Covid19 changes Adesh Samaroo's course

Family and business ventures have been the focus of chutney soca singer Adesh Samaroo.

Like many other entertainers, he said the covid19 pandemic hit hard and while he received the $5,000 self-help grant offered by the government, the economic impact of the pandemic forced him to rethink and restructure his livelihood.

Not dismissing music and singing entirely, he explained the critical need always to have a contingency plan.

“The pandemic has shown that everyone should have a backup plan. Of course, things don’t always go as we intend, and the pandemic has echoed that.

“The entertainment industry got the worst blow, and second was the bars – and I’m in both. So there was a lot of restructuring and prioritising.

"It was then I really saw the need and realised the difficult decisions had to be made. My family and I survived from our savings.”

Samaroo is renovating his bar, Adesh Members Club and Bar in El Dorado, and also acquiring two similar establishments elsewhere. He is also the owner of Adesh Samaroo Maintenance Company.

But he said the recovery process has been slow as it was difficult to invest heavily in the projects because of the economic downturn.

Samaroo said he has not been recording over the last few years because of his commitment to his business and family, and since most of his gigs took place outside Trinidad and Tobago and travel was restricted, he chose to invest his time here.

“My priority is being a good husband and father by a good example for them, taking care of them, being there for them and teaching them.”

He lives with his wife and three children, four, five and 12.

Samaroo’s latest stint has been in several episodes of Nah, a comedy production put on by Southex, which involved many local entertainers. He said he did not see his role in the project as a shift in career, but enjoyed making people laugh.

“That’s just me, and I love to make people laugh. I appreciate the way other artistes grabbed at the idea, and the positive feedback from the public. The show is great.

But, he said, "I don’t think I'd make that my career. Comedy is me every day. Music is my life.”

Samaroo added that while he understood the severity of the covid19 and the negative implications it had on lives, livelihoods and economies, there should be a way by now to coexist with the virus.

“There have been ebola, anthrax, SARS and we’ve all learnt how to protect ourselves and moved on. It is about time we told covid19 we need our lives back.

"Of course we also need to do the right thing to be safe. (But) we can’t continue hiding and locking down, taking away jobs and stifling people. Covid19 doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, we need to learn to live with it.”

Samaroo, 40, took the industry by storm in 2002 with his hits Rum Till I Die, Rajin Jeem Jeem Joom and Caroni Closed Down. Over the years he has released several other well-known songs, but says nothing could match those.

He has a peeve with the Indo-music industry: what he says is the the loss of originality and creativity, which he described as a dissolution and prevented growth.

“The borrowed or stolen Bollywood melodies have become the trend and honestly, I believe it’s a joke. There is no originality to our chutney music any more. I came from an era where music was original and there was exceptional creativity and authenticity.

“Chutney music is not seasonal, and it shouldn't rely on Carnival for the music to be heard and enjoyed. We should not have to wait on Carnival to have a chutney event.”

He called urgently for a change in the local Indo-music industry because he believes it has failed.