Mr DJ hits them for six

Mr DJ hit them for six on Saturday night.

The reigning king put down a stellar performance to regain his title and walk away with his sixth crown.

Seasoned singer Granville Carter out-sang, outperformed and outshone the other six contestants in the 9th Annual National United Society of the Blind Calypso competition held Saturday night at the Sir Hugh Springer Auditorium, Solidarity House.

Before a lively and appreciative crowd, which included Minister of People Empowerment and Elderly Affairs Cynthia Forde, he delivered an excellent rendition of his song The Solution, which was penned by The Mighty Gabby and arranged by Andy Williams.

In the song, he is calling for the return of “Rap Brown” (Ashford Jones) a well-known, tough and feared retired top ranking police officer to the force so he could deal with the current upsurge of crime.

In the cleverly written song, Mr DJ touched on the brazen shooting at Sheraton Mall where members of the blind and disabled community were meeting at the same time. The singer lamented the violence saying the country was under fire; he said he was only leaving home to win the monarchy. He received resounding applause and standing ovations.

Dressed in full Royal Barbados Police Force uniform, Mr DJ amassed 430 points to win and took home $750, a trophy and a staycation for two at the Courtyard by Marriott.

Musical Shane took second place with Black Man. He copped 409 points. His song written by Shawn Shawnie Barrow and arranged by Mark Husbands dealt with the issue of violence as well but he tackled it differently.

The contestant said while all the other races were progressing, black people were killing each other… “all de black man doing killing… black man wake up… Indians investing… White man looking for power and wealth… Chinese achieving and building buildings….” were some of the lyrics he used to get his message across. He was in fine voice. Musical Shane went home with $500 and day pass for two at Hilton Barbados.

Song Bird, who placed third, scored 387 points singing Customer Service. In her song she was critical of the quality of customer service in the island. She focused on the automated call centres which a number of businesses are using as a cost-cutting measure. She claimed agents were robotic, unmannerly and that the recordings were “meking mock sport at what customer service should be…” Song Bird who has been singing since 1989 took home $300 and a dinner for two at Sandals Resorts.

Lady Lee singing I Can Do It Too, written by Elviston Maloney and arranged by Tito Gittens, placed fourth. She sings about the fact that disabled people should feel free to aspire to the same goals as those without disabilities.

Fifth place went to Lady Emerald doing Put Down The Guns written by Gail Hunte and arranged by Ricardo Bryan. It was the third song in the competition to deal with violence.

Biggie Bear who has been in the competition eight out of its nine years, placed sixth with Love for Calypso written by Shawn Barrow and arranged by Roger Gittens. In the song, he professes his love for soca. He drew reference to greats such as Romeo and Sir Don.

First timer Checkery placed seventh with a song called Thank You which was written by Elviston Maloney and arranged by Roger Gittens.

MC Eric Lewis did a good job but the majority of entertainment and comedy came from patron TC, a blind male who was making random outbursts throughout the night which added to the lively atmosphere. He gave the same level of energy and support to all seven contestants which could have only made them feel more comfortable on stage. (IMC)