By Nigel Collymore
It was an electrifying atmosphere at Durban Park Saturday night as 15 energetic artistes competed for the 2020 592 Soca Monarch crown.
Jumo Primo or ‘Rubber Waist’ delivered an infectiously thrilling and provoking performance to capture his fifth Soca Monarch title.
His song ‘Trample them’ speaks of overcoming disabilities and challenges while pushing to accomplish goals.
Jumo took a few differently-abled children on stage to perform with him. He lauded them as his most loyal fans while highlighting a leg injury that left him partially disabled during the period leading up to last year’s Soca Monarch competition.
“I don’t discriminate. I could say this plain. You see those children who came up here with me, they’re some of my biggest fans and I love them so much.
“One of the moms said to me ‘Jumo I am so happy and proud that you brought my daughter up here to perform because she loves to dance’,” Jumo told the News Room after capturing the crown.
“If you talking about Guyana is for everybody, it can’t be just for those who can move with their hands and feet, it must be for every single body. That is real unity,” Jumo emphasised.
Capturing second place was an electrifying Steven Ramphal who once again had to cope with a Soca monarch title being snatched from his outstretched arms.
The talented Ramphal delivered an unforgettable performance that set the benchmark.
His song ‘The Same’ speaks of Guyanese uniting to celebrate as one despite their skin colour.
“It was exciting, it was thrilling, it was heart thumping, it was full of energy and full of vibes.
“Congratulations to the winner; he brought his A-game, I don’t think I did my best on the vocals but come next year I will look to put forward my A-game again and as my fans know the surprises are never-ending,” said Ramphal who is also the reigning chutney king.
Meanwhile, Road March Queen Melissa ‘Vanilla’ Roberts motivated the crowd with her song ‘I am 592’ to take third place in the competition.
Her song encouraged citizens to actively identify themselves as Guyanese by being proud of their heritage.
“I loved it this year. I really loved the people, they totally loved the song, they were fully a part of it and that made me very happy.
For me, it’s always just about creating a show for the people and I executed really well on that,” Vanilla said.
Former Soca monarch Brandon Harding took home the ‘Boom FM People’s Choice Award’.
