King Bear focusses on passing the baton to the youth

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By Latrishka Thomas

After being adjudged the first runner-up in the Leeward Islands Calypso Competition in Anguilla on Saturday, the winner of Antigua and Barbuda’s 2019 Sir Prince Ramsey Wadadli Beer Calypso Monarch, Keithroy “De Bear” Morson said he will be focusing on politics and transferring his knowledge of calypso to the younger generation.

“I’m planning in the future to try and see if I can open my own little school where I can pass on the little knowledge … that I have in the art form to the youths,” De Bear said.

He reminded OBSERVER media that he had a school in his homeland, Montserrat, that is no longer in operation. He also said that he is not only considering reopening the school but also expanding its reach.

“I have to make up my mind where I’m going to do it but I’m thinking of both countries. I’m thinking of restarting the one in Montserrat and branch to Antigua. You know we are pretty close; an hour boat ride away. I’m just thinking of doing in both countries, wherever the youths are and where I can reach them. I’m thinking of helping them to come up to replace guys like me and the others who in time will be out of the loop.

“Because there comes a time when you have to say you gave your all and that’s it, you relax but you want to know that when you leave you leave your legacy behind. Not a legacy of winning crowns but a legacy of making people happy, a legacy of performing for the audience and making them feel great and a legacy of passing on what you know to the next generation. That is what I want to leave when I leave the stage; that I’ve helped somebody to continue the wonderful art of calypso,” De Bear added.

Another top priority of the six-time local calypso monarch is politics. He said: “I have a political campaign to attend in Montserrat with a political party there, the [Montserrat United Labour Party] MULP. I’m going to be joining them shortly to kick off the campaign.”

Over the weekend, De Bear went up against nine calypsonians from all over the region including last year’s Leeward Islands Calypso Monarch, Thalia “Queen Thalia” King, who was also the 2018 Antigua and Barbuda Calypso Monarch.

This year, Queen Roxy of Anguilla emerged winner while Miss Independent of St. Kitts was second runner-up.

In an interview post-competition, the reigning calypso monarch for Antigua also told OBSERVER media that “it was no surprise what would have happened…I’ve been studying the competition for a while and I predicted what was going to happen. It was no surprise when I heard the results.”

“Practically every two to three years they crown Anguilla and Antigua has won it for the past two years so I know that they were setting up themselves for the next crown because that’s what they do. They want to stay on par with Antigua in terms of the country that has won the most crowns and Antigua would have stepped way ahead if I would have won this one so they are making sure that they stay within the grasp of who has the most crowns and that’s Anguilla for you. No surprise; no surprise at all. I leave it where it is. I am not bitter. I came here, I put down my performance. Everyone who saw it knew what happened.”

During the Leeward Islands competition, De Bear demonstrated his exceptional talent with performances of his original hits ‘Black on Black’ and ‘On a Ray of Hope’.

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