Look everyone...a falling star

Ok I admit, this proclamation is a little premature but then again...I did say "falling star". It's not a bad thing anyway seeing as we're talking about an artiste that has been completely dominating a musical genre for about over a decade now. And as I've said in an article that I wrote some time before titled "Carnival Without Machel", this turn of events will just give other stars a chance to shine and make the carnival sky as lovely or maybe more lovely than before.

And who say he falling? Well actually I say so. Since last year I was seeing the cracks in the armour. The first sign was when he nabbed one of the melodies of "Jumbie" to spawn the mediocre "Blazin de Trail" and was actually pushing it as if it had a chance of winning road march (lmao at all of you who thought it would). The second was when he started getting out-shined on riddims repeatedly by Patrice. Even so, I wasn't too worried because I surmised that Mr. HD was just taking a little break and plus..."Defence" kinda made up for any other shortcomings. This year is a whole other story though.

It started again with Patrice out-shining him yet again; this time his "Rave" was poisoned by "Sway in de mas", showing that it was no fluke and probably a sign of the times. Then the fall continued, not because he roughed up Mr Shurwayne "Oh no no noooo" Winchester for using a song neither of them owned, but when people actually took Shurwayne's side including people like me who can't stand the dude. I didn't go AC7 but people were even saying that Shurwayne's band Y.O.U. had the better performance! And lastly, the actual push off the cliff of dominance came with the frustratingly mediocre "Wild Ants" and its hilariously bad music video. P.S. I know I'm writing this a little too late but I really wish the Soca Mafia could stop pushing "Wild Ants". I thought their little operations were supposed to be covert? Nobody really like de song so everybody done know what dey trying to do.

Yeah, well de boy real slipping. Every year until 2K8 has seen Mr HD has bringing something new and innovative to the game - Powder Puff girls, mixing genres (Mr Walker anyone?), featured dancehall artistes (Mr Vegas, Red Rat), featured calypso legends (Sparrow, Calypso Rose), the AC series, features with big international artistes (Wyclef), ignoring Soca Monarch and a continuously evolving stage performance over the years which involved splits, rapid-fire wining, balancing fat girls pon de neck, disappearing off stage, fireworks, fire-breathing moko jumbies etc. I don't know what really went on but I just know that this was the first year in a decade when Machel has not been the easiest chain-up for fete attendance (that would be KMC but soca mafia poison him this year). I won't say anything more because I want you people who reading to comment and let me know what they think but dang... how could you have Umi Marcano, Patrice Roberts, Zan, Busy Signal, Skinny Fabulous and Collie Budz all involved in a performance and it still lacklustre. Pressure! Let me know what you think. Face out.

Valentine Anti-heartbreak tip: Maintain a professional love for your favourite artiste

Happy valentines day ladies. Yeah you didn't read wrong, I said it. Maintain a professional love for your favourite artiste. Buy their music, like their music, play their music...even find them hot, but don't step into that zone where you start to make assumptions about their character and what they can and cannot do. And this is for the fellas too (doh watch mih funny), maintain that distance mih brethren. Don't understand why I'm calling out fellas too? How many men get hurt and badly wounded when Sizzla first when down the wrong road to "pump up er poom poom"? I remember days yonder when men used to quote Sizzla more then they own bible and in fact, that was the only way in which some men even knew about scripture. Yeah, so people, like them, but don't assume.

Now as the headlining picture suggests, this article is influenced by the Rihanna and Chris Brown situation. Personally, I am a little strange as a 26 year old Trinidadian male in the fact that actually I liked the music of both artistes involved. I was like the only person in Trinidad who actually enjoyed Rihanna's performance when she came to Trinidad - this performance was panned by every pen writing person with the time for an opinion at the time. I was also probably the tallest person in the Chris Brown concert and one of the only ones not screaming at the top of my lungs (I even wrote an article about it). With that being said, even though I still can't see Chris Brown having the testicular fortitude to hit anyone, I can't say I'm surprised. I (thankfully) don't see the fella when he taking a dump or when he pulling coverlet and dribbling on himself so how de hell would I know anything about him that his music label didn't painstakingly market to me? And as the story is slowly being revealed, I don't doubt that we may find shocking stuff about Rihanna hidden under her umbrella.

And I don't understand what all the shock is about in general. Remember the Akon who before Trinidad maintained an image of being "locked up" and a "soul survivor"? Who knew that he could be so 'wotless' with that under-aged girl (yeah, under-aged girl is redundant) or any girl for that matter? De man just spread de girl like a blanket and proceeded to shine the floor of Zen for Johnny Sung as if that was in the contract. Then in the aftermath, a simple google search revealed that this gunta has done the same thing before as well as lied to a significant degree about his whole convict persona and suddenly, the mirror cracks and the real image is not as pretty as the virtual one.

The last year has had a lot of these wtf moments as well. Rick Ross, now known as Officer Ricky, has built a career claiming to be a boss and a real as they come. Honestly, I never understood the whole 'boss' thing because I have a boss and trust me, he not so tough. That aside, de mark buss and dis fella was actually putting men in jail as a prisons officer right around the time when he was supposed to be ruling the streets and breaking the law. Then there was Young Buck, ex-G unit member, who was recorded crying on the phone by 50 cent about money problems. Young Berg is a next one who got slapped and had his chain snatched on separate occasions. Mos Def was found to have multiple children with many baby mamas. Even Machel was...wait a minute. That one wasn't unexpected. But you get my point. This stuff happens all the time.

If you really think about it, the problem doesn't lie with the artiste. They are just trying to become wealthy and eat a food. The problem lies with us because, as humans, we crave fantasies. Even if an artiste is coming off as a normal person, they must be a fantastic normal person. They have to be the most normal person in the history of normal people, which is, not normal. We demand these fantasies which in turn, allow people to 'eat a food' by being becoming professionals at building them. How is it that a fat man who looks like a black cross between E.Honda and Zangief could ever be even thought of as gangsta - because people are damn good at that sh*t. And what's more they do it for us. So we can get into the music and enjoy it because everyone knows that normal people are incapable of making good music. Right?

So in all the fantasy, doh get tie up. Artiste are animals. Like me. I will pick up a chicken with my bare hands and devour it, even in a posh restaurant...I eh business. I sure allyuh didn't even know a gentleman like me used to conduct it so. Trust me, we artistes are animals. Actually, we're far worse than animals. We're human beings like everyone else.

Trini videos on youtube pt 8 (Carnival Edition)

Yo people, waz de scene? I've swiftly become one of those infected by the dreaded flu and it sucks. Normally I get poisoned on Ash Wednesday but this time is like I get my share early. Anyway, check out the videos...I've added strictly soca since that is what it is in Trinidad right now anyway. Face out.


Patch and Mastamind - Rum and Roti


KMC - I Will


Bunji Garlin Ft Beenie Man - Plenty Gyal (Remix)


Maxi Priest & Shurwayne - Make it Yours


Patrice & Machel - Looking Hot, Push Bumper, Tempa Wine

Whappen COTT?

Hard luck for de delay eh readers, I was just kinda busy doing that music stuff for the past week or so but doh worry...I back on de grind harder than Israel Khan in de commission of inquiry. Boom!

Anyway, corny similes aside...I just want to keep everyone updated on an issue that is raging. As you may have known but probably not noticed, soca artiste Fireball won a COTT award with his soca song "What I want" in the hip hop category. Yeah ah know, something doesn't sound right there. For now I just want you to read an article I wrote on Trinipulse a month ago and tell me what you think (Read it here). Face out.