Hypa 4000 wrecks Park en route to Soca title

For the first time in over a decade, the annual Soca Monarch competition crowned an artiste other than Gamal ‘Skinny Fabulous’ Doyle or Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper.

On Saturday, at the Victoria Park, Sion Hill resident Shane ‘Hypa 4000’ Husbands’ performance of ‘No Behaviour’ demanded the attention of the crowd, who showed their support for the young artiste.

During his performance at the Victoria Park, patrons waved glow sticks and lit flares using aerosol sprays, indicating that they, indeed, had no behaviour, while others danced and cheered at the top of their voices.{{more}}

When reporters caught up to Husbands after his crowning, he could not find words to describe how he felt about his victory.

“I’m speechless right now. Truly I am speechless – out of words right now. I can’t believe this happening,” he said.

The 2016 Soca Monarch champion then grabbed the microphone and thanked his supporters, while acknowledging the 2015 Soca Monarch winner, Skinny Fabulous.

“Road March we say next, double crown, we creating history! ” he shouted to the crowd.

During his interview, Husbands told reporters that his victory on Saturday was just a stepping-stone towards his goals.

“Whatever I want to achieve, it bigger than just be in Soca Monarch,” he said.

While coming to grips with his victory, Husbands reflected on his Sion Hill origins, a village that he says has a reputation of “being on the road, as they say ‘thuggy thuggy’,” to being on stage in Victoria Park and also a role model.

The popular DJ also disclosed that he received a lot of guidance from Skinny Fabulous, which helped his performance. He, however, told reporters that he could not “leggo the secret recipe,” and reveal exactly how the 2015 Soca Monarch helped him.

Husbands also paid respect to eight-time winner of the crown Fireman Hooper, describing him as “a legend” who paved the way for artistes such as himself and Skinny Fabulous.

“Back in the day when they used to have the bands, no disrespect to the bands, when they used to have the Hotsands, the Signals… if you not in a band, you can’t sing. It was only the Lutas, the Maddzarts,” Husbands explained.

“Fireman dem came, as they say in the day, with a bedroom studio, won Soca Monarch and set the way for other little bedroom studios like Fourth Dimension and all of us, so we could record and be independent and reaching where we are today.”

Husbands further disclosed that the motivation behind his winning number ‘No Behaviour’ came from him pushing himself to do better than he has done in previous years.

“It’s all about pushing myself really, always trying to be better than before,” he added.

The 2016 Soca Monarch further stated that he sees himself making it as an international artiste.

“The next Skinny, the next Kevin Little, the next Marlon Roudette,” he projected.

Travis ‘Wiz Kid’ Lynch and his performance of ‘Mahma Man’ secured him second place in the competition, while Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper’s ‘Homeless’ and Naphtali Duncan’s ‘Fencing Pole’ secured third and fourth places, respectively.

The other competitors were Lancelot ‘Mad Skull’ Gloster – Nasty Habit; Hance John – Tired; Manaki ‘London Ice’ Trimmimgham – Demolition; Phillip ‘Wetty Beatz’ Bastien – Drunk Army; Kester ‘Flanka’ Chapman – War Tanka; Raeon ‘Maddzart’ Primus – Posse; Kurtne ‘Fresh Kydd’ Patterson – Nah Study Nutn;’ Ryan ‘Royall’ Abraham – Pandemonium; Kemuel ‘Karbon’ Stapleton – Splash; Claydon ‘Dymez’ Roache and Elrico ‘Da Pixel’ Hunte – Wuk Him Out; and Lornette ‘Fya Empress’ Nedd – Drinking Heavy Weight.

When he spoke to reporters after being crowned, Husbands said he was aiming at the “double crown”— capturing both Soca Monarch and Road March, which came as a prophecy, as he secured the Road March crown on Wednesday.

Fireman Hooper holds the record for the most Soca Monarch wins, having secured the crown as lead singer of Roses Crew from 1999 to 2001 and then as a solo act from 2005 to 2007, then in 2011 and 2014. Meanwhile, Skinny Fabulous, a six-time winner in the comeptition, secured the crown in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015. (AS)