Bacchic Friday was all about soca. For more than six hours from late afternoon until the early hours of the following morning, over 20 acts played bombastic sets in hopes of winning one or both of the night's crowns.
12 acts — Dash, Muddy, Shamak, Super Flying Flint, Cryave, Lil Kerry, Boyzie, Shequan, Walkie Dan, Hitz, Happy Boy and Yung Madd — competed for the title of Power Soca Monarch, which is awarded to the winning performer with a song above 135 BPM. Dash finally took home the grand prize with a thrilling performance “The Movie” which almost shifted the Kirani James Athletic Stadium from its foundations.
From the majestic explosions of fire to the impassioned left-to-right marches, there was no other song that could come close to the sheer energy that “The Tape” inspired from the evening's crowd. Recorded on Propa Way Production's “Viral” riddim, “The Tape” is a masterclass in controlling the ebb and flow of energy in a soca song. Das immediately attacks the riddim with his booming voice, but when he slows down the tempo slightly with a little staccato performance (“If that move, that move/ If that shake, that shake/ If that break, that break”) before launching into the unrelenting chorus of 'Go dung, go dung, go dung', the results are borderline hypnotic.
In particular, Boyzie came in third on the strength of it “Chaotic,” which was recently featured as the “Freshest Find” on of Billboard Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks column. Muddy placed second with “The moment.”
On the Groovy Soca side (134 BPM or below), the contenders were: Boyzie, Dash, Terra D Governor (the 2022 and 2023 Power Soca Monarch winner), Juice De Voice, Otis, Shamak, Jerenton, Super Flying Flint, 2 Blaxx, Runi Jay, Blaka Dan and Walkie Dan.
In a moment of touching patriotism, Boyzie was crowned Groovy Soca Monarch on the strength of his beautiful devotion to Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique. “Sweet Home” (recorded on the “Oil Down & Saraca” riddim). Drenched in the green, gold and red of the Grenadian flag and joined by a number of dancers and moko jumbies, Boyzie's evocative show drew the most enthusiastic response from the crowd with hundreds of people shouting the words louder than him – damn rain. To close his performance, Boyzie called out Carriacou and Petit Martinique – both decimated by Hurricane Beryl – and recited the national pledge, creating an atmosphere of solemn solidarity that proved to be the most emotional moment of the evening.
Dash – an underdog at Spicemas this year – came second “Celebrate,” while Terra D Governor finished third with “Clean circle”.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/lists/spicemas-2024-most-memorable-music-moments/
