Soca slackness
Culture Box
Stabroek News
February 24, 2007
We are happy that Nicole Osbourne neither won nor made it into the top five of the recently concluded Carib Soca Monarch competition. We can only hope this means that the judges were as disgusted as we are with her act.
We have nothing against Ms Osbourne and her "Soca Fever", which she sang in the competition. But we abhorred part of her act at the National Park on February 18. It is not something that can be brushed aside, so we have decided to name and shame Nicole Osbourne as we hope that after this she and other artistes would think before going for the outrageous.
It was with shock and then anger that we observed Ms Osbourne in skimpy colourful attire giving what is popularly known as a 'backball' to a boy who could not have been more than ten years old. A grown woman in an outfit that left very little to the imagination, backside in the air wining with a mere child. How nauseating!
As if that were not enough, well known soca entertainer Michelle 'Big Red' King felt it was right to have two primary school girls wining and going on during her performance at the NCN media jump-up on Tuesday night. How could that have heightened your performance Ms King? The Scene did not attend the event, nor did we see the entire televised event but we were unfortunate to catch Ms King's performance just 15 minutes before midnight. We are sorely disappointed that 'Big Red' made such a huge blunder. It was terrible display and one that deserves condemnation.
We are by no means the keepers of morals, but we know what is wrong and what is right. In any society what these singers did in the name of entertainment was wrong and is tantamount to child abuse. Those children should have been at home in their beds at that hour of the night. And we have to ask what they are being taught by the persons who are supposed to be guiding their lives?
What's worse is the fact that the hundreds of persons in attendance seemed to see nothing wrong with what was happening. Is this what we call entertainment?
Some other artists had children as part of their acts during the soca final and we condemn this as well. But we have singled out Ms Osbourne because of her particularly lewd act involving a child. A number of men would have jumped at the chance to 'backball' with Ms Osbourne. Surely she could have picked an adult.
But this is a reflection of where our society is today. Years ago, the children's Mashramani float parade was delinked from the adult one because it was unbecoming to have children wining down to the ground with the adults. Why are we trying to return to this?
We would like to suggest that the organisers of the Carib Soca Monarch competition institute an age limit for anyone taking part in the competition in any capacity. And we would expect NCN to do the same.
We all have a role to play in giving our children direction and if each of us does a little bit in the end it would add up to something significant.
For far too long we have sat down and allowed things to slide. Or do we believe that corrupting children is no big thing? One young man questioned how having children involved in such act impacts on the country's economy. It does not; neither does the gruesome murder or the sexual abuse of a child. But does that make it right? Or does it mean that we should just go one with our lives as if it is normal?
Ms Osbourne, we have nothing against you. We suspect that you are a nice, but misguided young woman. But we don't believe in perpetuating the lack of guidance. What you did on Sunday night was wrong and we had to let you know.
Ms King, we have nothing against you either. We have enjoyed your songs over the years. But you were wrong on Tuesday night and we had to let you know. We also want all other artists to know that it is wrong to have children as your back-up dancers, unless, of course you are singing national songs or gospel music. We call on artists and organisers of events to come together and ensure that this does not happen again. We would also like to wish both Ms Osbourne and Ms King all the best in their future endeavours as entertainers.