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“Soca was the goal, soca was the end-all,” Nicholas Quinn, brother of Ricardo Drue, said at the funeral of the late soca artiste on January 9.
At the Holy Family Cathedral, Michael’s Mount, St John’s, Antigua, family, friends, fellow artistes and well-wishers gathered to say goodbye to the well-loved entertainer, 38, who died on December 12. The funeral, which began at 1 pm and ended at 3.50, was streamed live on ABS TV Antigua from 12.30 pm.
As family members wiped the tears from each other’s faces, fans in the Caribbean and the world shared their support on the livestream, sending encouraging words to his family, friends and soca artiste Patrice Roberts.
Fans from Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Bahamas, Guyana, Florida and St Kitts and Nevis, among other places, digitally said their goodbyes to the Vagabond and Professional singer and consoled Roberts, whose relationship with the singer was well-known. The two were engaged in July 2022 at his popular Druesday concert.
Drue was remembered for the immense love he had for his children and his family in the many tributes delivered by people like Gamal “Skinny Fabulous” Doyle, Teddyson John and Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Education, Sport and Creative Industries Daryll Matthew. Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne did a scripture reading.
His mother, television personality Nicola Barriteau, Roberts, his children, and other immediate family supported each other throughout the service.
Barriteau, her brother Harold and Drue’s brother Quinn, and Drue’s sons gave the eulogy. His sons remembered the time he would spend encouraging them, guiding them into areas like basketball.
Barriteau said one word that stood out from all of the tributes was humility.
As if speaking directly to her son, Barriteau said at the start of her eulogy, “Ricardo, you were loved. Just as you were loved coming in, so you are loved going out.
“Ricardo, you never stopped giving up. You were always on to the next, always ahead.”
Barriteau said the music industry never saw him coming and when they did, the “real ones, the day ones” embraced him.
[caption id="attachment_1055383" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Patrice Roberts - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
Naysayers and haters resorted to plan A, B, C and D but failed.
She loved his determination.
She recalled him standing at their home in Cocoyea, where he would impersonate popular artistes like Michael Jackson, Machel Montano and Edwin Yearwood.
A pot spoon was his microphone, Quinn was his back-up singer and his audience was baby Antonio.
“Even then, Ricardo, you were persistent, consistent and focused. You loved hard, you played hard, you cried quietly.”
Barriteau said she felt it was a movie, where even though the hero passes on, he still saved the day, leaving unforgettable memories and good times.“You were and are a good father, Rick. You loved those boys…and when Lilly came you felt complete because you had four princes and a princess,” she said.
She said she could not begin to tell him how her heart broke, how it shattered, even, but she could hear him saying to her, “Mother, get it together. Don’t cry, because you know you will look like Morticia from the Addams Family.’”
She said the mothers of his children were all in the same space just for him, which drew laughter from those gathered.
“They are all in the same space. You are probably smiling and saying, ‘Wow, I did that,’” she said, which made the mourners chuckle again.
The stage was his home and she hoped the eternal stage he was performing on filled his soul with immense joy, Barriteau said as she ended the eulogy.
Skinny Fabulous recalled Drue’s uncanny ability to discern people’s energy and to know exactly when to be a friend.
He said he would receive random phone calls and advice from Drue that was always spot on, giving him what he needed to hear at the time.
“He had a gift for showing care, empathy and support. But you did not even know you needed that support,” Skinny Fabulous said.
He recalled seeing Drue with his daughter Lilly and Drue randomly told him that their absence from their families was sometimes painful, and they would get licks for it, but once they showed their children love, that was the type of love they would never question.
“Maybe other adults would, but as long as you do right by your kids and show them love, they will always remember and know that you were there for them. And he gave me that piece of speech just after I get a serious cuss-out from my baby mother, eh,” Skinny Fabulous said.
Destra Garcia sang His Eye is on the Sparrow in tribute, while the Drue World Order (DWO) dancers did a tribute piece as she sang.
 
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