Cro Cro came too high—Warner

Minister of Works and Transport Jack Warner says while Karene Asche’s performance on Dimanche Gras night was deserving of the Calypso Monarch crown, Weston “Cro Cro” Rawlins should have placed last.
He was speaking with reporters yesterday at a presentation ceremony to commemorate the appointment of the Vehicle Maintenance Company of T&T (VMCOTT) board at the Multi Purpose Hall at the Ministry of Works and Transport, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain.

Rawlins, who performed at position number one, placed 11th out of 12 competitors on Sunday for his delivery of both Compare and Contrast and Six For A Nine. Warner compared the compositions of both Asche, who sung Uncle Jack and Careful What You Ask For, with those of Rawlins and said they were representative of two different eras of social commentary. He added: “Look at the calypso (Uncle Jack) that won the monarch, it’s not one that was bitter, acrimonious and denigrating but one I found to be uplifting and there were some criticisms made which we have to look at.

“But look at the Cro Cro... someone asked me what I thought about how he placed (second to last) and I said he came too high because the age for those kind of compositions is over. “For the next five years you will sing on Kamla (Prime Minister) and Jack and the Government. You have to find other things to sing on. That is a legacy of the past.” When asked whether he felt offended by the many “attacks” thrown at the Government in some of the calypsoes sung this year, Warner said though he was the most sung about personality of the year, such did not detract him from performing his duties, especially since there were criticisms in the compositions from which the Government may be able to benefit.

“People throw stones at trees that bear good fruit and therefore when people throw stones and jabs at the Government then it’s because the Government is functioning. “We shall look at what people are saying and see if there is any merit in their criticism and adjust to suit and where there is no merit, we move on,” he added. Warner dismissed any perception that those condemnatory comments were a reflection of his Government’s lack of performance and blamed the People’s National Movement (PNM) as being instrumental in those seeming “attacks.”

“Many of these things are inspired by the PNM and their supporters so therefore one must take everything with a pinch of salt,” he said. Pressed to comment on whether political favouritism influenced the results of both the Power Soca Monarch and the Calypso Monarch Competitions this year, Warner said the lyrical content of both Machel Montano (Power Soca Monarch) and Asche spoke for themselves. Warner said of the Calypso Monarch: “She’s (Asche) brave because I thought that as long as she mentioned ‘Uncle Jack,’ she would lose. When I listened to the song last night I found it to be good, nothing was wrong with it. “There are some criticisms about me which I would take in good stride but she was judged on her content and not because she sung about ‘Uncle Jack’ (Warner).” “For once I find the judging wasn’t too bad but as I said before, Cro Cro came too high,” Warner added.