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.
Welcome to the Nation of 10,000 Jab Jab, Grenada 🇬🇩. Jab Jab was born out of a resilient era in Afro-Caribbean history. The strength of our ancestors is still celebrated today at J’ouvert. Carnival Monday, 10 August 2020, Spicemas, Grenada.
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.🙏🏾
