The Rounds: Tragic crash claims the life of Trini songwriter

In this edition:
- RIM and Toronto-Lime.com to sponsor Caribana 2009
- Disgruntled artiste makes a scene at Sint Maarten soca competition
- Akim Ahjahmoo Farmer dies in tragic car trash
- Farmer Nappy confusion
- Mavado rides a soca riddim
- Destra's returns to NY


Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds. Lots of news this week around the soca world, so buckle up and get ready for the ride.

On Tuesday, I zipped over to the Scotia Bank Caribana press conference at the Royal Ontario Museum. Those of you out there who love your crackberry almost as much as you love soca, will be happy to hear that Research in Motion has signed on as an official sponsor of the festival...so has Toronto-Lime.com, so you can look forward to some great coverage online!

Before carnival heats up in Toronto, there are plenty of Caribbean festivals happening right now. Both St. Thomas carnival, and Cayman Batabano come to a climax next weekend. This week there was some pretty dramatic action in Sint Maarten, after the Senior Soca Competition. This year marks 40 years of carnival in the Dutch territory, but the first year that a sore loser decided to tell off the judges once the results were announced. First, lemme congratulate King T-Mo for winning the competition, since Ricky the Phox stole a little bit of the spotlight by grabbing a mic to sound off about his frustrations. Tisk tisk! Police rushed the stage to restrain him, but he removed himself after announcing that he won’t be participating in carnival in the years to come. It’s reported that he was disqualified for breaking the rules.

The music community in Trinidad and Tobago is mourning the loss of one of it’s bright young talents. Yesterday afternoon Karim Ahjahmoo Farmer died tragically in a car collision in La Romaine. The 28 year-old singer / songwriter has collaborated with the likes of Machel Montano (Won't Stop), Len Boogsie Sharpe and Collie Budz on various projects. His friends say that he never drank or smoked.

A rumour was circulating that Farmer Nappy was the victim of the crash, but let me set the record straight. I contacted Farmer’s manager this morning. She assured me that he’s fine. In fact, he’s currently in Barbados, hanging out for a while. Our condolences go out to the friends and family of Akim Farmer, may he rest in peace.

A couple of producers in St. Lucia are patting themselves on the back for being the first to get dancehall star Mavado to sing on a Soca Riddim. The tune is called My Life. It’s a collabo with a new artist called Baby Blue. But if you expect the gangsta for life to blow a whistle, jump up and wave tune, let’s be realistic. Mavado sounds just like... mavado. He brought his signature sing-songy dancehall vibe to Courtney Louis and Francis De Lima’s boom boom riddim, and compared to the other tracks on it, the sound is more hybrid that soca.

When it comes to people who been singing soca for a minute, people the world over know the name Destra. Ms. Garcia did her first show in New York city after about a 2 year absence. She launched the HOTT album at Manhattan’s SOBs, to a crowd that enjoyed every minute of it.

I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s rounds. Check out Nure Karen Etc, now at Nurse dash Karen dot com, for more information on all the stories you heard today, including an official statement from Farmer Nappy.(coming soon) Now, back to de docta!