashramani competitions due to them being eliminated in the early stages.
“Years ago, for calypso, we used to have something called the Caravan. [This] was where you had a lot of calypsonians taking part, going and performing in most villages and regions. Then [there was] the Jamboree where you had all the calypsonians performing and when you performed there everybody had the chance to see you perform again after the Caravan which was first… then it had the quarterfinals where it had the elimination process and you’re being paid, then semi-finals and then finals… That don’t happen now and these are the things that I think need to come back if they want to continue to promote calypso so that it can be kept alive and the calypsonians can have a platform to perform because when they have the competition and they pick only ten competitors the other persons don’t have another avenue to perform. So that’s some work that needs to be done in order for everyone to be able to perform and showcase their talent,” explained the senior calypsonian.
With the aim of keeping the tradition alive, Hinds said, he and two others have established a non-governmental organization called Calypso Revival Tent.
“Calypso used to be the main event, but now coming on to Mashramani most people are fixed on soca and dancehall. So much emphasis is not being placed on calypso anymore….,” Hinds said. “Chutney music is growing faster and it’s more established around the world too… We are trying to resuscitate the calypso art form… Calypso Revival Tent will aid in giving persons who haven’t gotten to perform, the opportunity to do so. We’re trying to raise funds to host shows so that the calypsonians can have a voice there… because after Mashramani you don’t hear anything about calypso and persons just try to link that type of music only during the occasion so we need to move away from that and try to push our calypsonians everyday.”
Asked what advice he would give to upcoming artistes in the calypso and chutney genres, the 2023 Calypso Monarch said, “Be humble, hard-work, dedication, sacrifice and don’t give up… I must also commend the youths who are involved in calypso and who write their own songs because I know that is a task itself and I admire them for that because they are also personally working on their craft to better their craft and that attitude will make them successful calypso-nians … Some of them come the first time and because they didn’t get any space they gave up and that’s not how it should be, so I encourage them to continue to work and never give up.”
