Chutney Soca artiste Nermal “Massive” Gosein yesterday registered to compete in the Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) competition and he intends to sing his controversial Rowlee Mudda Count song.
In a statement on Wednesday, promoters George Singh and National Chutney Foundation president Dr Vijay Ramlal said they will not allow Gosein to perform the song at the competition. Singh said yesterday that Gosein was never banned but his selection would now be screened.
Gosein, however, said any attempts to block him from performing will be met with legal action.
Speaking with T&T Guardian after registering at Southex at Independence Ave, San Fernando, Gosein said he encountered no problems to register on the last day of registration for the competition.
Holding up his receipt for $200, Gosein said as a citizen and a taxpayer it was his constitutional right to participate in everything that is funded by the government.
“And I am happy to say that I have registered which means when they issued this receipt to me it means that they accepted my registration for the CSM 2018,” said Gosein.
Gosine believes God guided him to compose this song for the people. He said his song is neither disrespectful nor was it written with malice. He said when PNM singers sang about Kamla Persad-Bissessar, a mother and a grandmother, “it wasn’t disrespectful. How come some things are good for some and for others it’s just not good. What was right then, how come it is wrong now.” He said the song was about praedial larceny which is discouraging people from becoming involved in agriculture. He said in his song he is promoting agriculture.
Gosein said he neither feels intimidated by the mountain of criticism he has received nor does he intend to pull the song.
Hitting back at Camile Robinson-Regis and the PNM Women’s League who has called for the song to be banned, he said he was amazed by their position.
“Nowhere in this song deals with anything pertaining to politics, nowhere in the song did I say Dr Keith Rowley or by extension the Prime Minister of T&T, if anybody see that in my song call me, bring it forward,” he said.