Ravi B to ‘Come Home’ today Friday, December 3 2010
TRINIDAD NEWSDAY - By RHONDOR DOWLAT - CHUTNEY Soca Monarch, Ravi B is back from performing at Club Tobago in New York last weekend and itching to make his mark on Carnival 2011.
“We’ve had a great year,” he admitted, “and I really have to thank God for blessing us with talent and giving us the strength and the encouragement to go out there and make people sing and dance and enjoy themselves. Of course, I must thank the fans as well, for without them, we would be nothing and you know we couldn’t do this without all our fabulous family members and faithful friends, who have stood by us and supported us throughout this journey.”
Over the last month, Bissember and the big band Karma have collected a whopping 18 awards at three separate ceremonies.
On November 20 they won nine at the Chutney Foundation Awards Ceremony, held at NAPA, followed by six at 103 FM’s Hall of Fame Awards on November 23 at Queen’s Hall and another three at the International Soca Awards, which was held on November 27 at NAPA.
Whilst the lead singer of the band is very appreciative of the awards, he believes that for him they mean that it’s time to work even harder.
“It might sound strange,” he admitted, “but when I look at all those awards I don’t only feel happy for what we have already achieved, but I also feel a great excitement and a kind of nervous energy toward all that we are yet to achieve. There’s an old saying I think — I know I’ve heard it somewhere before — that as hard as it is to reach the top, it’s even harder to stay there and seeing these awards lets me know that it’s time to take it to the next level.
“As young artistes in the industry, we have been working to establish ourselves and our music and that’s the kind of job that doesn’t ever really end and it certainly doesn’t end when you are rewarded or awarded: that just means it’s time to start working even harder,” he said.
Last month, Bissember released “Player” and “Whey Yuh Dey”, which are both doing well on local Chutney charts, but the young composer and songwriter said he got the feeling that it’s time to release some new music and start preparing for the long season ahead.
“I came back from the cold in New York with one thought echoing in my head,” he said. “It’s time to buss a new song! I want to release about five or six songs this year and I’ll be doing some interesting collaborations as well, so I have to get my solo material out into the stream early!”
Today, the youngest-ever Chutney Soca Monarch will release a brand new song, entitled, “Come Home” to local and regional radio stations. Known for his string of humorous, double-entendre type Chutney Soca compositions, Bissember sticks to his winning formula with his latest release and adds to his growing repertoire.
“I like to sing songs that make people laugh,” he revealed, “because they say that laughter is the best medicine and you know how your parents always want you to be a doctor or a lawyer,” he said, laughing.
“So, I’m making them proud and giving the people some medicine at the same time! Seriously though, I think this Carnival is going to be different because it’s the first long season for a few years, so I want to establish a strong foundation for when I start shaking up the town a bit later down.
“Look out for Ravi B and Karma in places you’ve never seen us before and get used to the slogan: ‘Karnival is Karma!’”
