Trinidadian Soca artiste Benjai is chiming in with support for Mr. Killa.
Benjai jumped on his Facebook live to give words of reasoning relating to the drama surrounding reigning Soca King Mr. Killa and the operations of the International Soca Monarch.
Benjai believes that Trinis should begin to see the International Soca Monarch as truly an international event and not just a national one, with the winner defending in his own country.
He also said that Grenada has the best carnival right now. The artiste, who claimed to receive these messages from the ancestors after meditating, believes that no other Soca monarch compares to those in Grenada and St. Vincent and the international competition held in Trinidad needs a lot of work in order to be at an elevated standard that is fair to artists.
Benjai’s words of support comes days after Mr. Killa withdrew from defending his title at the International Soca Monarch 2020 due to lack of access to tools needed to effectively compete.
Reigning International Soca Monarch Mr. Killa will not defend his title this year.
On Saturday 8 February, the day after his country celebrated its 46th Independence, Hollice “Mr. Killa” Mapp announced that he will not be defending his International Soca Monarch (ISM) title in the Power Soca category.
In 2019, Mr. Killa from Grenada became the first non-Trinidadian to win the International Power Soca Monarch title with his hit song “Run with it” which captivated the judges with a performance that saw him sailing through the crowd.
His announcement came in a lengthy statement posted below. Reactions poured in from Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Caribbean Diaspora…see the live discussion on Power 95 FM’s Morning Trend with Msy.Chrissy, Scratch Master and Dr. Dre.
STATEMENT FROM HOLLICE MAPP AKA MR. KILLA
It is with great regret that I, Hollice Mapp professionally known as Mr Killa announce my decision to withdraw from the 2020 International Soca Monarch (ISM) Competition. As the reigning Power Soca Monarch King, I was eager to defend my crown but my declaration was not acknowledged by the officials staging the competition. Since arriving in Trinidad and Tobago over a month ago, I have not received any of the courtesies or protocol one would expect to be extended to the current title holder. My presence on the island has been well-known as a result of a press conference organised by my management. Furthermore, my team and I have been deprived of the details and tools necessary for me to properly prepare for my performance. As it is commonly known, I give nothing less than 100% for each and every performance and my team and I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that it will not be possible to do so in this year’s competition. It has become apparent that the International Soca Monarch is in a transitional period by the recent resignation of its former Chairman, Ms Fay-Ann Lyons. Ms Lyons explained her decision in a statement of her own in which she was quoted as saying “I have no tools or anything to do the event so rather than try to rush the Soca Monarch I want to give the people a Soca Monarch they deserve.” My team and I have had a similar experience and we have chosen not to compromise my performance or the expectations of the fans. I will always cherish my historic 2019 competition which resulted in me becoming the first non Trinbagonian to win the International Power Soca Monarch title. This was impactful not just for me personally but for the genre as it heralded that Soca music had finally been embraced as an international product that had expanded beyond the shores of its birthplace of Trinidad and Tobago. I sincerely wish the best for the ISM, its new Chairman and the remaining competitors, but I have no choice than to refrain from this competition and instead return my focus to continuing to record, release and perform quality Soca music to the best of my ability.🙏🏾
Grenadian stars secured their spots in the finalists of the 2020 International Soca Monarch (ISM) in Trinidad.
The Caribbean Prestige Foundation just released the list of finalists for the ISM after hours of competition on Sunday, 2 February 2020 at the Arima Velodrome.
Luni Spark & Electrify will be singing Bacchanal Party in the Power Soca category while Skinny Banton will sing Wrong Again in the Groovy Soca finals.
Though Teddy Rhymez who competed in Groovy semi-finals with Stink Behaviour did not make the cut, he may have an opportunity to be back in the competition through a social media poll if selected as one of 5 by the ISM team. The Caribbean Prestige Foundation introduced the ‘Fan Fave’ which will give fans the opportunity to vote one of 5 artistes who competed in the semi-finals but didn’t make it to the finals back into the competition.
ARTISTE
POWER SOCA SONG
Iwer George
Stage gone bad
Luni Spark & Electrify
Bacchanal Party
Lyrikal
Rukshun
Mical Teja
Bumper Murder
Olatunji
Thankful
Preedy
Shell it
Problem Child
Nasty Up
Prophet Benjamin
Betty Cat
Rome
Easy to Break
Shal Marshall
Bun Up
Trinidad Ghost
I ain’t see
Sixty-two (62) artistes competed on Sunday in the semi-finals, 32 in the Groovy Soca category and 30 in the Power Soca category.
ARTISTE
GROOVY SOCA SONG
Asten Isaac
I.O.U.
Blaxx
Canboulay
College Boy Jesse
Happy Song
Ding Dong
Outside
Isaiah
Soca Slide
Kerry John
Go Away
Leadpipe
Sometimes
Preedy
Yuh Bad
Rayzor
Dread Tabanca
Rome
Good Good
Skinny Banton
Wrong Again
Mr. Killa from Grenada is the defending Power Soca Monarch and Swappi from Trinidad is the reigning Groovy Soca Monarch. The finals of the International Soca Monarch will be held on Carnival Friday, 21 February 2020 in Trinidad.
