The plight of the homeless was the topic of the song which captured the Junior Calypso King competition for 16-year-old Brian Chase. Telling the story of several homeless people living on the streets of St. Croix, Chase, a St Croix Educational Complex sophomore, put on a rousing performance as he implored the government to “please help them!”
This was the second year in a row that Chase was crowned Junior Calypso King. He was one of the winners in the five different age divisions.
The event took place Saturday in front of an audience that only half filled the John H. Woodson Jr. High School cafeteria, but more than made up for its size with its enthusiasm. Five categories of winners were crowned. After about a 90-minute delay due to “technical difficulties,” 15 budding calypsonians from the age of three to the teenagers sang about a variety of issues, including youth violence, the woes of WAPA, partying at Festival time and the dangers of marijuana and crack cocaine.
Chase’s winning entry can be heard here on Facebook.
The show is the brainchild of Camille “King Derby” Macedon, a lifelong calypsonian who holds multiple Calypso King titles and has traveled extensively entertaining local, national, and international audiences, as well as all over the Caribbean. King Derby is a master at extemporaneous commentary, which is the ability to create lyrics on the spot about any subject. He is also a prolific songwriter. Derby created Calypso Inc. in 1978 and held his first Junior Calypso Competition in 1982 to showcase the talents of the youths he trains in lyrics, chorography and performance.
The winners of the competitions were:
Pee Wee division
– Winner Rah’Kim Clark,
– Runner up – Ramsey Abdallah,
– Third place – Jah’Mani Herbert,
– Fourth Place – Kaleem Marcellin.
Pee Wee I division
– Winner: Shawn Edney,
– Runner up: Areen Mustafa.
Pee Wee ll division
– Winner: Amalie Figueroa,
– Runner up: Isolde Diaz.
Intermediate division
– First place: Nicholai Chase,
– Runner up: Devonte Bowen,
– Third place: Isabel Tirado.
Junior division
– Winner: Brian Chase,
– Runner up: Linroy Forde III,
– Third place: Merlyn Gregg,
– Fourth place: Joseph Bowen.