On the 16th September, the gentlemen of J.E.T. (Jay, Earl & Thane) Productions hosted a surprise Awards Reception honouring the Kelvin Pope, better known as The Mighty Duke, under the distinguished patronage of the Consulate General for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Michael Lashley, at the Trinidad & Tobago Consulate in Toronto.

The awards ceremony was kicked off with a warm and pleasant speech by Mr. Lashley, who gave everyone a great summary of Mr. Pope's list of accomplishments. And of course, the Consulate General didn't fail to deliver some 'Trini small talk', which had the audience and The Mighty Duke in laughter. Dr. Jay of Soca Therapy (Flow 93.5FM) later spoke of his personal experiences growing up listening and watching video tapes of Duke. "Beta not the VHS tapes", he added.

The Mighty Duke was awarded several plaques on the night, which clearly showed what a true icon he is for both Calypso and Trinidad & Tobago. He spoke of his long journey to stardom, which even cost him losing his family to his career. "It was not easy, but I knew what I wanted and stuck to it", he stated. The audience didn't let Mr. Pope finish his speech without requesting to hear his sweet voice. He sang an impromptu piece of hit song 'Just Tell Me', where the audience enjoyed singing the hook.

The Mighty Duke, is the only person in the history of Trinidad and Tobago calypso to ever win the calypso monarch title four consecutive times (1968-1971). No one has ever seriously challenged his calypso record. Duke has become one of a handful of calypsonians who is equally able to make calypso fans laugh and cry. He has created serious social messages including classics like 'How Many More Must Die', a haunting question address to the apartheid regime in South Africa. Duke's classic hits over the years include 'Social Bacchanal', 'Black is Beautiful', 'Brotherhood of Man', 'Black Skin', 'White Mask', 'Melvie and Yvonne' and 'Thunder'.

Radio personalities, including Elsworth James of The Cook-Up Radio Show 103.1FM and Barry Johnson of Calypso Fusion 88.1FM, came to show their appreciation. One of the highlights on the night was, fellow Calypsonian, Sir Anslem Douglas accapella honouring The Mighty Duke, where folks where snapping their fingers to the beat and later joined by a creative 'bottle and spoon' rhythm section.

The Mighty Duke was in Toronto for the weekend, where he was scheduled to perform on the Thunder on the Water boat cruise on the Saturday night.

references: www.caribzones.com