Booster Shot: Skinny Fabulous makes it three!

The 2019 St. Vincent and the Grenadines Soca Monarch wrapped up about four hours ago.  As usual the crowd was wild with excitement as soca favourites vied for the top prize of Vincy Mas.

Congratulations to Skinny Fabulous on winning the title three consecutive times.

For those who missed it, here's who came out on top at Vincy Soca Monarch 2010

1. Skinny Fabulous - Charge Up (Duracell)
2. Fireman Hooper - Soca Battlefield
3. Maddzart - King Road
4. Problem Child - Delinquents


Love and Soca,

Nurse Karen

Read more...

Booster Shot: Fireman wins Ragga Soca Monarch!

Vincentians know Fireman as a high energy uptempo performer, but in 2010 he shows his versatility with a win at Ragga Soca Monarch on early Saturday morning June 26th.

Here are your 2010 Vincy Ragga Soca Monarch winners:

1.  Fireman - Bun Dem
2.  Galanaire Avalaunche - Come Een
3.  Maddzart - Wine Pon Me

Congratulations Fireman!

Love and Soca,

Nurse Karen

Read more...

Nurse's Lounge: Vincy & Grenadian Hype - Toronto!

Nurse Karen and Pupa Leendi

Few people realize that in spite of my public persona as veritable Queen of the Soca Dancehall (LOL), I like to stay in. My Toronto crew can attest. I do go out, but I'm noticeably absent at a lot or great events too. I dunno, I just like my bed or something.

Last Friday, even though every ounce of my being ached for the familiar conforst of home, I partied. I partied kinda hard too! (Jumping and ting, what a site)

For me the hot spot was a show called Vincy and Grenadian Hype, held up at Fusion Lounge, near Jane and Wilson. I live pretty much in the downtown core, so it takes a special push to get me to pump enough gas in the ride to make it to them parts. Special push came from DJ Tarrus of the Vincy Soca Dans. He popped up on my MSN, right around the time I was starting to kiss all my "tweeters" goodnight. I got a stern reminder that I missed their big show in NY the weekend before, and I'd better not flake out on the Toronto appearance. Point taken.

The event featured a cast of artists Toronto seldoms sees together. From Grenada it was veteran artiste, Inspector and multiple-time Carriacou Road March champ, Pupa Leendi. From St. Vincent and the Grenadines, there was the nookieman Jamesy, six time soca monarch Fireman Hooper, and "D'Crowd Motivator" Luta.

I got up to Fusion about 1 am-ish. I dolled up, cuz it wasn't supposed to be heavy fete night for me. Just wanted to suss the show, say hello to the artistes and go on my merry way (back to sleep). That's not the way it went down.

When I arrived, a steady flow of patrons queued up at the entrance. A couple of Toronto Police were hanging around making easy dough. I ran into Andy Lavia outside. We had a great chat about all things soca. Dunno if it was planned, but he ended up being the MC for the night. I need to get those kind of jobs!

I'm pretty sure our lime continued outside until after 2. When I got inside, the crowd barely even seemed to notice that the artistes weren't even in the building as yet. The action on the dance floor was the kind of wildness that you would expect from Spice Mas J'ouvert of Vincy Carnival events like "Slippery When Wet". For some the stage doubled as a King-sized mattress, for others the floor was good enough. Never seen that kind of behaviour in Toronto before....EVER!

DJs Fusion and Tarrus juggled from Jamaican Dancehall to soca from the two featured islands plus a healthy dose of ditties from Barbados, Trinidad, and Antigua too.

Finally it was show time. Grenada was up first! Pupa Leendi...who most of you know from "Rum ooooooooooye, wey you dey?!!!" got all the roots coloured flags waving high and proud. A couple of lyrical improvisations gave the man's songs a parental advisory warning much higher than that required for liquor references, if you know what I mean. Eh hem... Sometimes I wonder if I'm old enough for this stuff.

