GRENADA - One of the major talking points coming out of the recently held Calypso finals at the National Stadium on Sunday (August 09) is the refrain in the song of one of the artistes, Raymond “Beast” Matthew, who happens to be a police officer by profession. This has been a subject of conversation and controversy in homes, on the streets and on call-in programs throughout this week. Before singing his second calypso at the national Stadium, Beast made reference to two Biblical instances where the word ‘ass’ was used - when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the back of an ass and Samson killing 1000 Philistines using the jaw-bone of an ass. He then went into his lyrical rendition in which he identified many high-ranking officials in the country – especially from the Opposition New National Party – suggesting that they “…keep their a** quiet.” The song obviously went down well with a section of the crowd who saw it as being funny and hard-hitting, especially supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration. Many other persons, however, saw the calypso as being very distasteful and contributing towards a growing trend in the country in which persons in positions of authority are frequently disrespected. Many persons are of the view that as an Inspector of Police, he should encourage people to uphold and maintain law and order and promote good moral behavior among all and sundry. The question asked by many is “What will he (Beast) do if, while talking to an ordinary civilian, if he is told to keep his a** quiet?” Some persons are of the view that the judges should have put a premature end to the performance because they have the power to so do if they deem the lyrical content of a song to be defamatory or indecent. In the words of one person, “Depending on who you are, you can get away with murder in this place.” While some persons have registered their disgust, others say that they find nothing wrong with the lyrics of the song, citing that calypso artistes have a ‘poetic license’ of sort and one should look beyond such things and focus on the message that is being brought out in the social commentary - which happened to go down well with the audience. Such is the intensity of the emotions that Beast has ignited with his highly controversial song for 2009. Beast is no stranger to controversy and has been sued at least once by a local editor who felt that his character was unfairly tarnished by the artiste in one of the calypsos he sang some years aback. Raymond ‘Beast’ Matthew placed 2nd in this year’s Calypso finals with 819 points, behind Findlay ‘Scholar’ Jeffery, another hard-hitting calypsonian, who won the Calypso King’s title for 2009 with a total of 834 points.