Blakie is Extempo King of SVG

Veteran calypsonian Blakie, proved that he is a true crowd pleaser when he emerged as the Extempo champ last Saturday evening, during the 2009 Carnival launch at the Chamber of Commerce car park.{{more}}

The Extempo segment was judged from the audience’s response, and after the first round with five contestants, Blakie and Alla-G returned for the royal battle. Alla-G delivered a fitting performance, throwing barbs at Blakie and eliciting laughter and hoots from the massive crowd. Blakie, in a departure from his usual repertoire, sang about education, while also throwing digs at Alla-G, which had the crowd in uproar. After four hilarious rounds, Blakie was declared the winner.

Blakie has been in the calypso arena for many years, but after challenges with alcohol and drug abuse, he was relegated to singing on sidewalks and in rum shops. Last year, Blakie achieved some success with his runaway hit ‘No more long talk’, which he performed with Skinny Fabulous and was produced by Alex Barnwell of Nonfiction Studios. (AC)