Next was Inspector. It was great to see him command the crowd. I really appreciate witnessing performances by persons who've been in the game for a while. I remember seeing him at a Carifiesta show in Montreal. That could have been 10 years ago. WOW!
He performed is set to an ecstatic audience. For obvious reasons, the Grenadian crowd was loving it a little more than the Vincies...until, he did something no one expected. Inspector got the DJ to give him a one drop...to which he performed classic Vincy soca songs from the like so Poorsah and Becket. If you see exitement!

Nurse Karen with Inspector

Why can't I remember who was next? I believe it was Jamesy P. Boyfriend came dolled up looking like somebody's groomsman. He had everybody singing along from start to finish.

Luta! Love him or hate him, you can't deny that the man knows how to hold a crowd's attention. From the girls rushing the stage to test the wine, or the freestyle verses of "Busy Tone". Luta shows the Greenz crew some love by dropping some Lavaman verses in his set. Lava was advertised, but I haven't got the story on that. In my opinion, Luta was a true show stopper.

Nurse Karen, (pit stain), and Luta

Time was running out at Fireman hit the stage. I was already privy to some of his outrageous antics in the VIP, so one could expect nothing less as the dreadlocked mad man approached the stage shirtless. I can't lie, I lost all my poise and composure when he did "Anaconda". I didn't expect that. So, I had a little more jump left for "Spirtual" and "Rags Invasion". He brought back a few great Vincy Mas memories for me.

Towards the end of the set, the security team just didn't look like they were having fun anymore. It was getting awful close to 3:30 am...so by the time Tarrus took the mic to do his song, the lights were on.


But you know what happened next.... PARKING LOT LIME. Thanks for getting me out gents. It was a real fun show, keep doing your thing!

Love and Soca,

Nurse Karen

P.S. The same night there was a huge b-day bash for DJ Jester. I'm very sorry I wasn't able to make it. He's a buddy of mine, that I appreciate in so many ways..and have the utmost respect for. I know the party was amazing, and so would have loved to be there for the fun. Lots of continued blessings! K.

Read more...

Nurse's Lounge: Junior Calypso and Soca Lime in VIncy (video)

Tuesday, June 30 - Junior Calypso and Soca

I’ve decided that Junior Calypso is my all-time favourite event on the Vincy Mas calendar. Maybe I’m secretly wishing I was still a hot blooded 13 year old. Maybe it’s cause they don’t sell popcorn and sno cones at Soca Monarch. I’m not sure why, but hands down, it’s my favourite midday lime on the calendar.

This time around my hankering for sea water caused me to arrive much later than I had planned. (see here)

I was so late! Missed all the Kaiso. I find the kiddies always bring throught provoking entries about matters that affect youth. It’s better than the newspaper. Good kaiso is the peoples’ voice. By the time we arrived at Victoria Park there were only a few more Junior Soca acts. I even missed my boy Hance, three time Jr Soca champ, who’s now singing with Hottsand!

3-time Junior Soca Monarch Hance, playing mas on Carnival Tuesday

I did, however, have time to see young Deneisha Simmonds who placed for her performance of Soca Body. Then there was soca bad boy Wetty B from Union Island, pushing the envelope straight into disqualification zone with a performance of his Steelpan song(PUM PUM). The Vincy Soca Dans shut down the show, with Luta, Fireman and Jamesy P performing their latest hits.

The future of Vincy Calypso and Soca

Here are a few clips of the late action at SVG Junior Calypso and Soca Monarch:

Read more...

Eye Unit: Fireman Hooper 2009 Vincy Soca Monarch Performance

Ooooh this is fun! Here's a video of Fireman's performance from Soca Monarch. Say what allyuh want. Fireman is still the people's champ in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. From his wild antics to the celebration of local vernacular in his music. Take a look at his performance of Rags Invasion from Saturday's Soca Monarch Finals here in Kingstown. No other artist had this kind of response. Compared to his performances in the past, this stage presentation was stripped down and simple. There were dancers, rags, some pyrotechnics...and an electric guitar. i dunno...it was hilarious...to me anyway. As I stood in front of the stage, i felt the elation in the crowd and knew the top places would definitely go to Skinny Fabulous and Fireman. Fireman finished in second place.

