Kenwrick Joseph (15 July 1952 – 2 January 2022), known professionally as Kenny J, was a
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
calypsonian
A calypsonian,Definition of CALYPSO Assistant Superintendent of Police
Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held ...
who was best known for his soca parang hits including ''The Paint Brush''.
Musical career
Kenny J sang ballads before venturing to calypso and later soca parang, for which he became best known. He won the National Police Service Calypso Monarch in 1987 and then began performing professionally. He made it to the finals of the National Calypso Monarch competition four times. His best performance was in 1990 when he placed second performing ''Addicted to Sweet Soca'' and ''Leave She Alone''.
He began performing soca parang in 1993 and released ''The Paint Brush'', which was described as "an instant hit" and "an evergreen classic". Other successes in the 1990s included ''Alexander'' and ''Hush Yuh Mout'' which "guaranteed Kenny J work during the Christmas season for over two decades".
Musical style and impact
Kenny J was described as a pioneer of parang soca by Marcia Miranda, a fellow parang soca singer. She described his songwriting as "witty" and memorable. '' Newsday'' columnist Yvonne Webb described his "well-crafted, risqué parang soca contributions" as his most lasting contributions. In response to his death, Leader of the Opposition
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Kamla Persad-Bissessar ( ; born Kamla Susheila Persad, 22 April 1952), often referred to by her initials KPB, is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer, politician and educator who is the Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, politic ...
described Kenny J as "a true cultural icon". Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell described him as "a performer par excellence and a cultural icon".
Gordon Rohlehr
Gordon Rohlehr (20 February 1942 – 29 January 2023) ''
public servant with the harassment experienced by calypsonian Chalkdust in 1968 when it was revealed that he was a schoolteacher. While Chalkdust was criticised severely by the government for holding a second job (which was forbidden for people in the public service), later calypsonians like Kenny J were able to avoid this criticism thanks to Chalkdust's effective push-back to the selective application of the policy.
Kenny J, who was
Dougla
Dougla people (plural ''Douglas'') are Caribbean people who are of mixed African and Indian descent. The word ''Dougla'' (also Dugla or Dogla) is used throughout the Dutch and English-speaking Caribbean.
Definition
The word ''Dougla'' origin ...
(of mixed African and Indian ancestry), is discussed by Ferne-Louanne Regis as one of only three Dougla calypsonians (the others being the
Mighty Dougla
Cletus Ali, better known as Mighty Dougla, was a Trinidadian calypsonian who won the island's Calypso King title in 1961.
Career
From the Hell Yard area of Port of Spain, Ali was a popular calypsonian in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was bor ...
and Brother Marvin) to discuss this aspect of their identity in their creative work.
In ''Baboolal'', Kenny J tells the story of a failed relationship from the context of a man who doesn't understand why his wife left him, and from the position of a narrator who references the man's domestic violence against his wife. In her analysis of gender negotiations in
chutney soca
In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname, chutney soca music is a crossover style of music incorporating soca and calypso elements and English, Hindustani, and Hinglish lyrics, chutney music, with Western instruments such as the guitar, pi ...
, Aisha Mohammed fits ''Baboolal'' into both the tradition of Indian folk songs about heartbreak, and the context of domestic violence in
Indo-Trinidadian
Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian-Trinidadians and Tobagonians, are people of Indian origin who are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago whose ancestors came from India and the wider subcontinent beginning in 1845.
Indo-Trinidadians and ...
culture.
Personal life and death
Kenny J was born on Prince of Wales Street, in San Fernando on 15 July 1952 and attended St. Benedict’s College. He retired from the Police Service with the rank of Assistant Superintendent.
He was a resident of
Siparia
Siparia is a town in southern Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago, south of San Fernando, southwest of Penal and Debe and southeast of Fyzabad. Also called "The Sand City", it was originally a non- Mission Amerindian settlement. Siparia grew to be ...
, in south Trinidad. Despite being known for his Christmas music, he found Christmas a "bittersweet experience" after the death of his wife on 26 December 2010. Kenny J died from
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
on 2 January 2022, at the age of 69. His daughter reported that he was fully vaccinated, and had participated in a series of public service announcements encouraging people to get vaccinated.