Rikki Jai celebrates 20 years as an artiste
...Bash tonight at South nightclub Nov 27, 2010
TRINIDAD EXPRESS - By Carolyn Kissoon South Bureau - He was the first Indo-Trinidadian to make it into the Dimanche Gras calypso competition. And was crowned Chutney Soca King five times.
Samraj Jaimungal, known as Rikki Jai, will be celebrating 20 years as a recording artiste, and a grand celebration has been planned at the Sting Nightclub, La Romaine, with several top local artistes tonight.
The cast includes Alison Hinds, Black Stalin, Raymond Ramnarine, Ravi B, Rajin Dhanraj, Artie Butkoon, DJ Sean and Big Rich, among others.
"I tried to have a cast of young and old, male and female, to fully reflect who I am, where I am and where I have come from in the soca, calypso and chutney artform. I have so much music that it's tough to put it all together in one show, but it will be all the hits and some standards as well," he said.
The show is being hosted by Trinidad and Tobago cricket captain Daren Ganga.
Jaimungal began singing back in 1986, performing with several top Indian orchestras. Three years later, he recorded his first calypso single, "Sumintra", and has been churning out the hits ever since.
Jaimungal has toured North America, Europe and the Caribbean, performing his popular tunes. He was part of a cultural delegation to India in 1997 for that country's Independence Day celebrations, and returned on an invitation to perform at the Pravasi Bharatiya Conference in Delhi six years ago.
Jaimungal was also part of the cultural troupe which accompanied the Soca Warriors to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and toured China in the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
Apart from being the five-time Chutney Soca King, Jaimungal copped the Young King of Calypso, South Calypso Monarch and National Unattached Calypso Monarch in 2001. That year, he placed seventh in the Dimanche Gras calypso competition.
"It has been a great experience being in the soca and calypso arena, working with the greats of the artform and being able to learn and witness first-hand the craft at its best.
"Working alongside Sparrow, David Rudder, Chalkdust, Nelson, Arrow and Duke, to name a few, gave me the opportunity to learn from the best and adapt that into my own performances," he said.
Jaimungal is also a radio announcer/programme director on 101.1FM. "I always wanted to do mass communications as a career but did not have the opportunity to pursue it at tertiary level. I began working at 101.1FM in 2000, and just used my experience in the music business and as a performer and transformed myself into an announcer," he said.
And when he is not performing, Jaimungal spends time with the people who matter most—his two boys, Aashish and Vaashish.
"Both are attending school so my time with them revolves around schoolwork, homework, colouring, cartoons, movies, riding bikes and going to the beach.
"I try to capitalise all my free time to be around them, due to the time I spend away from them performing," he said.