Now you can see for yourself. Also, check out Nurse Karen Etc's own Kahlil Cato aka Gruvemaster, introducing Fireman on stage!

Read more...

Booster Shot: Skinny Fabulous is 2009 Vincy Soca Monarch

Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Gamal "Skinny Fabulous" Doyle successfully defended his 2009 Soca Monarch title on Saturday night. In the face of steep competition the incumbent Monarch executed an elaborate stage presentation that outshone all efforts put forth by fellow competitors. Complete with costumes, dancers, pyrotechnics and other visual aids, the performance of "De Beast Letgo" was an eye-catching display of artistry and entertainment.

A field of 20 artistes performed orinigal uptempo soca songs for a crowd of more than 12, 000 assembled at Victoria Park in Kingstown to witness the event. Last night's win marks the second consecutive defeat over six-time Soca Monarch and crowd favourite, Delroy "Fireman" Hooper. The winning song was written by Gamal Doyle and produced by Penn and Ace of Studio 758 in St. Lucia. To the surprise of many, the outstanding stage performance of "De Beast Letgo" beat out the most obvious musical forerunner for the carnival season, Mad House by Problem Child.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Results

1. De Beast Letgo - Skinny Fabulous

2. Ragz Invasion - Fireman Hooper

3. Mad House - Problem Child

4. Demus - Rum Junkie

Read more...

Artist's View: Luta on the LIME Vincy Soca Dans Launch

Luta and Nurse Karen in St. Vincent, 2008

Oh goooooooooosh carnival come again! I love carnival in all its forms. Love it best when it's something that everyone can enjoy; old and young, rich and poor, black and white and every colour in between. So, I was totally excited to here that the Vincy Soca Dans and their big sponsor LIME threw a big FREE party for the public on Friday in Heritage Square, Kingstown.

Lucky for YOU, one of the stars of the show was kind enough to let us know what went down! LUTA de crowd motivator was there to lead his posse into the hearts of the fans just as the season heats from a simmer to a boil.

Formerly of the band Signal, Luta was a dub artiste turned Vincy soca star whose career began in the 1990's. Since then he's boasted hits like "Busy Tone" featuring Skinny Fabulous, and you may remember seeing him in the 2008 Soca Monarch finals in Trinidad, singing "Hey" with Tony Prescott.

If you stilllllll don't know Luta, look him up! He's making a lot of buzz this year for a tune called "Rumbo". It bad still. But to me, I will also think of his crazy signature wine. Presssshhhaaa!

Here's what Luta had to say about the LIME Vincy Soca Dans Launch!

Enjoy!

Karen me girl!

Heritage square was packed like never before as soca lovers anxiously awaited the launch of the LIME Vincy Soca Dans package for carnival 2K9.

The square was transformed into an atmosphere of euphoria as LIME left no stones unturned in the branding of the square, this certainly set the pace for great thinks to come later in the evening.

The entertainment segment got started when Adrian Bailey's Hottsand hit the stage with Johnnie Rebel as their lead vocalist, the band went through a repertoire of hits from the past and present, they had people dancing and singing the sweet refrain of the well known old school songs. The session got even sweeter when Gideon James took the stage with his usual silky voice, serenading the ladies in the audience.

The atmosphere was about to take a turn for the hype and exhilaration of the much anticipated LIME Vincy Soca Dans. Jamesy P was the first of the Soca Dans to hit the stage and he did so in fine style singing the unofficial theme song of the Soca Dans "We Will Survive", this was followed by a string of hits from the Nookie Man like "Bashment" & "Rogaltic". At this point, the people went into a "Tipsy" frenzy and I, Luta "D Crowd Motivator" entered the stage alongside Jamesy P doing the "Tipsy" song from last year. I then went into his popular 2009 hit RUMBO which had everyone singing to the chorus "They calling me RUMBO", "Shake" was next on my repertoire and the ladies really enjoyed this one as they showed how to shake their posterior meat!

