Veteran calypsonian recalls the journey
Stabroek News
March 31, 2007
Starting out as a reggae singer way back in the late 70s and early 80s Ras Marcus, who is $350,000 richer having gained second place in this year's calypso monarch competition, has long been right there among some of the more accomplished statesmen of calypso.
A veteran on the calypso circuit John 'Ras Marcus' Marcus boasts a record of performance in some 20 calypso finals since 1985, missing the competition only because of his pursuit of a law degree in 2001-02.
Originally, from Georgetown, Marcus became a naturalised Berbician having moved there at the age of 16. He resided in that county for several years with his grandmother, who had a profound influence on the way he now conducts himself. Describing himself as self-made man he recalls that country life was very enjoyable and afforded him the opportunity to work as a policeman, teacher and farmer.
His journey into music came as a result of his acquaintance with the reggae influences of the time Ernie Smith, Pluto, Ken Lazarus and the like. Inspired by the vintage reggae artistes Marcus and two friends, got a ride to Georgetown and recorded a reggae track called "Come Closer" on 45 vinyl record format at the Guyana Broadcasting Service (GBS), which eventually became Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), with sound engineer Ivor Innis. Out of this venture Marcus explained, "I signed a recording contract with West Indies Records Limited (WIRL) and never got paid."
The veteran musician said the opportunities existing to artistes now, as limited as they are, are more than he had in his time. "If I had the opportunities these people got now I would not be doing this I would look for other ways to get exposure," Marcus said.
Ras Marcus… at home among some sugar cane. (Photo by Ken Moore)
Later, having realized that reggae was not the genre to gain a foothold entertainment wise, Marcus, still in his teens, returned to his life as a man of the soil. He also started a family.
It was in 1985 that the inspiration to take part in the calypso competition presented itself as an opportunity for growth in the musical arena.
So once again Marcus headed to the city where he enrolled as a member of the Guyana Calypsonians Association. In those years, members of the association included legendary names such as Lady Guymine, Mighty Spurwing, Mighty Rebel, Mighty Chief, Kendingo and Smoker.
That first attempt saw him being knocked out of the competition at the quarterfinal stage with a song called "America" that he had composed while working in his family's rice fields back in Berbice.
He got back on his again and competed the next three years with "Crushing South Africa", a song based on the apartheid system there, "Madness", and "Smut" in 1986, 1987 and 1988 respectively. None of these served to get him anywhere near the title he coveted. However, he said, the year "Crushing South Africa" was done was the first time, "I realized I had fans."
In 1989 Marcus's fortunes began to change when he a copped a controversial third place position with a song called "Rob the Dread" the lyrics of which were based on his and his supporters' opinion that the judges caused him to fall outside the winners' circle in past years. But even that decision (third place) did not meet the approval of the patrons who favoured Marcus and they did not allow the eventual winner, Lady Nema, to do her grand finale. Marcus declared, "This is the first time I caused a disturbance in the National Park. You see from the time the MC said and in third place Ras ….. The whole place break up."
The 90s for the seasoned campaigner opened with "Licks in Round Six" featuring his trademark deep political analysis that predicted late president Hugh Desmond Hoyte would lose power within six years of taking office.
The judges however had to give him the nod in 1991 when he came with "Judge the Judges". The song was actually aimed at chastising the judges for past decisions and it seems they were impressed leading to Marcus lifting the trophy.
In 1992 Marcus had the National Park in an uproar with his song "Nicole". This song focused on the controversial national beauty pageant decision which saw Nicole Moore coming in as the first runner-up much to the disapproval of members of the audience. It won him a second place. But here again he was the competitor patrons preferred as the winner.
Throughout the 90s, while still performing, Marcus, who is always looking for ways to improve himself, applied to the University of Guyana (UG) and completed a Diploma and Degree in Education and Political Science respectively. He is actually one of a handful of Guyanese with a degree in Political Science.
Shortly after this, he decided to fulfil the prophecy of an aunt by entering the Law programme at UG. However, his graduation from the institution requires the Ministry of Finance and the UG administration to confirm that he is eligible to do so. Having run into some technical difficulties with the UG Loan Agency Marcus has been using a variety of avenues to have his grades released. This is essential for him to proceed to the second leg of his programme at the University of the West Indies in September.
With these and several other personal developments ongoing Marcus entered the calypso monarchy as per normal this year after putting together a song called "They Fugat We" referring to the political administrations' neglect of their constituents, which got him into second place.
He declared that he was not pleased with the decision of the judges as he felt they awarded the first prize based on Mighty Rebel's presentation and not his song, which he felt should have been the focus. "I try to do songs that could last and be done internationally," Marcus stated.
In thanking his sponsors Kirkpatrick's Catering, the Region Five administration, which he represented, and his fans Marcus acknowledged that making progress in the entertainment industry in Guyana is steep.
He attested to having goals of completing an album since the recordings are there but noted funding was a problem; it costs $12,000 an hour or $25,000 for an extended period of studio time. Marcus also agrees with a local commentator who referred to calypsonians as lazy because they record only one song every year. He said this is so and again referred to the funding issue, stressing further that, "the art form is short of writers, creativity is therefore limited especially among the older calypsonians".