Tunda has succeeded in setting the calypso tents and radio stations ablaze with his hit single, “Bite & Roll”; that some say is the best tune this year for road march, but not even that title seems to be heading in his direction.
All of these disappointments have therefore left the calypsonian, very unhappy and he is now entertaining the thought of again taking a break from competitive calypso.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with MiyVue.com on Tuesday, 27th December, 2011, Tunda said what really hurts him is that he did not even place in the top three of either the MiyVue.com/ZIZ King of the Tents Competition or the Beaumont Park Power Soca Monarch Competition.
“Everybody I run into, telling me the same thing…some very expressively, both male and female and many I don’t know. They are saying boy dey knock you bout, dey cheat you.” Tunda said maybe the judges are scoring him too high so his scores are thrown out.
“It could also be that they are scoring me low as well. But I believe they may have scored me too high to throw me out. I think it was a conspiracy. “I thought this country and town thing done?” he was referring to the age old argument that no matter your skills and talents, once you are from the rural parts of the island, people in Basseterre, the town, tend to treat you differently or like a second class citizen.
Tunda said he cannot but reflect on his 2002 song called “Back a De land” and he is now wondering if he is being punished for that song. “I do not know if that is a factor.”
“The whole affair makes me want to finish with competition …I am very hurt that I did not even place…something is very wrong,” said Tunda.
Tunda said, “I was so shocked when I realized I did not place in the Power Soca Monarch Competition. I was lost for words and could not say anything. Even radio personalities have questioned why I did not place.”
“I saw flaws in all performances not only mine, so what makes mine so different. Yes I had a flaw, maybe one or two, but not strong enough to prevent me from placing. Maybe as the months go by I might think differently, but right now am discouraged to continue competing. I turned up the crowd and my clarity and originality were all good; so what else should I have done. Maybe some people think I should have been jumping all over the stage and running up and down, but I had my dancers doing justice to the song and its message. There was no need for a big guy like me to run all over the place, like some did.”
“What hurts most is that I did not place at all. When I came off the stage I said, well boy, we got dem tonight and if we do not win, we had First Runner-up. People telling me the same thing everywhere I go. I had stopped competing five years ago, because of the unqualified people who were judging. They were not qualified because those whom they selected, though they may have degrees, what they do not have is knowledge of calypso,” said Tunda.
“One must be musically oriented to judge. They (Carnival Committee) should use former calypsonians and judges from other islands. Some judges don’t even know melody and the criteria,” argued Tunda.
He said, “After being out for 5 years…it was the soca contest and the people who pushed me back into the competition and even though I was not competing I was still producing and releasing music.”