I used my usual magic in introducing Tabia on stage as she showed that she has developed as one of St. Vincent's finest female artist. Her petit structure and powerfully sounding, sweet voice makes Tabia an artist to look out for in the near future.

Making a guest appearance with the Soca Dans was Katalyst out of Barbados. Katalyst is a former lead vocalist with the band Square One. She delivered her 2K9 hit "Make Me Go Off" which I am featured on. The large crowd was very appreciative and give her a big round of applause as she left the stage.

The live concert was about to catapult into high gear as Jamesy P re-entered the stage to do his #1 hit song for 2K9 "Ants In Yo Sugarpan". The place went into a frenzy, and it was pandemonium when Jamesy P and me started free-styling on the Sugarpan rhythm. I then went into my up-tempo songs which had the large crowd jumping and waving.

Heritage square was about to be jolted into chaos when I introduced the 6 time soca monarch Fireman Hooper on stage, it was mayhem on the square as people went literally crazy to the mad performance of the Fireman. He left the stage and had scores of people asking for his return. Fireman returned to give the large crown a taste of his 2K9 hit "Finders Keepers".

The evening climaxed with the entire LIME Vincy Soca Dans on stage at the same time as we thanked our many fans, well wishers and all present for their continued support. The icing was placed on the cake when the Soca Dans gave a surprise acapella rendition of "We Will Survive", much to the delight of the large crowd.

Thanks Luta. You write real well King!

Sounds like a great show! Big up to LIME for streaming the entire launch LIVE on the internet. Hundreds tuned in. So, I'm sure that as the season unfolds we will see so much more of you. Can't wait!

Love and Soca,

Nurse Karen

Read more...

Soca Now: Tabia endorses the campaign to get soca on MySpace!

I've got to big up a young Vincy soca artiste with a big heart.  Tabia just added her voice and face to the list of people actively supporting the SOCA NOW MOVEMENT! For those of you who thought this was over...think again! We need YOU to keep writing emails to myspace to demand a category for soca.

If you don't know Tabia, she's a young artiste who is actively preparing to make a splash for Vincy Mas 2K9. One of the LIME Soca Dans, Tabia performs and works alongside some of St. Vincent's top artistes including, Fireman Hooper, Jamesy P, Luta and DJ Twenty.

Here's a shot of Tabia and me grabbing a bite at X-cape in St. Vincent 2008

She's just returned from NYC where she completed a series of studio sessions with top producers; The Great Zeee (Juk Up Riddim 2008), and Parry Jack (Zoelah's "Wine Up On Me" 2008)

I've heard an early demo of one of her Ragga Socas (Groovy), and I'm already sold.

Please, show your support for Tabia and the SOCA NOW Movement by listening to her special

 message and getting involved!




Where to connect with SOCA NOW

MySpace Group
MySpace Page
Twitter
Facebook Group

(Please repost and "retweet" Stay connected and do your part!

http://myspace.com/socanow1

... add it now!



Love and Soca,

(Nurse) Karen

P.S. Soca Artists...we can use every one of you to champion this cause! Connect with soca now on myspace and send in your own message to the fans. THANX!

Read more...

The Rounds: Herb Black is new Lucian Calypso Monarch

Good Evening Soca Lovers,




I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s rounds. It’s a been a couple of weeks since I’ve had the pleasure of being here in the flow studios, and let me tell you, I couldn’t wait to get back to tell you what’s going on in the Sunny Caribbean.


My three week Caribbean tour took me through Trinidad, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Barbados. You know me, I had to connect with as many of your favourite artistes, producers and media outlet as I could just be sure, you’re always getting the most up-to-date news from the soca world. If you want journals, pics and tons of video, check out Nurse Karen Etc at Mustardseeds dot net. And be sure to visit Vincy Carnival 360 at Toronto-Lime.com

Here's the crew that made it possible working hard in Trinidad (Jan/Feb 2008), Jef (Camera and Editing)

Mr. Playhouse, the crazy host!!!




