Though somewhat disappointed, Guyana’s leading Soca man, Jumo “Rubberwaist” Primo was not too fazed by this year’s lack of a Carib Soca Monarch Competition, saying he understands that the organisers had their reasons.“It is a little disappointing that they don’t have it, but at the same time we have to be realistic and look at all the reasons why certain things don’t happen,” Jumo told The Buzz. “They didn’t have it last year and they didn’t have it this year, there are a lot of different reasons why there is not a Soca Monarch. Hopefully next year they’ll do it bigger and better.”

Moreover with or without the competition, Jumo says his work will go on, and he’ll continue making his hits and please the fans. The reigning Soca Monarch recently released a number of new Soca knockouts for the Mashramani season, including hits “Jiggle It”, “Stir the Pot” and “Harder”, all with accompanying videos.

He has also headlined performances on Palm Court’s “Trinity” Mash party truck yesterday, alongside Tamika Marshall during the Mashramani Float Parade. Jumo says that the ones who are more likely to feel the squeeze of the absence of the competition are the newcomers to Guyana’s Soca arena.

He said artistes have become too dependent on the competition to stimulate them to bring out new music. He instead encouraged artistes to continue recording whether there’s a competition or not, and to do so even beyond the Mashramani season.“To me this competition it just part of the festival, and it only affects the seasonal singers. For me, I keep recording whether it’s Soca Monarch or whatever. I keep building my repertoire, and that’s what all artistes should do, because Soca Monarch is just a stage,” he said.

Earlier last month Soca fans found out that Ansa McAl had pulled out of sponsoring the Carib Soca Monarch Competition, and the Mashramani organising committee said they were not in a position to fund the event.

However Soca competitors need not despair as a Soca Competition is still slated for later this year with the Guyana Music Festival. With no Soca Monarch held last year either Jumo remains the reigning Monarch, having won the 2015 Competition with his song “Unruly”.