Fross stormed ahead of his competitors to capture the Power Soca Monarch title – with an energetic and entertaining performance that wooed the large crowd that turned up for last Friday’s double-event show, at the Saab Playing Field, Vigie.
Riding high on the song – Eat Man Money’s popularity, Fross and his crew did not disappoint with the presentation. He revved up the crowd as the pulsating rhythmic tempo vibrated across the park, and the crowd responded with a lively refrain to the humorous, yet witty lyrics.
Simply attired in a ‘biblical-like ’ role with a white robe, thick bushy hair, and a rod (walking stick), Fross worked up the fans to keep up the constant jamming to his every move on stage; and with his backup dancers in tow gyrating and spreading out fake $100 notes across the park, all part of the theatrics in the presentation.
With such an impactful opening to the contest on that night, it would be a hard act to follow and outdo that performance. The preceding artists all took a shot at the title –but it was Ricky T in his title defense with the tune ‘Done’ that took the first runners-up spot.
Dhirv 2funny, a comedic personality and social media sensation hailing from the Canaries region, and with his fans cheering on performed ‘Are You Dumb?’ with an amusing and sprightly presentation- to cop third place.
The Power Soca Monarch final would not be without the ‘picong’ and verbal jousting among the competitors.
Commenting on the creativity of his performance, and a ‘very supportive team’, Fross told THE VOICE: “I have been doing the music vibe for a while and produced songs like Gallop, Left Foot in Front, and Ra Ra Ra.
“Most of the songs that I produced have been hits …that’s just the reality of it. And so, this song Eat Man Money is no different.”
Though Fross admits that he has been in the music vibes from early on in life, he burst onto the entertainment scene over the past 10 years or so, and true to his saying, he has rocked the fans with some spicy ‘hit tunes’.
With no immediate interest in the wider entertainment circles, Fross plans to continue “enjoying the local carnival …and contributing to the local art form.”
He also wants to assist young artists to hone their craft, and would be willing to work with them “and produce and record for free”.
As for his production team, Fross is a co-writer for the band ‘4-1’ (Four minus One), alongside his writing partners Slack and Wang. He explains: “We do all our writing, and production ourselves, so nothing goes outside. It’s just the three of us doing everything…we vet it within ourselves.”
In the Groovy Soca genre, Ricky T lived up to his stage mantra – the Teasel- to secure the Groovy Monarch title and dethrone reigning monarch Sly.
After holding on to his Groovy title for about two years, due to pandemic-related postponements, the artiste Sly of the Vye Twizeen Boys took to the stage to perform Soca.
However, the Mix-Up singer, missed the trick this time, as his presentation included a too lengthy preamble that derailed the tune Soca, from stamping a mark in this season’s soca challenge.
Newcomer, Ti Blacks, riding high on the momentum of his controversial disqualification from the calypso competition, assembled a sprawling performance of his hit song Purge Dem Out. His efforts were good enough to secure him the first runner-up spot ahead of a lineup that included two former soca monarchs.
Q Pid’s One in a Million tune and performance rendered a hearty tribute to Caribbean legends – living and gone- and ‘Big Up’ to Caribbean people, stating that despite all the conundrums and debacles faced by people in the region: “We will never fade away …We’re One in a Million”.
Ezra D’Funmachine drifted into the third runner-up spot on the strength of his number Drifting.