But listen, I ’m glad to be back. It’s not wise to stay away from Toronto too long in the Summer. After all, Caribana kicked off this past week. Yesterday was Kiddies carnival up at Yorkgate Mall. I’ve got your UNOFFICIAL results right here. Congrats goes out to Louis Saldenah Mas K club for taking Junior Band of the Year, with second place honours going to Carnival Nationz, and Toronto Revellers in with a third place finish.


Over in Barbados the list of Party Monarch finalists was released on Friday. 19 soca artistes will go head-to-head on Sunday, July 27th to see who can defeat reigning monarch Lil Rick. You wah know who? Kimberley Inniss, Miguel White, Khiomal Nurse, Justin King, Donella, Rameses, Peter Ram, Nathalee Burke, Red Plastic Bag, TC, Buggy, Jafar, Mikey, Blood, Mr. Dale, Hee Haw, Dragon Slayer and Jay – B.

Nurse Karen with reigning Bajan Party Monarch, Lil Rick in Toronto

In St. Lucia, Calypso finals were last night and a tune I really love managed to snatch first place. It’s called Suzette and it’s sung by a Lucian Calypso veteran called Herb Black. I’m not sure if there’s another island where same song could be entered in both Groovy Soca Monarch and Calypso Monarch and win de both of them. But such is the case in S.L.U. and once nobody breaking the rules. There’ll be no complaints from me.

Herb Black performing at Party in the Yard, St. Lucia

Tonight is when the eyes of the entire Caribbean will focus on St. Lucia. In a few hours the annual Caribbean Soca Monarch Show will kick off. Competitors from 11 nations will vie for the international title. It’s a little confusing to me. In years gone by, you could only compete if you were the reigning soca monarch of an Eastern Caribbean State. Now that it’s open to the entire region, it’s obvious that some countries don’t bother asking their actual monarch to compete. For example, Fireball and Denise Belfon will be representing Trinidad. Adrian Dutchin should have been repping Guyana, but he’s not.

Nurse Karen and Adrian Dutchin in Toronto

St. Lucia entered ALL of the top 3 finalists from last week’s awesome show. Ricky T, Mr. Pringles and Ilah Man.

Mr. Pringles/ Superman with Nurse Karen in St. Lucia

Luta managed to sneak in there for SVG alongside last year’s soca monarch Fireman . Plus there’s a mix of groovy and uptempo songs! Me eh know. Some things aren’t meant to be understood. But you better believe, this is a show to be enjoyed!

Fireman Hooper, Luta and Nurse Karen in SVG

I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. As always, leave me your comments online at the Nurse Karen Etc blog at Mustard Seeds dot Net, and be sure to grab the podcast from Soca Therapy dot com. Now, back to de Docta!

Read more...

The Rounds: Bring your Mas and come! Vincy Mas 2K8 is officially on!

Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I'm Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay's Rounds. I'm finding new respect for the month of May! How can you not love a month that's going to be jam packed with amazing fetes, band launches, and carnival kick-offs? How can you not love a month that has all those things packed into one day?!

Saturday, May 3, marked the birthday of former Xtatik percussionist and vocalist Farmer Nappy. He's busy working on new releases for Barbados' Crop Over Festival.

Last night also marked the first ever Toronto edition of Shal Marshall's signature fete…Gyal Farm…and the girls came out in country and western costume, Daisy Dukes and all. Everybody knows where the ladies go, the gents will follow. So Callaloo mas camp can look forward to several masculine masqueraders in their hot new Gyal Farm section for Caribana 2K8. The section will be headed by Kerwin Du Bois and Shal Marshall, and was designed by Marlon Singh. It features peachy beads and feathers for the girls and straw hats in a matching motif for the boys.

Batabano Carnival wrapped up yesterday in Grand Caymen. Dexter Seusahai from Toronto's Tribal Knights Mas Band made the annual trip to see his beautiful designs hit the road with Swanky International. He'll be back in Toronto soon to launch his presentation of Deep Rising at Soca or Die. The Saturday night portion of the first-ever two-day long fete will feature performances by Destra and Atlantik, Tizzy, Maximus Dan and Kerwin Du Bois.

