An ecstatic Stiffy shares the moment of jubilation with his mother before stepping into his Kia Picanto, after being named the winner of the Barbados Yellow Pages Bashment Soca competition on Friday night at the Kensington Oval.

Triple treat

Party Monarch, Sweet Soca finalists chosen; Bashment King crowned

 

IT was a Crop Over lover’s dream on Friday night as Phenomenal Friday gave them not one, but essentially three shows with approximately five hours of fierce competition at the Kensington Oval.
 
At the end of the night, the inimitable Stiffy walked away with the crown of the inaugural Barbados Yellow Pages Bashment Soca competition, and the coveted Kia Picanto with his infectious “Take off Something”. The undisputed King of Bashment, taking the lead from his lyrics, took off his hat and peeled off layers of shirts with the words Gun Violence and Tax emblazoned on the front and threw them in the crowd. He also stamped his authority with his free-style, otherwise known as picong, as he effortlessly 
dismissed his rivals.
 
While many believed his victory was a foregone conclusion, he was given a run for his money from Marzville with his popular “Bang Bim” and Scrilla - “Gal Drop”. Rameses and Lady Essence were also a hit with “Blows”, with Essence captivating the crowd with her agility and flexibility, with the song that has raised quite a few eyebrows since the release of the music video, which many believe is risqué.
 
Coopa Dan also gripped the audience with his performance of “Champion Gal”, but none more so than with the appearance of Queen Archibald Cox on stage, who brought the audience to tears with her “unique” dance moves.
 
The night started however with the semi-finalists of the Sweet Soca Competition, who are vying for a spot at Bush Park as they come up against reigning king Edwin Yearwood. The finalists include newcomer Joaquin, Biggie Irie, Marvay, AC, Mikey, Mistah Dale, the lone female Nikita, and Peter Ram. Yannick Hooper is the reserve. Even though consummate performer Grynner failed to make the finals, his “Turn on the Speaker” was well received by the crowd who could be seen and heard singing along word for word.
 
Going up against Peter Ram in the Party Monarch finals will be Edwin, Mistah Dale, iWeb, Lil Rick, Mikey, Leadpipe and Saddis, Mr Blood, TC, with King Bubba as the reserve. 
 
TC expressed gratitude for life noting that earlier that evening her vehicle had been written off. 
 
Halfway in the Party Monarch competition, intermittent rainfall threatened to put a damper on the competition, but the contestants powered through. The event drew to a close just around 5 am. 
(JH)
 

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