The Rounds: Benjai walks away from Soca Monarch...

Originally aired on Sunday, January 24, 2010 on "Soca Therapy", FLOW 93.5 FM

In this edition:
- Soca Monarch Seminfinals (Trinidad)
- Benjai backs out of Soca Monarch (Trinidad)
- Fire Empress is Tobago Soca Monarch (Tobago)
- Poongalunks Factory dominates 2010 Chutney (Trinidad)
- Sizwe C helps send aid to Haiti (USA)

Good Evening Soca Lovers,


I'm Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay's Rounds. January 24th is a big night for soca in Trinidad! This is the evening when the semifinalists for international soca monarch, show their stuff for the judges to determine who will make it to the finals.

Notably absent today is Benjai, who was successfully named as a groovy semifinalist. He said and I quote. "I Benjai will be pulling myself out of the soca monarch. It is because as artists we are too good and honest to be a part of dishonesty. People need to speak out."

People have, and people will continue to do so...but that won't be ME tonight!

Benjai and Nurse Karen (Miami, October 2009)

What I will tell you is that Tobago, for the first time ever has a guaranteed competitor in the Power final on Fantastic Friday. Last Sunday, Fire Empress successfully defended her Tobago Soca Monarch title, placing ahead of Princess Adana, and Dave Samson. Her winning song may be called "De Session Done", but if you ask me....her SEASON has just begun.

Fire Empress and Nurse Karen in St. Vincent (July 2009)

For all my Chutney lovers out there, the Chutney soca monarch goes down on January 30th. ...And Kenneth Salick will have to defend the crown that "Radica" won him last year. 12 competitors will compete in the final, and check this out 11 of them will be singing songs produced by Big Rich of Pungaloonks Factory fame. So no matter what happens on Saturday, one studio will come out as winner!

As you are well aware, the struggle to rebuild Haiti continues, and the generosity of caring people around the globe is very inspiring to see.

Several soca artists have been busy doing their own part to make a change. Many people don't know that Sizwe C is an active member of the American Armed forces. He told me that he spent 5 days on the Air Force base in Miami loading tons of cargo, specifically water, food, and power generators destined for Haiti. There is a chance he may be deployed there, and if that be the case, he is ready, willing and able to serve.

Sizwe C

I'm Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay's Rounds. For more information on anything you heard today, Check me out online at Nurse dash Karen dot com or follow Nurse Karen on Twitter. Now back to de Docta!

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Haiti Barbados Loves You - Relief Concert And Telethon At Farley Hill

Oye Karen,

Hear wha gine on! Listen i just get back in from a lil press conference dey ya onstan. Oh listen aint tell me that you going to add all these people to my conversation alrite so listen people.

I IZ A BAJAN and proud today to be that for sure because the entertainment & Media community of Barbados is pooling its to put on a Concert and Telethon for your neighbour Haiti. The show will feature 114 Bajan Artistes and 1 Foreign act. The foreign act being David Rudder invited because of his song "Haiti I am Sorry". All artiste are performing for free. Of course now every artiste is on the stage but they are encouraged to come out and man the telephones or make appearances on the live broadcast on Radio and TV. This broadcast will be made available to the world through your traditional networks and the internet - more information on this to come!

Haiti Barbados Loves You - Relief Concert And Telethon At Farley Hill

With a ticket price of $10 BDS - 5 US the Barbados Public is being asked to purchase as many tickets as they can even if they don't intend to attend the event.

