Soca Monarch is one of the most anticipated events across the Caribbean, and Guyana is no exception. Every February, the soca finatics crawl out of their corners, looking forward to the monarch entries. Since the beginning of the competition dubbed ‘Carib Soca Monarch’ at that time, Jumo Primo has always been a front runner.
Having already been dominating the local music industry with his energetic and popular personality “Rubber Waist” and being half of the powerful duo “x2”, winning the Monarch has always been a breeze for him. His energy, stage performance, crowd response and fanbase are always unmatched, and those are key elements in winning the live competition.
However, it wasn’t all wins for the now 40-year-old artiste. In 2014, he was dethroned by a newcomer to the competition, Kwasi Ace, who undoubtedly had the best song, and brought the performance to match. But he wasn’t on the throne for too long, as 2015 saw Jumo returning with vengeance, taking back his place at the top, butting Ace to second place.
Jumo remained king until Brandon Harding returned home from St. Lucia, winning two back to back years, 2018 and 2019, clawing his way to the top as Guyana’s new Soca King. This didn’t sit well with Jumo, who settles for nothing less than King. He returned in 2020 with full force, reclaiming his throne. Yes, it has been a thrilling ride, especially for fans of the competition.
With COVID-19 hitting Guyana just weeks after this exhilarating season, many lives were affected, and the nature of the competitions had adopted a new norm to keep everyone safe. The government did their part in ensuring that the soca culture was kept alive and hosted a virtual competition last year. You would think that Jumo would have been the obvious winner with the journey he has had, but the entire country was taken by surprise when international gospel singer artiste, Samuel Medas entered the competition.
Soca is Jumo’s territory, but all eyes turned to Samuel Medas who proved his versatility, storming through the competition like it was made for him with his platinum record entry ‘Stadium’. But Jumo’s performance barely made the cut, coming in fourth place.
What really happened with the King who has the most wins under his belt?
Potsalt Media caught up with Jumo who confessed that his downfall in the competition was his feeling of intimidation.
“What I can say about last year was that I knew what was going to happen. I saw Sammy come into the competition and knowing his support base, I took that weight on myself. And I think I defeated myself and the purpose of being there,” he said.
Apart from Samuel Medas entering the competition last year, COVID-19 brought many Guyanese artistes back home, thus the competition was flooded with exceptional performers, like Diana Chapman and Tennicia DeFreitas (now Nekeita) who came in second and third respectively.
So there was definitely no room to slack off, and that threw Jumo completely out of the game. Well, not completely. He came in fourth. But given his history, this could all be part of what he does. Referencing the backstory shared, can this be a pattern? Will he return with the vengeance that reclaimed the titles from Kwasi Ace and then Brandon Harding?
It certainly is and he certainly did!
Sunday (February 20th) morning, Jumo successfully reclaimed his title, making this his 6th Soca Monarch win! Performing right before Samuel Medas, the soca king shook up the entire stadium, moving the audience more than anyone did for the entire evening. This gave Medas a tough time performing after such an exhilarating, energetic and unmatched delivery. Medas’ performance didn’t come anywhere close to the champion, as he placed third, being defeated also by a newcomer to the competition, Granny Ivy.
No other artiste ever exceeded 2 wins in this competition, thus, Jumo has certainly proven himself to be the GOAT of Soca Music in Guyana.
Will he be going for a 8th win next year? Potsalt Media cannot wait!