Change is the only constant in life. – The Greek Philosopher, Heraclitus of Ephesus
When Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for culture, Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight made the announcement that Crop Over will be back this year with a full slate of events, festival lovers felt a sense of excitement.
A day after the post-Cabinet announcement, officials at the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) confirmed that the Grand Kadooment Day climax will return to the old route. There was a divide among Barbadians over the traditional route and the route used last year which saw revellers on the ABC Highway as opposed to ending on the Mighty Grynner Highway. At the time, officials promised that more details would be made available in the coming days.
Last Friday, at a media launch of the Season of Emancipation, the NCF’s Chief Executive Officer Carol Roberts-Reifer announced some changes.
Among them, the scrapping of the Soca Monarch competition, which was not held last year, the moving of Pic-O-De-Crop Finals to Botanical Gardens, Bridgetown Market in multiple locations, and Junior Monarch and Junior Kadooment on the same day.
Of all the changes, the one that has engaged the attention of the public most is the end of the Soca Monarch competition. Since last Friday, artistes, artiste managers, promoters, tent managers and the general public have weighed in on the issue. But what is Crop Over without a little controversy? Some are stoutly in support of the decision, others are firmly against it. The NCF CEO defended the agency’s position, stating that greater focus needs to be paid to producing quality music.
And Minister Munro-Knight said everyone should give the new plan a chance to roll out before criticising it. She promised that if artistes were still dissatisfied, consideration would be given to the competition’s return next year. But for many of us Crop Over lovers, this is nothing new. The festival has evolved over the years, and so have the artistes and the music.
The Soca Monarch competition has over the years taken on many changes, even more so than Pic-O-De-Crop. Party Monarch was first held in 1995 at the Calypso Bowl, East Coast Road.
In 2009, it then moved to Farley Hill National Park as there were environmental challenges with the landscape at the East Coast. Then the Sweet Soca competition was introduced and the concept of a Soca Royale saw clashes in Party Monarch and Sweet Soca Monarch competitions.
In order for the concept to work, the NCF introduced beats per minute (BPMs) in the judging criteria.
In 2010, the competition was moved yet again to Bushy Park and after two years, the concept of a Soca Royale was quashed. The NCF would then crown a Party Monarch, a Sweet Soca Monarch and not a Soca Royale winner.
In 2019, the competition moved to Botanical Gardens and the two competitions merged as one called Soca Monarch.
In essence, from its inception, the soca competition has been chopped and changed.
In the last 10 to 15 years, there have been six people sharing the spoils as monarchs. Lil Rick leads with six titles while Edwin copped five. Of concern to the NCF is not only that few artistes have emerged victorious but that we have struggled over the years to have a real presence at Trinidad’s Carnival and other festivals across the Caribbean.
In the 1990s, a team of our very own artistes were part of a Bajan invasion at Carnival. And while we may never see those days again, we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that St Vincent, Grenada, St Kitts, Antigua and other countries are producing artistes who have music that allows them to take spots once dominated by Bajans.
The verdict is out on whether the competition is the cause of the decline in performance regionally and globally. Some have argued that it prepares artistes for the big stage. But in 2023, we cannot be satisfied with performances at home while artistes from neighbouring countries make a lucrative living from the art form.
Just as the competition evolved, so has the music. The pace of the party music had increased in the 1990s compared to hits by Grynner and Ras Iley which won Road March back in the day. The pace then slowed and Sweet Soca was born.
Our Bashment Soca, which has been demonised here, is heavily embraced elsewhere, especially in Jamaica. And while Marzville and the like tour, performing songs from the genre, it is yet to be accepted into mainstream music in Barbados.
However, like Spouge, Ragga Ragga and Ringbang, if we do not find a way to create, brand and market Bashment Soca as our own, we will see its demise or someone else claim it as their own.
We are in 2023, coming off a COVID-19 pandemic that should have taught us that change is inevitable. This urge to cling to the status quo and oppose change without at least seeing what that change looks like should have gone the way of masks and all the other reminders of COVID-19.
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