Kenyo Baly
By Marvin Hokstam
AMSTERDAM--When Dutch King Willem-Alexander officiates the opening of the roving memorial “Reflecting on COVID” in the province of North Brabant this Friday, one face will stand out on stage: that of St. Maarten singer Kenyo Baly.
The charismatic 27-year-old performer with the velvet baritone will be singing a cover of Adele’s “Hometown Glory”.
“I feel a sense of pride to be asked and to be able to contribute to such an honourable event,” Kenyo said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Herald over the weekend. “Being a representative of St. Maarten and the wider Caribbean … it fills me with a sense of happiness that I can do this with my gift. I am going to sing and project, and show that sense of patriotism that we share here, in the spirit of unity that this event stands for; in the spirit of healing through music.”
Roving exhibition
In the roving exhibition “Reflecting on COVID”, which opens at North Brabant’s Provincial House on Friday, some 40 residents of the Dutch Kingdom will look back on those who left an impression on them during the pandemic.
A Kingdom Information Service press release explained that the expo is an initiative of the Dutch Cabinet to look back on the consequences that the COVID-19 crisis has had on society.
The exhibition is organised by the National Committee to Reflect on Corona, which is chaired by Arno Brok, the King's Commissioner in the Province of Friesland.
“The corona pandemic was the greatest crisis in the Kingdom of the past 75 years. Corona affected everyone in a different way. There was solidarity, gratitude, and love, but also loneliness, fear, and anger. The 40 stories listed in the exhibition are accompanied by photos from the corona years. Each person interviewed is asked one central question: Who do you think about in relation to COVID?” the press release stated.
After its opening on Friday, the exhibition will travel to various provinces. The intention is for the exhibition to also reach the Dutch Caribbean islands. The opening of that exhibition will be conducted by the Chairman of the National Committee when he travels to the islands later this year.
Friday’s opening ceremony in North Brabant is framed with stories, music, dance, and an official moment of reflection. Dutch broadcaster NOS will stream the programme live, including in the Dutch Caribbean islands.
Kenyo was approached to be part of the opening ceremony’s programme, as the exhibition explicitly set out to be as inclusive as possible. The 40 stories in the exhibition include those from several ethnic communities, as well as from the Dutch Caribbean.
Kenyo considers it an honour.
“I have been singing as long as I can remember. Music was always prominent in our house. Apostle Romney from the Christian assembly in La Savane in St. Martin is my great-uncle. My grandmother and everybody in my family were always singing in church. My mom sang in a choir and my dad was a musician. So, basically, I started right out of kindergarten. That’s when I fell in love with singing. It was inevitable that I would make it my profession,” he said.
A singer from jump
Born on the Dutch side and raised on French side, Kenyo is fluent in both languages that are predominantly spoken on the island.
He took part in singing competitions from a young age, but it was when he relocated to New York in 2011, at 15 years old, to live with his aunt, that he started winning.
“I attended Uniondale High School, where they have a good music programme. After I sang for the director … within three months we made national news when FOX 5 news came to interview the choir,” he said.
Kenyo returned to St. Maarten in 2013 and enrolled at Learning Unlimited Preparatory School. There is where he started and directed the school choir that won the local “Interscholastic Idols” singing competition, while he also won as a single performance act.
Before that, he won the Teen Times talent competition and the TelCell breakthrough competition. Then he returned to New York in 2014 to finish high school and become the first black male lead vocalist to win the FAME Show Choir competition at Lincoln Center Theater in Manhattan.
“After I graduated in 2014, I went professional. I worked with the producer ‘Jus D’ from Barbados, created my first few soca songs, with which I entered the Soca Rumble Carnival Competition in St. Maarten in 2017. I won in the Groovy category with the song ‘Who Yuh Fuh’. That is my biggest single to date,” Kenyo said.
Kenyo went on to win the carnival title the following year with the song “Infront Ah Me”, and, in 2019, he competed in the soca competition for the last time, ending as first runner-up in the Groovy category.
“Then I started diving into other genres. I was kind of over the soca genre. I wanted to broaden my horizon, so I tried out different producers. I went back to Barbados, travelled throughout the world, went through different hurdles to come back to where I am now, in a good scene that I am confident with,” Kenyo said.
He said that he is dabbling in different styles, perfecting and honing his songwriting skills.
“I am now into a genre that I call Afro-soul. That sound of the Caribbean and soul music that is undoubtedly influenced by Africa has always been out there. But I am making it mine, as I am influenced by Caribbean music and soul is in my voice. I put those two genres together. Afro-soul is out there, and I am owning it,” Kenyo said.
He added that he will show how much he owns it when his next single, entitled “IBD1” comes out next month.
“It’s on an EP that I have been working on for the past two years. It will contain six to seven songs, all with a mature sound. It’s different from what people are used to from me. I have had experiences in life, in love, with family. This EP is me telling my story, about finding myself. It’s almost like a journal,” Kenyo said.
Unity
Kenyo said being in the line-up of the opening ceremony of the “Reflecting on COVID” exhibition is in line with the evolution of his artistry.
When he was approached, the initial intention was for him to be streamed live, singing from St. Maarten, but he took the initiative to be present at the opening.
“That felt so much better to share my gift at this event that has such an honourable concept. It is also why I chose to sing ‘Hometown Glory’ by Adele. It fits in the theme of reflecting on the life experiences we have all had during COVID. It’s a song about coming back, about that sentiment of missing a part of you. Touches a lot of topics,” he said.
Kenyo had his own reflections on COVID. “We’ve all been affected by the pandemic. Many of us have lost loved ones,” he said.
He recalled being stuck in London, England, for six months when airports all around the world were closed during COVID lockdowns.
“It was hard being in a place that I wasn’t used to. I caught COVID when I was there. It makes me appreciate being able to share my talents and being in touch with people. Being able to travel,” Kenyo said.
“Representing our people at this event makes me feel a sense of pride and a sense of responsibility. The experience of COVID was unique for people all over and we all share a similarity in the loss, grief, suffering we experience. And there is another side of the uniqueness. In 2017, we went through Hurricane Irma in St. Maarten and, by 2019, we were still recovering from that; we’re still recovering. And then we went through COVID.”
He said that COVID had exposed a spirit of togetherness in St. Martin/St. Maarten.
“As we have done after hurricanes hit us, we came together as a people. We are one island with two nations, Dutch side and French side, but people have always been able to cross the borders because we are one people with family and friends on both sides.
“And then the government decided to close the borders during COVID. For a brief period, we needed to have a pass to go from one side to the next. It was a sad moment, and we could not live that way. So we got our island back by fighting for it. There were demonstrations. We held a unity march and the ban on travelling on our island was lifted,” he said.
He said that performing in the Netherlands will reinforce the island’s resilience. “That’s the message I am bringing. I am coming with a mind of resilience and a message of overcoming. A message of unity.”
