King Zacari Soldiers On

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Carnival

Saturday, 11 August 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John's - Three-time calypso monarch Trevor "Zacari" King is trying to move past the controversy that engulfed him and reigning monarch Keithroy "De Bear" Morson in the battle for the 2012 crown.

While King - the second place finisher - is still holding to his position that the winning songs were not original, he told Caribarena.com he is looking forward to Carnival 2013.
 
That is because he is hoping that judges make more informed decisions based on knowledge and experience at that time.
 
"The adjudicators need to know calypso, it's very obvious these days that some of the judges don't listen to them," he said.
 
"To get past this you have to make the judges become aware of certain things because three years now the same thing has been happening."
 
Behind the scenes, calypsonians have charged that Zacari gave De Bear the edge to win this year's competition by engaging him in a public battle on the issue.
 
That heated disagreement, a feature in the weeks leading up to the competition, was characterised by charges and countercharges that songs lacked originality, had stolen melodies and sounded like church hymns.
 

"It's nothing personal," said Zacari when questioned about this. "It is not rivalry, just the truth.  People need to be aware of the skullduggery that has been taking place."
 
The former monarch is now turning his attention to securing overseas gigs.
 
One of his competition songs, the black consciousness-themed "A Place called Freedom", he said, has tremendous potential.
 
In Zacari's view, such songs have a place in the local art form.
 
"We have to make our people racially aware of where we are, where we are going and where we ought to be heading so that they can actually make progress. I will continue to do just that," he posited.
 
Zacari won the calypso monarch title on his first competitive outing in 1991.
 
He repeated that accomplishment in 2001 and 2009. Within that period - in 1997 - he became the first King of the Leeward Islands Calypso competition.

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