By Elesha George
Newly crowned Calypso Monarch, King Young Destroyer said he wanted to unite Antiguans and Barbudans through his song choices on competition night.
The seasoned calypsonian, known offstage as Leston Jacobs, dethroned the reigning monarch, Trevor ‘King Zacari’ King, and secured the national title for the very first time during his 33-year career on Friday night.
His renditions won over the judges who declared him the overall winner after two rounds of competition. His initial rendition, titled ‘Simply the Best’, was a heartfelt message about Antigua’s potential on the global stage.
“My first rendition was talking about Antigua and what it has to offer to the world, how it can compete with other Caribbean islands. That message I just wanted to say that as Antiguans they should keep their heads up high and stop worrying about the petty politics and the fake rumours you hear about the place and remember we’re in a blessed place,” he explained.
His song ‘Respect Your Own’ also earned him the award for best social commentary – an accolade he attributed to his father. The song is a political commentary about the plethora of events that took place leading up to the January 2023 general elections.
Last year, the award for social commentary took the format of a category, and was won by 2022 monarch King Zacari. However, this year King Zacari placed first runner up in the competition while third place position went to King Fiah.
“Well, that was a shocker to me because you know, I’ve never won that award … All that is basically my father. My father is the writer of the song so best social commentary should really go to him as the artiste. So, this whole prize that I won for best social commentary I’m just going to take it to my father one time,” Young Destroyer stated.
Born into a family of calypsonians, Young Destroyer, who draws his stage name from his father’s moniker “Destroyer,” – known formally as Oglivier Jacobs – drew encouragement from his father’s own experiences of competition.
“My father was a competitor in the Calypso competition for years, so I used to watch him and see when he lose and when he don’t get what he think he deserve … I use to just say ‘look, daddy don’t cry, I’m gonna beat them’,” he recalled.
His victory did not come without hard work. Young Destroyer disclosed the challenging preparations he faced leading up to the competition, balancing the demands of learning his own songs with supporting his two young children’s endeavours in the Junior Calypso Monarch competition.
“It was hard for me because I had my two kids in the Junior Calypso competition so I had to work with them and still try and work with myself. And after the Junior Calypso competition then is when I put more emphasis into me and to mine,” he shared.
Meanwhile, not everyone was happy with the outcome of Friday night’s event. King Zacari, the outgoing monarch, expressed his frustration with what he perceived as a shift in judging criteria.
“Somebody has to change some things; something just wasn’t right. When I see certain calypsonians practicing certain songs, I know there must be a change,’ he said, adding that the judges should “follow the criteria” that was voted on by all calypsonians.
“Something just definitely wrong. I’m not faulting Destroyer but if we followed the regular criteria, he could have won, but if they were to use the criteria that we went through in the meeting that could not be the results,” he continued.
In response to the criticism of the criteria, the new monarch said he has remained versatile even while the judges continue to shift the criteria each year.
According to Young Destroyer, “It’s been all kind of different things with the judges in Calypso – this is nothing new. So, some will favour you, some will favour others, I don’t study that. I study about preparing myself and pleasing the judges and the audience”.
“Twenty years I’ve been singing in the Monarch competition; this is my first victory. I’m accustomed to getting low scores, not being able to reach the top and still come back punching,” he added.
As of Friday night, Young Destroyer holds the titles of Calypso Monarch and Independence Calypso Monarch, along with the away titles of CARIFESTA Calypso Junior Monarch and World Calypso King.
