Kemmy is the new King of the Road (+Video)

Orandé “Kemmy” Christopher is ‘King of the Road’ for Vincymas 2022, a title which means everything to him.

“It means that the hard work paid off, it means everything, I was really pushing for that Road March,” he told SEARCHLIGHT Wednesday, one day after his hit ‘Da is de Call’ was adjudged to be the most popular song on the road, having amassed 56 points.

His number pushed ‘Bad Demon’ performed by double Soca Monarch, Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper into second position with 54 points, and ‘Place Tun Ova’ by Keith “Grabba Finesse” Charles into the third spot with 52 points.

It has been 25 long years since the former junior calypso monarch last won a calypso crown and the veteran singer is savouring the feeling of being on top once again.

“It is a wonderful feeling, it is a marvellous feeling to capture the Road March title…. I feel like a champion, like a winner.”

Christopher’s first outing in the competitive world of calypso came in 1988 when as an eight-year-old pupil of the Layou Government School, singing under the sobriquet ‘Man Kemmy’ he placed second with his calypso entitled “There’s room at the top.”

That was only the beginning because the next year, Christopher won, and repeated the feat in 1990 with his song, “Rich and Famous”. He also won in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997.

Kemmy said despite winning the junior calypso crown on seven occasions, junior titles are not given much recognition, but the Road March is much different as it opens the door to opportunities to perform in the region and around the world.

“Winning was really a blessing,” he said, explaining that ‘Da is de Call’ was never written, but was made up in the studio as he and the producer listened to the ‘riddim’.

“I was actually playing soccer and the producer called me and said come to the studio, I have a riddim for you to hear. And right there in the studio as we were mixing and touching up stuff, I started putting words in my head and we started putting words together.”

Kemmy said as he listened to the riddim, he found it had “a kinda jungle, kinda Amazon feel to it,” which is why the song starts with the words “You see when dem bees start buzzing, it’s a different thing…”

He further explained that the chant “Ayyyooooo” is like a wakeup call to let everyone know carnival is here.

Kemmy said the words “da is de call’ worked their way into the song when the producer received a telephone call while they were working in the studio.

“The producer said, ‘Yow, hold on there, da is de call I was waiting on’, so somebody actually called him, and then I said ‘Ayyyooooo, da is de call’.”

Kemmy said the Road March is the third song he released this year and it is indeed a blessing, as the first two, titled ‘De Mechanic’ and ‘Gas Mask’ did not resonate with the public.

“We found that they were not reaching the people,” he said.

“I thought [Gas Mask] would have been the one to kick off. But it did not do the job like we anticipated. The ancestors called us and said, yow, come in the studio,” and ‘Da is de Call’ was born.

Kemmy also performed ‘Da is de Call’ in the Power Soca competition on July 2/3 and placed fourth. He said he has been told by many fans that he “gave away” the Power Soca monarch crown by exceeding the time limit of eight minutes. He performed for 17 minutes.

“In the contract, …[the time limit] is eight minutes, but I never read the contract,” Kemmy admitted. He said he lost a lot of points for this, “but was still fortunate to place fourth”.

What the people are saying is that I had the best performance for the night, but I just gave the crown away… I could have got two crowns…”

Despite that, the King of the Road is ecstatic that he won the Road March title.

He thanked ‘The Almighty’, his fans, the Bee Hive crew, manager, Cameron Woodley mother, Annie Christopher, secretary/treasurer, Joselle Simper the radio stations and DJs for making it possible. Veteran soca artiste, Rondy ‘Luta’ McIntosh also came in for special praise.

“Luta was the one who helped push me on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, to go and work the song.”

Going forward, fans can expect a lot more music from Kemmy, but not just Power Soca.

“We have songs to release not related to carnival. You are going to hear more of me.”

He said his new releases will be Soca which have an infusion of R&B, African music and Hip Hop.

“Not 100 per cent Soca. It is gonna be a light groovy Soca, but not really Soca, but along the Soca line.”

‘Da is de Call’ was written by Kemmy Christopher and Kevon ‘Springs’ Alexander, produced by Kevon ‘Springs’ Alexander (Springs Music) and Mixed & Mastered by: Obanga Studios.