Extempo veterans triumph at semifinals

Seven veteran extempo artistes will square off with reigning extempo champ Brian London on Wednesday after earning top spots at the preliminary and semifinal rounds of the National Extempo Competition on Monday night.

The competition began with 22 singers who put their lyrical and creative abilities to the test at Kaiso House at the Queen's Park Savannah. Both rounds saw a mix of veteran performers and newcomers eager to test their ability.

With topics ranging from the outbreak of the coronavirus to the leaking Red House and the importance of personal hygiene, the artistes traded lyrical blows, to the crowd's delight.

Of the original 22, 12 were paired up in the semi-final round as they took jabs at public figures and each other with a dash of picong.

The seven who will face reigning champion Brian London on Wednesday are Myron "Myron B" Bruce, Joseph "Lingo" La Placeliere, Phillip "Black Sage" Murray, Lady Synthax, Winston "Gypsy" Peters, Hezekiah Joseph and Rohan "Fireball" Richards.

Despite earning popular support from the audience with energetic performances, newcomers like Akeem "Preedi" Chance and Jumaane "Juby" Cox failed to qualify for the finals.

During his performance Brian "Lightborn" Ragoobar stunned the judges and the audience as he jumped from the stage and entered the crowd, ignoring his chosen topic and instead using his six minutes to thank the promoters and sponsors.

The seven will face London at the Kaisorama Extempo Championship Final at the Grand Stand, QPS.