The minstrel season has ended on a high note with the All Stars being crowned the Carnival Kings of 2019.
On Saturday, the Mitchell's Plain troupe known as the People’s Team, aka the Juvie Boy Entertainers, were announced the winners of Section Two of the Kaapse Klopse Karnivaal Association’s competition at Athlone Stadium.
The All Stars were named the winners of Section 1 two weeks ago, and because they scored the highest points of the season, they win the competition.
The Juvie Boys have over the past seven years revolutionised klops and are deserving winners of Section Two.
They also have a very strong support base; one can tell that every single klops supporter loves the Juvies and this was evident when they entered the Athlone Stadium arena on day one of the competition when they got everybody on the stand to jol met die Juvies.
WINNERS: Juvie Boy Entertainers with their trophies after their win at Athlone Stadium . Photo: Jack Lestrade
The Juvies’ klopse jol is not just about the team.
When they walk in, everyone believes that moment belongs to them, and this is why their slogan for this year, “you own it”, is so befitting.
They walked away with seven first prize trophies in total.
Anybody who is familiar with the Juvie Boys and who knows klops will tell you that their strength lies in their singpak.
So you know, if they manage to pick up a few items on day one, then they will win the carnival, it’s a done deal.
The Juvie management is quite aware of this, hence they do not shy away from sacrificing a klopse jol trophy or a best board trophy in order to get the big prize.
FIGHT: Baruch Entertainers in Best Band item. Photo: Jack Lestrade
And the proof is in the pudding of the team’s seven first prizes, the singpak won three; both the English and Afrikaans Combine, and the Group Song.
They also got two-second prizes for their Comic/Moppie Song.
The Juvie singpak contributed a total of 41 points to their team. This is a massive tally because that alone is enough to win a carnival.
Head coach Ameer Williams is now on par with his predecessor, Boeta Boy, with the win of the two combines, proving why he was the best choice for the job; this guy is simply a genius.
The Juvie Boys owned the group song item this year.
In my opinion, it was the best executed group song of the season, from the gimmicks to the singing.
But then again, this troupe tends to create group songs that one wants to watch and listen to over and over.
I think that should be the aim for all creatives and coaches: look at your item and ask yourself, will you watch this over and over again, even if it meant you had to spend your last one hundred megabytes on it?
If the answer is yes then you know you have a potential winner.
Another thing that I also loved about this season is the friendly rivalry of the troupes, and how they call each other out during their performances.
It started with D6 Raw, who, when they were done with their Afrikaans Comic, the leadsinger said: “Phone die law”, which is their way of saying, we know we were good, the only people that can stop us from winning is the police.
This is equivalent to a rapper dropping the mic.
Then the All Stars at the completion of their English Moppie said: “We come for you like thunder, bru”.
KAPIT UIT: Kensington All Stars haal uit to the judges. Photo: Jack Lestrade
The Baruch Entertainers then replied by adding to their group song: “Thunder thunder lightning and the thunder”, with choreography that said, we will come through the thunder, we will fight our way through.
This is a new thing in klops, but it is quite clever and to me showcases the confidence of the teams.
The Juvie Boys’ last item of the season was their group song, and continuing with the thunder theme, added the words, “you’re gonna hear me roar”.
These are all subtle jabs at their opponents done in a non-offensive manner and I simply love it. D6 Raw deserves the credit for creating this friendly rivalry, and because in their anthem they took a stab at all the teams, ending it off with “the finest of them all is the D6 Raw”.
PERFORM: Original D6 on stage on the weekend. Photo: Jack Lestrade
For me it was thrilling to see how the Facebook banter filtered into the on-stage performances. I just hope the teams will continue to keep it clean.
I also want to give a huge congratulations to the Woodstock Starlites for winning the Afrikaans Moppie, and to the Kensington All Stars for winning the English Moppie.
To the KKKA, thank you for all your innovations this season and for delivering a carnival of the highest standard.
We trust you with this culture.
Now we move on to the Malay Choirs competition, starting on Friday at the City Hall.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za