Saturday January 30

10 am - 8 pm

114 Artistes

7 Bands

1 regional artiste

Special Guest

• David Rudder

Calypso / Soca

• Adrian Clarke
• Allan Sheppard
• Colin Spencer
• Edwin Yearwood
• Gabby
• Grynner
• John King
• Khiomal
• Little Rick
• Mikey
• Mr. Dale
• Natalee
• RPB
• Merrymen

Gospel

• Allison Norville
• De Warrior
• Hozia Hinds
• Kareem Clarke
• Lillian Lorde
• Mya Daniel
• Paula Hinds
• Shane Forrester
• Sister Marshall

 R&B / Other Alternative

• Carolyn Leacock
• Dwayne Husbands
• Kellie Cadogan
• Kirk Browne & Strategy
• Omar McQuilkin
• Philip 7
• Ria Borman
• Richard Stoute
• Rosie Hunte
• RubyTech
• TC
• Toni Norville

Spouge

• Kirtorah
• Mike Grosvenor
• Mike Thompson
• Tony Grazette

Jazz

• Arturo Tappin
• Malissa Lindsay
• Nicholas Brancker

Reggae / Dancehall

• Albert Olton
• Brimstone
• Buggy
• Danielle
• Fully Loaded
• LRG
• Oracle
• Prosperity
• Ras Al-I
• Seth Billy
• Super Ruben
• Tabitha
• Black-Clay-Soil

MCs

• Ferdinand Nicholls
• Peter Coppin
• Admiral Nelson
• Jamar Browne
• Mac Fingall

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The Rounds: Welcome Destra to Motherhood!

Originally aired on Flow 93.5 FM "Soca Therapy" with Dr. Jay de Soca Prince (Sunday, January 17, 2010)

In this edition:

-  Chutney artists donate to Haiti (Trinidad and Tobago)

-  Nicole David to star in "Island Secrets" TV show (St. Lucia)

-  Shaunelle McKenzie's is expecting (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)

-  Destra welcomes her baby girl (Trinidad and Tobago)

-  Fire Empress to defend her title at Tobago Soca Monarch (Trinidad and Tobago)

- 12 advance to Mashramani Soca Monarch (Guyana)

___________________________________________________________


Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds. It’s five days after the tragic earthquake in the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The fiercely proud republic is scrambling to put the pieces back together as international aid begins to trickle in, and I just wanted to take a moment to make my humble appeal to you the listeners to help in any way you can. To start, why not follow the example of Trinidad’s Chutney Artists who together have already donated $20,000 from the organizers of Chutney Soca Monarch to the Haiti Disaster fund set up by the T&T Red Cross Society. They even set up an account at the Republic Bank for those wishing to donate. More than $100,000 dollars was raised on the first day of collections. Great to see Caribbean people assisting their brothers and sisters in need. Please join in and do the same.

Down in St. Lucia the island is abuzz over a new television drama series called Island Secrets. The small screen soap opera is written by soca artist Jose Torso and stars former Road March queen, Nicole David as a wealthy house wife that secretly manages the mythical island’s illegal drug trade.

Nurse Karen and Nicole David in St. Lucia (2009)

            I’ve got an island secret to share, that takes place on St. Vincent. HS Phaktor lead vocalist, Shaunelle McKenzie is celebrating a birthday today. This birthday is particularly special as it’s the last one she will celebrate before she becomes a mother in a few short weeks. For those who didn’t know, the veteran artist who performs alongside Bomani is pregnant with her first child.

Speaking of babies!!! A certain somebody isn’t pregnant anymore!!! Destra Garcia gave birth to a bouncing bay girl on Thursday, January 14th in Trinidad on day before her scheduled due date. Not sure of the correct pronunciation, but the baby’s name is Xaiya (spelled, X-A-I-Y-A). Mommy and daughter are both doing fine!

Destra

       In the meantime Destra’s band is back to work this weekend, backing Fire Empress has she defends her Soca Monarch Title tonight in Tobago. The Ricky Bobby band made the trip to Trinidad’s sister isle yesterday to lend their support to Fire Empress’s performance of “De Session Done”.

It’s Carnival time in Guyana too. 12 artists just found out that they have been selected to proceed to the Semi Finals of Mashramani Soca Monarch on January 30th. Three of the 12 do not live in Guyana. Stay to tuned to Dr. Jay’s Rounds and the Nurse Karen Etc blog for more.

I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. To get the latest in soca news, check out Nurse dash Karen dot com, or follow me, Nurse Karen on Twitter. Now, back to de Docta!

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Eye Unit: Watch Zouk, Kompas and Zouk Love videos online!

