Skarpyon riding on his success in Vincy Mas 2011

Shernelle “Skarpyon” Williams has had a whirlwind Carnival season. And riding on his success at Vincy Mas 2011, Skarpyon has no immediate plans of slowing down.{{more}}

Williams became the first artiste in this country’s history to participate in four finals; he came out on top on two of those.

First, at the launch of Vincy Mas, he grabbed the crown in the Ragga Soca category for the new song competition, and followed it up by winning the Ragga Soca Competition held on Friday, June 24, at Victoria Park.

He did not stop there. On Sunday, July 3, at the Calypso Monarch finals, Skarpyon’s two songs, “Pan Dream” and “What we have”, were enough to land him in second position, behind this year’s winner, Maxwell “Tajoe” Francis.

“I thank God for everything, and I am content with the results. My dream is to one day become the Calypso Monarch of SVG, and I came pretty close this year,” Williams remarked.

Williams, who is no stranger to the calypso arena, made it to the finals in 2007, but came in 5th. He said his time competing at the junior calypso level helped to mould him and his career.

Stating that he began writing “Pan Dream” over two years ago, but it was not until recently that he took the time to finish the song. “…Pan Dream speaks about a love for the pan and some of the Pan greats…,” Skarpyon said.

Explaining his other song, “What we have”, Skarpyon said he sought to highlight the struggles and social ills that many families face on a daily basis. Describing the song as a “masterpiece”, Skarpyon said: “I wanted to do something that people could relate to.”

“My achievement is not only for me, but for the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines. This year has just been overwhelming,” he added.

Celebrating 21 years in the music industry, Skarpyon said he was presented with an award last year for his 20 years of participation in Carnival.

Skarpyon thanked God for blessing him with a great gift. He also thanked his mentor and composer, Jeoff Venner, his wife, past teachers; people of the Marriaqua Valley, as well as all the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines who support his music.(KW)