The Rounds: Benjai is sick, so Machel's off the hook till next month!

Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds . I hope you are listening well, cause there’s a lot of info to catch this week.


About three years ago, a major development in Caribbean Entertainment began to reduce the distance between those beautiful islands. The MTV TEMPO TV channel was launched and last night St. Kitts played host to Tempo Forever – The Trilogy, the 3rd anniversary party and concert. As you all know, smack dab in the middle of hurricane season, this past week has been a wild one for rainfall in the region. So, Tempo Turns 3 was moved from Friday to Saturday night. It was a star studded show. Crowds were treated to performances from calypso greats the Mighty Sparrow and David Rudder AND from Soca circles; Destra Garcia, Denise Belfon, Claudette Peters and Machel Montano and company...

Speaking of Winer Boy himself, that old court case got pushed back again! Apparently Benjai, who is also one of the accused is ill with a chest infection, and is presently stuck in England and unable to travel. The case is adjourned until October 8th. So check me after thanksgiving for more detail on that front.

The big news out of Trinidad this week comes from the Caribbean Traffik Jam Camp. Lead singer Shurwayne Winchester has called it quits. Together the artiste and band have enjoyed a number of successful carnival season with road march wins and soca monarch crowns to boot. Doh look to me for Bacchanal, Shurwayne is just looking to develop his career in other ways. So we wish both HE and Traffik all the best. The departure becomes official on October 16th. So if you’re planning to see the whole act sometime soon....yuh still safe.

Now down to St. Lucia, last weekend a popular local soca artiste was shot by police. He goes by the name of Yardie. The incident happened in Vieux Fort after a woman called the cops about someone attempting to forcibly enter her home. Crazy story really. Police came. Yardie had already hightailed out by foot. He was then shot in the upper thigh...read groin...and forced into the back of a police van...where he received a swift kick in the chest. Not cool.



Rumour on the ground has it that the woman involved has been romantically linked to both Yardie and the police officer with the gun. However, she made a statement on Lucian TV on Thursday negating those stories. There you have it!



I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. For more detail on any of these stories, visit me online at the Nurse Karen Etc blog at http://mustardseeds.net . Never miss your dose of the rounds by downloading the podcast from Soca Therapy dot com. Now back to de docta.

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Booster Shot: Former Lucian Power Monarch Shot by Police

Andrew “Yardie” Haynes was shot on Saturday afternoon on a main Street in Vieux-Fort, St. Lucia. For those of you who don't know, he was a finalist in this year's Groovy and Power Soca Monarch competitions.

I watched him do his thang in Power Soca this year, a prize he's taken home in the past. It's kinda wild when these things happen. Read on. You'll see just how wild...

The artiste claims that police shot him in the upper thigh. He was then forced into the back of a police van where an officer continued to assault him with a foot to the chest. Now, there's speculation as to the appropriateness of the officer's conduct. Naturally, the police version of the story sounds substantially different.

According to Vernon Francois (Assistant Police Commissioner for Crime), Yardie became a person of interest after a woman called to alert them of a trespasser. It is alleged that Yardie threatened to forcibly enter her private home. As the story goes, the soca artist had already fled the area by the time the cops arrived.

Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they eventually caught up with him. From the looks of it a gun made up for any headstart the entertainer might have had. Police allege that Yardie resisted arrest.

It's big talk in St. Lucia, and I'll tell you why. Local rumors are circulating that the woman who placed the call to the police was dating the officer who pulled the trigger. Today she released a statement saying that she does not know the man, and never intended for Yardie to get hurt.



It's worth noting that Lucian police officers are licensed to carry firearms, however, at present the police force does not make use of incapacitators such as pepper spray or tasers. There is a new bill before Senate proposing that this be changed.

Yardie will be alright, but nobody likes a shot to the groin. Check in with me next carnival and we'll see if Yardie's voice has gone up a few octaves. Not funny, right? I know.

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