Kenny J

The story so far.

Written and edited by Smokiller

Kenny J was the stage name of Kenwrick Joseph, a soca parang artist born in San Fernando in 1952. He combined music with a career in the police service, retiring as an Assistant Superintendent of Police. In 1987 he won the Police Calypso Monarch title. At national level he reached the National Calypso Monarch finals four times and finished second in 1990 with "Addicted to Sweet Soca" and "Leave She Alone". His Christmas song "De Paint Brush" became one of the best known soca parang records, and the calypsonian Crazy has named Kenny J among the singers who took up the style. Late in life he appeared in a Ministry of Health advertisement encouraging vaccination. He died of COVID-19 in early 2022 at Augustus Long hospital, leaving four children and ten grandchildren. Crazy paid tribute online, writing that Kenny J would live forever.