The twitter massive will tell you, I love all sorts of music! Soca may be the main subject of this blog, but I know there are a lot of people out there just like me. So, I've decided to post a stream of Tropik TV from Haiti. If you're not familiar with the music of the French Caribbean, you have really been missing out. Anytime, you need a dose of hot, sexy, romantic music, draw for your Zouk Love, right after your soca. 

I know Nurses are supposed to give prescriptions, but believe me when I tell you, it's all the treatment you need!

Love and Soca,

Nurse Karen
(Follow Me on Twitter!)

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Nurse's Lounge: Toronto Creole Festival

Back in beautiful Toronto. If you haven't heard me say it before, this city is great. Toronto is where I was born and raised...and I really appreciate its vibrancy, diversity and charm. I woke up to rain absolutely everywhere....but NOW, it's sunny, warm and perfect for exploring. It's a good thing Bert from Black Berry Soundcrew let me know about Toronto's 1st Annual Creole Day.



It's a celebration of the history, music and culture of the islands that share a French colonial past...and the resulting hybridized indigenous tongue that combines French with African idioms. How's that for history?



I decided to walk down to Coronation Park on the Lakeshore to show a little support to my Dominican, Lucian and Haitian bros and sisses to make the most of my day. Umm....Kold Fusion, where were YOU????

Here's what I saw...

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The Rounds - March 24, 2007

Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I’m Nurse Karen and these are Doctor Jay’s rounds. It’s been a little while since I’ve been here at FLOW to talk to my favourite people in the world…but I’m back. Your Nurse Karen was taking in the sights and sounds of the beautiful West African nation of Ghana as they celebrate their 50th year of independence. While on the continent I enjoyed body surfing on the other side of the Atlantic to cool off from the intense heat at Pram Pram Beach. I traveled to the Cape Coast Slave Castle where thousands of our enslaved ancestors were kept before they were taken to places like the United States, Jamaica, Haiti…and even my very own St. Vincent. I visited Kukum National Park, home to hundreds of Elephants, Giraffes and everything else you’d find in a box of animal crackers. I walked seven lengths of a rope bridge that was suspended from trees forty METERS in the air. I went to Kumasi, which is the capital of the Ashanti region. There I toured the Kings palace and I saw traditional Kente cloth being woven. In Accra, I toured the city , ate some of the tastiest Talapia and Red Snapper and danced till I could barely walk at a place called the Office. Spex would be happy to know that our brothers and sisters in Ghana are TRULY up to de time when it comes to Dancehall Music. Where soca is concerned, the local highlife music fills that gap quite nicely. The musical connection is obvious…and it does my heart proud to know that our Caribbean artistes are staying true to the centuries old rhythms that expose our undeniable African roots.
The anthem for the Ghana @ 50 celebrations is a song called “Birth of Ghana”. It was written in 1957 by Lord Kitchener, Trinidad and Tobago’s most frequent road march champion. All in all I had an amazing time, so thank you all for your well wishes by email and Myspace and in person. Trust me, I missed you just as much as you missed me…so I did my best to at least bring back some warmer weather. It was the least I could do.
That and catch you up on the latest in the worldwide soca scene, of course! Last night was Machel Montano’s historic 25th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. This is the first time the venue has been used to host a soca show and they managed to sell out the theatre for two shows on the same night. Machel Montano HD…Congratulations are in order for you. No one can contest… that camp has consistently offered some of the most memorable soca music over the years…and a stage show that simply can not be beat.
If you, like me missed the big event last night, you’ll be happy to hear that the show will be broadcast on BET and BET J in the upcoming weeks. There are four scheduled air dates, so consult your local listings.
Your West Indies Cricket team is still hanging in there as the host World Cup Cricket, in spite of the crazy atmosphere resulting from the murder mystery surrounding the the death of the Pakistani Coach. They won their last match on Friday against Ireland on Friday to top group D…and will square off against Australia on Tuesday.
I’m Nurse Karen and those are Doctor Jay’s Rounds. Send me your comments at soca at flow 935 dot com. Now back to the doctor.

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