The finals for the much anticipated Ragga Soca and Soca Monarch 2022 will be held this Saturday, July 2 at Victoria Park. SEARCHLIGHT set out to find out from a sampling of the Vincentian public who they think will win the Soca Monarch title this year.

David ‘Earthquake’ Laidlow:
All the Soca monarch and them music real sweet, it real nice. Me personally I have my little favourite. You see like ‘Grabba Finesse’. ‘Grabba’ music is real nice…then you ha the “bread and butter” (song by Karbon Jamz) but the one which I like out of all of them is the spaceship land…I forget he name you know, but he have a nice music, a wet fete music. But all the music real nice to tell you the truth is real rough to say one man going win but you done know ‘Fireman’ Hooper is the favourite… When soca monarch come it does come like the two persons (Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper and Gamal ‘Skinny Fabulous’ Doyle) which I find like them two man need to take a backseat sometime and let the little youngsters and them who pushing in fresh music get a chance to try to win something.

‘Gurkie’:
I’m not understanding the Soca, at the least the Soca that they calling Soca now. What they calling Soca – I just call them ‘track Soca’…So what they got now I don’t call them Soca, you just go in a studio, you lay down a track and they call that soca. You get a write up to that. You just sing anything.
I’m more into Calypso. Sunday night my bet is between ‘Ipa’ and ‘Zion-I’.

Bianca Sutherland, 23 years:
I think ‘Grabba’ (Finesse) go win Soca Monarch because he performing good and what’s not…Me like all his song. I like his song and the way how he performs. He has spirit and confidence in himself. (I) know him as a young man growing up

Kimiko Roberts, 22 years:
‘Fireman’. I like the songs that he sang this year…It has one I all time hear. It has one where what he sings is like is what happening now… It’s like what he tells the people them to do, them doing.

Sigge Richards:
‘Fireman’ Hooper going win the soca monarch. ‘Grabba’ going place second. But in the road march ‘Grabba’ is who gonna win the road march. Becah the tune and dem ketching on the road with the people is who does mostly win the road march.
‘Fireman’ very good pon performance. Those rest guys can’t perform with ‘Fireman’. You know you going have better sound than him but the performance…And he does always have the crowd with him. So that is why he going win the Soca Monarch.

Heather Robinson: (speaking next to Richards)
And the performance of ‘Fireman’ does carry off the show.
Cause hear when he say “let me out the pen” everybody (in the crowd responds) “Fire!”. And we let out the pen…for two years (because Carnival was cancelled for two years due to Covid-19). We let out the pen for two years…so ‘Fireman’ go pull the crowd, that what we looking forward to.

Name not given:
‘Fireman’ is my boy! Becah he’s a good artiste he can perform he can sing well and I belong to Leeward side.

Rose Edwards:
‘Fireman’. Because he is dedicated and he knows what he doing, he has lyrics and everything. He is capable of winning.