Culture

Team Blood cooking up ah Soca 4.0 pot!

Lots of energy. Lots of excitement. Lots of colour! That’s what patrons can expect from Anderson ‘Mr. Blood’ Anderson’s team when they hit the 98.1 The One Soca 4.0 stage on Sunday, August 6th, at the new amphitheatre venue at the National Botanical Gardens.

The singer/songwriter/producer/actor) icon is excited about the National Cultural Foundation-produced event a first for them 2023 Crop Over season which has been described as “exceeding expectations.”

With Soca 4.0 falling on Kadooment eve, it evoked memories of Cohobblopot-past to Mr. Blood.

“That was where the culmination of everything that happened throughout the season came together on that particular night. And showcased it to the entire world,” he said.

He revealed his set would cook up a bit of ‘pot-stalgia – taking you, through song, from way back when they had the King and Queen of the Crop. He plans to show up as his usual effervescent self, fuelled by his love for entertaining the masses throughout the years.

The planned set, he revealed, will take inspiration from, and be a celebration of, the national festival he has witnessed grow for over the past four decades.

It was in the calypso arena where, then, Young Blood would make his name with Sport Billie. Then, in 1985, at age 17, he was the youngest person ever to make the National Calypso Finals.

Armed with his trademark wide smile, Anderson would take his career to another level by being a founding member, lead vocalist and guitarist of Square One – one of the Caribbean’s most prominent touring bands who conquered the world with hit songs like De Plumber, Kitty Kat, ‘Pokemon, Raggamuffin.

As a solo act, he would capture Crop Over success with wins in the Party Monarch (2001 & 2010), Sweet Soca Monarch (2013), Soca Royale (2010), Tune of the Crop (2010), and Pic o De Crop (2018). He also captured the Party Monarch and Tune of the Crop crowns (2013) as one half of Soca Kartel – the dynamic duo of himself and powerhouse Michael Mikey Mercer.

Mr Blood had this to say about his team:

King of the Road The Mighty Grynner – “From the time I got into this business… I was working with him and we’re great friends.”
Mikey – “I hope to recreate the ‘Kartel connection’ with Mikey.”
Faith Callendar – “She started in this industry with me. I recorded her first track.”
Scrilla – “One of the bashment artistes that I admire a lot.”
Junior Soca Monarch 2023 First Runner-up, Trinity – “When she decided she wanted to do some soca this year, one of the people she decided to contact was me.”
Baje to the World Season Three winner, Kyrique – “I was his mentor throughout that competition.”

“We’ve got a really tight dynamic team of good performers,” Mr Blood said.

Kyrique agrees, and can’t wait to perform with a legacy act who he has grown a deeper admiration for.

“I would always tell persons, through that experience of Baje to the World, I didn’t only get a mentor, but to me Mr. Blood is a father figure,” he said of the writer and producer of his Crop Over 2023 song, Shell It.

“So for me, being able to perform with him on stage within a couple of weeks, it will be very exciting… I guess it would bring it full circle for me. The anticipation for the show is extremely high.

“Everywhere I go, people [are] asking me about the show, and talking about the show. There are groups of people who I have met who said that this is the show that they want; they don’t want to miss [it],” he added.

98.1 The One Soca 4.0 takes place at the National Botanical Gardens on Sunday, August 6th. Visit the National Cultural Foundation, at ncf.bb or on socia

Culture

BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition Winners Announced

Five winning teams have emerged from the recently held prize-giving ceremony of the inaugural ‘Barbados Postal Service (BPS) 2024 Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’.

The winners hail from the Post Offices of St. Joseph; St. George; Welches Road; St. Philip and the General Post Office in Cheapside.

The overall winner of the competition is the eight-member team of the General Post Office’s Accounts Section, who each received an Island Safari Tour. Second place went to the Welches Road Post Office, third was the St. Philip Post Office, fourth was the St. George Post Office and fifth place went to the St. Joseph Post Office.

Winning Teams (flanked by BPS management), of the inaugural ‘BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’, from the GPO; Welches Road PO; St. Philip PO; St. George PO and the St. Joseph PO.

Postmaster General, Joann Busby, in her address to the winners, stated, “We look forward to many more events like this in the future, celebrating both our history and commitment to excellence.”

