Conscious of the time constraint which will affect the planning and final execution of the 2020 edition of the International Soca Monarch competition, the newly appointed Creative Director, Simon Baptiste said that his job is simply to ensure that the machine runs smoothly.

 “The task of successfully staging any event, big or small, requires time + planning + personnel + budget. A lot of these elements are obviously compromised based on the calendar date (which is literally within the next couple of weeks),” Baptiste said in a Facebook post the day after he was appointed.

“This is not to take a negative position, nor am I trying to cover myself. One has to be accountable in any role. As it is, I’m an incredibly positive person and have a lot of faith when it comes to the team I’ve surrounded myself with, and those who have worked on this event for many years.

“Expectations have to be measured, and our job is to pay attention to the details and simply ensure that the machine runs smoothly.

But his greater concern is to address the growing disconnect with the young people.

“I love soca. Love our culture. Am a fierce nationalist. But there is a growing disconnect that needs to be addressed, with our youth and our audience, and I’m not referring strictly to the Monarch. My personal hope is that we can stop treating our music as this brand that can only measure up for roughly a 1/4 of our calendar,” 

 “What we need to do is to take a more active role in cultivating this art-form throughout the year, by introducing it more in our schools (via writing or artistic programs as an example) and in our communities. Perhaps this is where Soca Monarch has to be more game-changing,” he suggested.

 “As for our industry. This divisive behaviour has to stop. You want to be loyal. Be loyal to the brand and to the art. It’s the music business. Decisions will be made that will sometimes not resonate well with us, but we have to be able to separate our emotions from the ability to see all of us succeed,” Baptiste declared.