Out Of The Caribbean: Adrian Clarke Takes the Crop Over Monarch Crown
Barbados spent July burying a national hero, but that didn’t stop the staunch calypsonians from doing what calypsonians have always done. Crop Over is the Bajan equivalent of Carnival, and what should have been a joyful event began with Bajans mourning the death of National Hero and cricket legend Sir Garfield Sobers, who died on […]
Black News 
Barbados spent July burying a national hero, but that didn’t stop the staunch calypsonians from doing what calypsonians have always done.
Crop Over is the Bajan equivalent of Carnival, and what should have been a joyful event began with Bajans mourning the death of National Hero and cricket legend Sir Garfield Sobers, who died on 17th July 2026. The island laid him in state at the Parliament Buildings, filled Kensington Oval for a Service of Thanksgiving on 29th July, and buried him at Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens under a nineteen-gun salute.
The memorial caused the relocation of the popular Pic-O-De-Crop finals, the Calypso Monarch competition and possibly the most debated night in the Bajan calendar, from its usual spot at the Oval. After a few proposed locations, it eventually settled at the National Botanical Gardens in Bridgetown.
Of the eighteen calypsonians who competed, AC, aka Adrian Clarke, took home the title with a fittingly named song, Legends From The Grave, built in the style of the late Mighty Shadow. Kid Site placed second, i-Web third and Mr Blood fourth.
Leading up to the Pic-O-De-Crop finals, Prime Minister Mia Mottley warned that traditional Crop Over music needed protecting. Calypso, in its full authenticity, with long verses, double entendres and heavily accented patois, does not necessarily stream well in today’s digital-heavy music industry. It also doesn’t always fit the modern-day fete.
It survives because a tent full of people will still turn out to hear a man make his case in song, albeit long-winded, and because competitions like Pic-O-De-Crop still exist to reward the production, performance and tradition of the art form.
Barbados has a new monarch, and he took the crown singing in the style of an iconic Trinidadian voice. In many ways, that strengthens the case for preserving the origins of the music and promoting Calypso far and wide while it is still a legend outside of the grave.
Soca, Bouyon and Jab are carrying the torch for Caribbean music in this modern era, but AC is ensuring Calypso still has something to say.
