Rondy ‘Luta’ McIntosh – An entertainer for all seasons

With 23 years as a performer on the local regional and international scene, Rondy ‘Luta’ Mc Intosh has evolved as an entertainer for all seasons.

Unlike the typical local soca artiste, Luta is active all year round. Although he has not won any competition titles, his renown as ‘the crowd motivator’ has placed him in a class of his own and in turn motivated his fans to select him as the Best Entertainer of SVG.

Luta started performing as a primary school student in his home village of Calliaqua.

“I started at the age of nine, 10 at the Calliaqua Anglican School.

“I was in love with dancehall…reggae music, so I started writing, started free styling on the block and also taking part in church concerts at the Calliaqua Anglican Church,” he recalls.

“When I finished school, I joined the band Signal. I was introduced to the band as the reggae singer and eventually I made the transition from dancehall/reggae to soca music, being influenced by Papa Das and Pat Raguette.”

The transition to the soca genre resulted in Luta producing many hits, which continue to appeal to his diverse fan base. Among his favourite creations are ‘Tight Spot’, ‘Busy Tone’, ‘Throw Bad Mind’, ‘More Gyal’, and ‘Charlie Charlie’. Luta the songwriter is always open for inspiration and gets ideas for his lyrics from everyday situations.

“Sometimes I write off thin air, just an idea out of the blue, and ideas are like birds, so every artiste must have a recording device. When that idea comes, you need to jot that down so you wouldn’t lose it, because the moment you move on and did not record that and do something else, that idea may go… may never come back. I watch society, I look at trends and I use topics from every day.”

Commenting on his uniqueness, Luta describes himself as a man for all seasons.

“You will see me Carnival time, you will see me Easter time, you will see me Independence and you will see me Christmas time. Throughout the year I am pretty active in terms of shows, concerts, doing community work and all that. I am not just a singer. I am a person who can adapt my style to suit any audience and I also have the type of music that would appeal to young people, the middle aged, the older, the people who want the hype and the wild-up, the people who just want the grooves. I am an entertainer who gets the crowd involved in my act. I bring the energy, I bring the vibe, I bring the theatre on stage, so that is what I am known for. It’s a mixture of all these things why I am labelled ‘the crowd motivator’ and hence the people see me as the number one entertainer in the country.”

Elated to be named Best Entertainer of SVG, Luta made the observation that, “When you look at the industry and you look at other artistes who are winning Soca Monarch and who are winning Road March and they have big songs booming on the international market, to be bestowed with this honour from the people… they set me apart and decided a crown, a title, will not determine what I am entitled to. The people realize that when it comes to entertainment, this is the man that really stands out.”

The entertainer for all seasons has two holiday gifts for his fans: ‘Christmas Rub Down’, which was released last week and ‘In De Morning,’ scheduled for release next Tuesday.