Yesterday was also the official launch of Vincy Mas. This year's theme is "Bring Yuh MAS And Come!" and all of Kingstown took it to heart. The crowd spilled out of the Chamber of Commerce Car Park for 6 hours as they were treated to all the elements of carnival; pan, calypso, mas and soca. Zoelah reigned supreme at the best new song competition for the second year in a row. She beat out Danielle Veira with her uptempo double entendre, Zoom In. Kevin Lyttle made a brief appearance to premiere his new ragga track "Come See Me" featuring Lexxus. Later, Shaunelle McKenzie brought the house down with her performance of Don't Let Go, a smooth one produced by Mark Cyrus and written by Luta. Dr. Jay gave it a spin last week. The night closed out with performances by Luta, Jalena, Tabia and Fireman Hooper, all backed by the Akcess Band. Don't you just love May?

I'm Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay's Rounds. Please leave your comments at the Nurse Karen Etc blog at triple W dot mustardseeds dot net. Now back to de docta!

Read more...

The Rounds - July 22, 2007

Dr. Jay’s Rounds
Sunday July 22, 2007
Karen Richardson

Good Evening Soca Lovers, I’m nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been here to tell you what’s new in the soca world…and I’ve missed allyuh so much.
I was down in St. Vincent for the 30th anniversary celebrations of Vincy Mas…and let me tell you...THAT WAS BACCHANAL. If you haven’t heard yet, Fireman Hooper is once again the soca monarch with a song called Charge. You should have seen him running up and down the stage dressed like a wizard, waving his magic wand. The whole crowd was spellbound...and so were the judges. Ranking him first overall for the third year in a row and the 6th time in his career. Second place went to Lively for “We Drinking”. I wanted Dr. Jay to fully appreciate the IMPORT of a song about mixing all of the local liquors together for a special carnival brew. So, I had every intention of bringing back a few of bottles for the soca prince to try….but unfortunately, by the time I had left St. Vincent the duty free shop at the airport was clean out of rum. Not a drop ANYWHERE!!!! Maybe that would tell you what kinda fun people had in the fetes. So I guess he’ll just have to get down there NEXT year to try it for himself. Miss Zoelah, is real excited about her upcoming show at KOS j’ouvert, especially now that she’s 2nd runner up for Soca Monarch of SVG.
For all you PROBLEM CHILD fans out there. Everybody get MAD…because this year HE is the ROAD MARCH KING. The tune is called Party Animal…and while a lot of people were unhappy that a song that heavily samples Kassav’s Zouk –LA took top prize for road -- There’s no disputing the fact that NO CHUNE was more popular.

Special Big Up to Jamesy P for hoisting me onto his J’ouvert truck. Seeing all of Kingstown wild and dutty in the early morning sun is a memory I will never forget. For these and other tales of mas and fun in the July sun, check Toronto-Lime this week for Nurse Karen’s Vincy Mas diary.
Last week the action jumped one island north to St. Lucia. Teddyson John took the crown for groovy soca monarch. And just as predicted, Ricky T’s Pressure Boom WALKED away with road march, playing two and a half times more often than the next tune: Blah Blah, by Kakal. But second place isn’t a bad finish for the newly crowned Power Soca Monarch if you ask me.
By all reports, this year’s Caribbean Soca Monarch Show was a big disappointment.

Congratulations, none the less, to St. Lucia’s own Ninja Dan for taking the crown. The organizers might want to look into the reasons why 4 of the twelve international competitors pulled out at the last minute. I’m no genius, but if I was an artist, I’d have issues if I found out that radio stations were actually PROHIBITED from playing MY foreign song until two days before the competition. That makes it virtually impossible to score big points for crowd support. I doh know…I’m just saying…
With Cropover and Caribana and Antigua Carnival just two weeks away, you can count on de nurse, to give you just what you need.
I’m nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. Text me your comments to 9-3-5-9-3-5. Now back to de docta!

Read more...