Nermal “Massive” Gosein started out in the entertainment world as a dholak player in the early 1980s, accompanying some of Trinidad and Tobago’s East Indian classical singing icons from that era at farewell nights, shows and other events.
Gosein could clearly see that music was changing, and he quickly developed a unique chutney style on the dholak that continues to inspire a lot of the young generation of dholak players to this day.
He has played in over 400 recordings with artistes such as Sonny Mann (“Lotayla”), Sam Boodram (“Lalana Khoose”), Sookraj Indar, Boodram Holass, Anand and Rakesh Yankaran, Kawal Maharaj, Sampson Radhay, Suriname’s Kries Ramkhelawan, Lalchan “Rafi” Singh, Latchmin Mohan, Pearly Rambalie, Jairam Dindial, Zaid Hosein and Boyie Basdeo, to name a few .
Massive accompanied artistes at all the major chutney competitions such as Mastana Bahar, the Mastana Bahar Cultural Pageant and the Chutney Soca Monarch competition (where he won the drumming competition on five different occasions and was asked to either bow out no longer be judged for my drumming).
Massive was a dholak player with several Ramayan groups, including the Spring Village Ramayan Group, led by Massive’s late mom, Sumintra Bhola Maraj, and his mother’s brother, the late classical singing icon, Kawal Maharaj; Bamboo Village Ramayan Group; St. Augustine Ramayan Group; and Cooperative St. Ramayan Group.
He is an extraordinary cultural icon, promoter, composer/writer, musician, and first Indo-Trinidadian artiste to take on the ruling People’s National Movement’s (PNM’s) calypsonians on their own stage.
He also created history by opening Trinidad and Tobago’s first and only MULTICULTURAL Roving Chutney Calypso Comedy Tent absolutely free to the public.
He is the only artiste to have gone down in T&T’s history by making sixteen consecutive days of headline news with his mega hit entitled “Rowlee Mudda Count”.
SEE Video:
Please send your letters, articles, photos and short videos to this free online Indo-Caribbean paper: media@indo-caribbean.com
Discussion about this post