Drupatee Ramgoonai

Who is Drupatee Ramgoonai?

Drupatee Ramgoonai is a Trinidadian chutney and chutney soca musician from Sunrees Road Charlo Village Penal. She had her biggest hit in 1988 when her " Mr. Bissessar" was a Road March contender.

Drupatee Ramgoonai was born in Penal, Trinidad on March 2, 1945. She started singing alongside her mother and in the temples at a young age then went on to learn Classical singing at the feet of her trainer Ustad James Ramsewak, a veteran in the field. She also gained exposure on Mastana Bahar, the Indian Cultural Pageant, winning the local song category in 1983 and 1984. Her repertoire back then included local classical, bhajans, local songs and film songs. She also had some formal vocal training in Indian Classical music from classes under the acclaimed Professor Adesh.

Ramgoonai recorded her first crossover tune in 1987, entitled "Chutney Soca", and gained moderate success in the calypso tents. The following year she had her mega hit "Mr Bissessar", which brought her international acclaim and served as the nursery for this genre of music called chutney soca, resulting in a commercial market being created for this type of music as well. She was consistent for many years with hits such as "Pepper", "Hotter Than a Chulha", "Careless Driver", "Motilal", "Tassawalley", and "Manzalina" and even the monster hit "Real Unity" with Machel Montano. Her more recent contributions include "Mohana bina Gowna", "Doh Beat Yuh Wife", "Parosin Maco-ing", "D Wedding Song", "Chutney Soca Wine", and "Violin".