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Heeralal Rampartap is an Indo-Trinidadian chutney musician. He has repeatedly produced hits and has won numerous awards both locally and internationally. He is a three-time International Chutney Soca Monarch — in 1997, 2003 and 2005 — and the National Chutney Monarch of 2002 and 2003. He has also taken first place in the Indian Cultural Pageant for three consectutive years and won the first Tuco Chutney Monarch in 2005 followed by two further wins in 2006 and 2007. He received the National Humming Bird Silver Medal for Culture in Trinidad and Tobago in 2005. Indo-Trinidadians are people of South Asian descent who are citizens or nationals of Trinidad and Tobago. ...
Chutney music is a form of music indigenous to the southern Caribbean (primarily Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname) which derives elements from soca and Indian filmi songs. ...
Rampartap has produced hits such as "Chutney Posse," "Basmatee," "Balama wa ray," "Chutney Kirkatay," "Run for meh life," "Dai meh family," "I'm a Trini" and several others. He has done several social commentaries which have been well received. In his 2005 hit "Treat Yuh Woman Nice", he gives advice to men on balancing gender roles and treating women with respect. Rampartap also performs religious songs and recently produced a bhajan album with his band, Shakti - D Mash Up Crew. Among the performers in his band are the National Chutney Drummer of 2006, Sudesh Ramnarine, as well as Mastana Bahar finalists Anirudh Narine, Parbatee Samaroo and Boyie Rampaul. A bhajan or kirtan is basically a Hindu or Sikh devotional song, often of ancient origin. ...
D Hero, as Rampartap is sometimes known, has a wife, son, and daughter. His daughter Shakti has written most of his winning compostions, the others being written by his wife. Shakti is becoming widely popular as she follows in the footsteps of her father. His son enjoys doing rhythms. |