Concept Creator of the competition, BPS Marketing Officer Neiai Hall said, “This competition aims to showcase the creativity and cultural expression of our staff, through costume design and performance. The theme of the competition is rooted in our rich heritage and the vibrant spirit of Crop Over.

On left – ‘BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’ 2nd Place Winning Costume, On right – ‘BPS Crop Over Do-FFlicky Costume Competition’ 3rd Place Winning Costume.

“We have encouraged participants to design costumes that not only display their creativity but also incorporate elements that represent the services offered by the BPS”.

The judging criteria consisted of Sustainability; Creativity; Depiction of a BPS Service; Originality; Portrayal; Video Creativity and Originality; Practicality and Inclusivity and Descriptive Write-Up.

Plaques were presented to each of the winning teams and the St. Joseph Post Office also received the Postmaster General’s special award for Outstanding Advertising Video in the competition. (PR/GIS)

Culture

LAST LAP WEEKEND – Ended with Pic-o-de-Crop Finals, Foreday Jump and Kadooment

AN INCIDENT FREE FESTIVAL By David Harris

After two months of activities that included early morning breakfast fetes and late-night parties, the golden anniversary of the Crop Over Festival ended with the Grand Kadooment on Monday.

Over 10.000 revellers in 18 bands danced on the new route which began at the Helipad in Bridgetown and ended in front of Kensington Oval. The street parade was changed its 9 a.m. start to 10 a.m. by the National Cultural Foundation after the Barbados Meteorological Service placed the island under a severe thunderstorm watch.

Eventually, the Blue Box Cart band got the parade moving at 10.07 and the masqueraders began wining and chipping on the streets of Bridgetown.

Only 13 of the 18 bands on parade judged, among the revellers were Barbadian superstar and National Hero, the Right Excellent Robin Rihanna Fenty and former West Indies captain Brian Lara.

Some bands were still heading towards the Mighty Grynner Highway just before at minutes to 9 o’clock. Aura was the last band to reach the highway before the police ended the parade.

The Grand Kadooment ended an action-packed weekend that included the Pic O De Crop Finals at the National Botanical Gardens in Waterford on Friday night, the Foreday Morning Jam which began in Bridgetown in the wee hours of morning and the Grand Kadooment on Monday.

Fans were primed for thrilling contest between the defending monarch IWeb (Ian Webster) and Adrian “AC” Clarke who placed second in last year’s Pic O De Crop competition; but it was AC who captured the crown for the third time after IWeb who appeared to have forgotten the lyrics of the De Village Ram in the second half of the competition.

Clarke performed at number 16 (immediately behind IWeb) and stamped his authority on the competition with an impressive performance of the self-penned Going Fuh Crown, the judges awarded him 133 points, 28 more than Sir Ruel who came second.

Adrian Clarke the 2024 Calypso Monarch

His impressive performance won the first prize of $100,000 or a Nissan E Powe X- Trail valued at $136,000; Clarke told journalists after the competition he had opted to take the vehicle instead of the prize money. Clarke, 52, first won the crown in 2001 and in 2008.

Sir Ruel was the most outstanding performer in the first half with A Single Bullet, he wrote the calypso in memory of his brother Dario Jon-Luc Holder-Branch who was shot to death in February this year. The former Junior Monarch amassed 105 points and won a cash prize of $40,000.

*Sir Ruel, Pic of de Crop, 2nd place winner*

Perennial finalist Chrystal Cummins-Beckles placed third with De Proposal, the multi-talented musician, arranger and composer was awarded 97 points and the $20,000 prize.

Billboard placed fourth for the second consecutive his calypso earned him a cash prize of $15,000; and first timer Tae, the youngest competitor in the final took the fifth position and $10,000 with A Big Cirus.

Calypsonians placing from the sixth to tenth position received $8,000 each, those coming 11 th to 18 th got $6000.

The competition started 51 minutes after the scheduled 8 p.m. due to technical hitches with video presentations, and one contestant (Kid Site) had to start over his song because of problems with the audio. The second half started just after midnight and ended at 2.10 a.m.

In commemoration of the 50 th anniversary of the Crop Festival there were performances by former monarchs the Mighty Destroyer. Red Plastic, the Mighty Gabby and Edwin Yearwood.