Niki is BIG ENUFF
December 01, 2001
After an absence of three seasons from the Carnival novelty-song circuit, Nikki Crosby is back and with requisite flourish, as evidenced in her 2002 offering "Big Enuff".
Written by former 96.1 FM jock Third Base (who has also established a musical presence in the Carnival mix) "Big Enuff" is a laugh-riot, perfectly executed by top-drawer comedienne Crosby.
And "Big Enuff" happened quite by chance. Speaking to the Express, Crosby related the events leading up to her recording of the song. "Actually, I wasn't going to do that kind of thing anymore," she admitted, "but 'taking basket' from friends who kept asking for a little something, I finally gave in."
Indeed, it makes for an even more hectic Carnival time for Crosby, who is co-producer of the Maljo Humorous Tent, co-host of Morning Drive-Time on 96.1 FM and sole presenter of a TV-6 Morning Edition vignette called On The Promenade, now in its fourth season.
With the possibility of appearances at soca fetes after working at the tent, then getting to the radio station for sign-on, dashing down to TV-6, then back to 96.1 FM, Carnival for Nikki is robbed of some of the fun associated with normal show-business routines.
"Its part of the reason I wasn't sure about doing doing a tune this year," she said. "People were bringing songs all the time and I kept refusing them, until Third Base came up with 'Big Enuff' and let me tell you, he did it overnight, from concept to finished product.
"I liked it the minute he presented the song, because it is so absolutely clever. Straightaway I went to Sanell Dempster's husband, Terry, who has arranged music for me in the past and asked him to work on it. He liked it too and the project was off and running. When I took the finished product to the guys at 96.1 they liked it and began airing it immediately," she said.
It was a welcome Crosby didn't quite expect, even with her brimming confidence in the piece. "Big Enuff" comes after a string of novelties she has delivered over the years, including "Bony Bony", "Yeah, Right", "I in Dat" and "Ah Learn to Wine".
It would be awkward if she repeated her success of 1996 when, as a member of Calypso Spektakula, she was crowned Best Female Artiste for "Bony, Bony" beating a number of famous names in the business. "But I'm not quite ready for a Greatest Hits yet," she said with a hearty chuckle.
Crosby has hardly been idle in the interim between her last success and "Big Enuff". She has done a lot of work in the theatre, her role last year in De Vices coming to police attention on opening night when, in following the script, an officer in the audience threatened her with arrest for some of the language the play contained.
This year, theatre commitments have encroached on her normal travel schedule to the various North American Carnivals. She appeared in Rated X and Weekend Comedy as back-to-back productions.
Currently involved in preparation for the opening of Maljo, Crosby and co-producer Errol Fabien have been conducting Saturday workshops on location and she has been deep in the management of the project, leaning on her business degree from Windsor University.
"I suppose its not as difficult as if my primary motive was to win the national calypso monarch crown," she said. "This is big enough for me. I'm in it for the fun and I have dedicated 'Big Enuff' to my uncle Earl (Crosby) because of the amount of support I received from him over the years." The song appears on Uncle Earl's compilation disc Strictly Soca 2002.
"Its just two verses and a long chorus, so its also not a lot to remember, given the amount of other stuff I have to keep in my head for the tent, the radio show and television slot. Happily, I never advertised myself as a singer, so people don't expect the extraordinary in that area either," she said.
"In fact, I describe my singing as rapso-dee, because it is a combination of speaking and singing. At least, that is how I feel it comes out. Nikki is not big on social commentary and there is very little chance I'll be breaking into opera soon."
Parading a talent family members say has been with her from birth, Nikki spent her early years imitating relatives, then people in the street and eventually summoning up the gumption to go onstage and strut her stuff. Her brief stint as a pannist in high school ended with graduation.
"I enjoy trying new approaches to entertainment and I certainly hope the people who hear 'Big Enuff' get as much of a chuckle out of it as I do," she said.
Nikki's song
BIG ENUFF
Verse One:
The man was looking good
The man was feeling fgood
I didn't think he would
But somehow I knew he could
So I gave him a chance
When he asked me for a dance
But in the first instance
The man start to prance
Chorus:
I have something for you (repeat—four times)
But boy your flag ain't big enough
Yuh flag ain't long enough,
Hard enough, bad enough
Stiff enough, high enough,
Wide enough …and it ain't looking too tough
To jump in the party
Wave in the party,
Get on in the party
Verse Two:
He start to realise
Ah talking 'bout de size
Still that not stoppin' he
From coming hard at me
He tell me "No! At all!
Is not that the flag too small
But on the contrary
Is a real big party."
Repeat chorus and fade.
(reproduced by consent of Nikki Crosby)
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