When Kirt “Palos” Roberts was just five years old, he went to his uncle, famous calypsonian Lord Kitchener, for advice on his singing. Though shy, with a cracking voice, Palos wanted to be as great as his uncle one day.
But first he had to overcome that shyness: practising in front of the mirror, or before family members, or rehearsing in the shower with the soap, gaining that confidence.
It was not until he reached Form One at El Dorado Secondary that the Arouca boy got a chance to sing on a stage. His classmates laughed; but for Palos, it was a beginning.
He continued singing in school, despite keen competition from friends Justin Beckles and Shane Thomas.
He said he knew he needed to be more original: he’d often take other people’s melody and put words to it.
Fast forward to today, and he’s bringing in a song called Bubblers for Carnival 2016. In this song, a mix of dub and soca, Palos is encouraging all to be “bubblers”—a bubbler, he says, is someone who goes to a party and does basically anything clean to have a good time.
Palos has been singing the song everywhere—at pubs, bars, shows, boat rides, charity events, on the popular radio talk show Make Up Or Break Up, at the Prisons Sports Club, on Ariapita Avenue, at pool parties.
He is hoping for a spot at next year’s International Soca Monarch, but admits that music in T&T is very challenging. “As an unknown you hardly get airplay on the radio, and sometimes your music is stolen. The radio is specifically for artistes who are already known and established, but for new artistes like myself, we just have to promote and market ourselves. However I am in this for the long term, so they will be seeing me a lot more in the future,” Palos said.
His past songs include For D Carnival (2006) (with Miss Alysha), Watch It Day (2008), Walk Wit Dat (parang; 2009), and Shade Mischief (2012/13). (with reporting by Walter Alibey)