Brooklyn's Chanique Bailey wins St Vincent Calypso Monarch crown on debut
Singing 'Lift Me Up', the first-time competitor became the first calypsonian from New York's Dynamite Calypso Tent to win the Vincy Mas title.
KINGSTOWN, St Vincent. Chanique Bailey, a newcomer to calypso, won the Calypso Monarch crown at Independence Park in Kingstown on July 5 during the grand finale of the Vincy Mas Calypso Competition.
Singing "Lift Me Up", Bailey became the first calypsonian from the Brooklyn-based Dynamite Calypso Tent, the only Vincentian calypso tent in North America, to win the title. She beat several former monarchs and veterans, including defending monarch Raeon "Madzart" Primus.
Robert "Patches" Knights was second with "Bull Wood", Shaunelle McKenzie third with "At We Door Step" and Lorna "Fya Empress" fourth with "Search".
Dedicated to her mother
"Yes, this was my first time competing in any calypso competition," Bailey, who co-owns the Brooklyn-based Magma Band with her Vincentian-born husband, arranger and producer Adrian Bailey, told The Vincentian.
She said her mother, Luenda Richards, from Troumaca in North Leeward, always urged her to enter. Bailey had planned to compete last year, but her mother entered hospice care in March and died in June 2025.
"I'm proud to dedicate this victory to my mom, my biggest supporter," she said.
A song about accountability
Bailey said "Lift Me Up" was inspired by what she described as the final appeal to voters to give former Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves another term before last November's general elections. She called the song one of "reflection, accountability and hope".
"I wanted to remind people to learn from our history but not let it define our future," she said. "Together, we can build a stronger, brighter St Vincent and the Grenadines."
Adrian Bailey, producer at Brooklyn's Sky Studios, arranged the music, earning his second Calypso Monarch title after Grantly "Ipa" Constance's win in 2006.
For the diaspora
Bailey said the win showed that "no matter where Vincentians live, at home or throughout the Diaspora, we all share the same love and responsibility for preserving and promoting our culture".
"Over the next year, I want to represent the crown with humility, professionalism and purpose," she said, adding that she would begin preparing to defend her title.
