TUCO National Calypso King Duane Ta’zyah O’Connor, the 20-year-old son of former calypso monarch Duane O’Connor, was recently inaugurated at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain as Dimanche Gras came to a conclusion.
In Dimanche Gras last week, Young O’Connor, a previous junior calypso champion, triumphed over a group of 12 finalists to fulfill his father’s prediction that “history will be made.” Also, this year, O’Connor finished second in the Young Kings.
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When Ta’zyah was nine years old in 2012, he would have watched as his father was proclaimed calypso king. Now it was the older O’Connor’s time to watch and support his son as he continued the family tradition.
O’Connor’s win was no accident because he performed Sing Hallelujah with deft stagecraft, blending in seamlessly with his backup dancers who were dressed in national colors.
Kerine “Tiny” Williams-Figaro received the second-place trophy and the people’s choice award for her rendition of “To You With Love.” With Oasis, Karene Asche finished third.
When everything was said and done, O’Connor came out on top, followed by Williams-Figaro in second, Asche in third, Roderick “Chucky” Gordon in fourth, Tameika Nandi Darius in fifth, Terri Lyons in sixth, Ezekiel Yorke in seventh, Maria Bhola-Paul in eighth, Helon Francis in nine, Young King Heaven “Snakey” Charles in 10, Mark Eastman in eleventh, and Carlos “Skatie”.
O’Connor may not have been everyone’s favorite going into the event, but he came out of nowhere to take the stage with a polished performance and dominating hand gestures. He was also helped by nimble dancing across the Big Stage.
The song expressed gratitude for the positive aspects of TT and asked people to value its natural resources and put forth great effort to develop the nation. He exhorted citizens to take action by staking a claim to the major elements of TT’s creative culture, like pan and mas before others did.
O’Connor was greeted by an admiring shout from the audience as she exuded calm assurance.
Timothy “Baron” Watkins, Errol “Bally” Ballantyne, and Johnson “Johnny King” King entered the stage to get flowers as Williams-Figaro grieved the loss of TT’s legendary calypsonians and begged that they be given praise while they were still alive.
Amazing musicianship could be heard in Asche’s song Oasis, a lovely sea of sound over which her lines ascended without being masked. In a well-delivered speech titled Mathematics uh Mathsing, Gordon decried the rising expense of life.
Lyons, the defending monarch, made a potent appeal for vigilante action against abusers of women and girls in her song, “House Cleaning,” but she took a tremendous risk by appearing in a dowdy nightgown and bulletproof vest.
People Man, a wife’s shrewd appeal to outside women to come home and assist with the cooking, laundry, and childcare that make a family operate, was Bhola- Paul’s idea. She performed a skit with a Watson Duke impersonator and actresses who played the PDP leader’s wife and a friend.
O’Connor, who was competing in the finals for the first time, defeated four previous kings: Lyons (2020), Francis (2018), Gordon (2014 and 2015), and Asche (2011.)
He and his father both expressed their joy at winning to reporters after the game.
Duane, a 43-year-old proud dad, recalled, “Before he went on stage we had a special prayer. We knew what we were about to do, we were ready for an eventuality. And tonight it happened!
“We are so elated as a family, as a unit. Eleven years after I won the calypso monarch, my son is the Calypso Monarch for 2023! The first father and son ever. Thank God!”
When asked if he had helped his son develop his calypso skills, Duane responded that Ta’zyah was his own man and had his own band. Duane described his son as having “No training,” and remarked, “a natural.”
“Anywhere there’s a mishap or a little falter, he comes to me and says ‘Daddy, we’ll fix it. But he’s natural.”
“His win is due to his understanding of the art form and what it takes to be excellent.”
Ta’zyah informed the media that he was overjoyed to have won.
“I am grateful for the opportunity. I am so, so happy, I don’t know how to explain it. I’m grateful, grateful, really grateful.” He stated that the judge’s judgment was definitive, win or lose when asked why he believed he had won.
When asked if he felt intimidated competing against experienced calypsonians—including four former monarchs—Ta’zyah responded, “I didn’t really look at the competitors, because I was really focused on remembering my song and everything.
“I have a lot of nerves when I have to perform, so I really did not look at the competition to say, ‘This person was good’. I didn’t. The judges made a decision and I’m fine with it.”
“This is the icing on the cake,” said the young monarch who had won in 2018 and finished second in the Young Kings competition this year. Ta’zyah thanked his father, saying, “That’s where I got it from.”
He gave advice to other children, saying “When you are entering a competition there is a possibility you are not going to win, and nothing wrong with that. Enter and have fun. Do it because you love it. Don’t do it for the money. I think when you do it because you love it, is when you enjoy it more.”
How did he envision calypso’s future?
“Calypso is in safe hands. Once it is in my hands, it will be forever safe because I will carry it. I will. I will never stop.” He praised God, his loved ones, and his friends.
Duane continued to think about his son’s victory.
According to Duane, before the results were announced, he told Ta’Zyah: “Son, you win,” despite the fact that they had not been anticipating winning. Duane stated this after mentally going over all of the night’s performances.
He claimed that he informed his wife that Ta’zyah had won based on his own 30 years of expertise, but both his wife and son were dubious.
“I said, ‘you are in the top three,’ because your performance was fantastic and dynamic. His voice, his vocals are on point. He is (a) natural. He glides across the stage. Come on!”
Father and son performed at Calypso Fiesta in positions 32 and 34 respectively.
“Before I went on-stage (at calypso fiesta) he came to me and said, ‘kiss your son.’ I kissed him then I went on and performed, and when I was finished, I went to him and said, ‘Hold your father.'”
He said that his wife and son had a very tight family connection.
“There are some people in the calypso fraternity who are trying to push this kind of thing, ‘You are better than your father’ or, ‘You are better than your son’ or, ‘Your son is better than you.’
“We are not about that. We are about making the culture reach where it is supposed to reach and our culture is about to go global. My son is global in terms of his performance as an artist.
“We are about pushing the artform and the music of calypso and TT elsewhere.”
