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SKN TIMES COMMENTARY

In the 1970s and ’80s, St. Kitts and Nevis was a dot on the world map—the smallest of the Caribbean territories and, by 1983, the smallest independent nation on Earth. Back then, the twin-island federation was virtually unknown internationally. Aside from the tragic 1970 Christena Disaster, we had no global claim to fame, no viral identity, and very few household names outside our borders.

That is—except for one.

While many in the region had never heard of St. Kitts and Nevis, they knew one name. From the Lesser Antilles to North America, one man carried our nation’s identity on his shoulders with brass, brilliance, and blistering talent:
Elston “Ellie Matt” Nero, the musical mastermind behind the legendary Ellie Matt and the GI’s Brass International.

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THE MAN WHO PUT ST. KITTS ON THE MAP

Long before social media influencers and festival deals, before million-dollar stage fees and high-level ambassadors, there was Ellie Matt—our first truly global cultural export. In an era when students attending UWI in Jamaica and Trinidad were asked, “Where’s St. Kitts?”, Ellie Matt’s name and sound were already ringing out in airwaves and dancehalls across the diaspora.

While our political leaders—heroes like Bradshaw and Southwell—were barely known outside the Eastern Caribbean, Ellie Matt was repping St. Kitts on global stages, performing alongside musical giants like Sparrow, Kitchener, and Calypso Rose. His band won the Caribbean Brass-O-Rama in 1973. He composed over 100 songs, won 10 Calypso Monarch titles, 7 Road Marches, and was awarded the Medal of Honour and Companion of the Star of Merit.
His unofficial anthem “I Love St. Kitts – Viva!” became a source of national pride and identity.

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YET TODAY… WHERE IS HE?

Now, in 2025, King Ellie Matt is clinging to life in a Florida nursing home. He is undergoing grueling dialysis three times a week, weakened by illness, surviving far from home—mostly forgotten by the country he gave so much to.

Successive governments have offered fine words and ceremonial medals, but when it comes to tangible, life-saving support?

Silence.

To date, there has been no comprehensive state-funded assistance, no cultural pension, no national trust support, no ambassadorial title with a stipend. In a cruel twist of irony, the current administration recently awarded a $10,000/month ambassadorial role to a young artiste—while Ellie Matt, the man who gave us the soundtrack of our national identity, is left battling for life with no such help.

It’s heartbreaking.
It’s shameful.
And it’s wrong.

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DON’T WAIT TO PRAISE HIM IN DEATH. HELP HIM IN LIFE.

We’ve seen this script before—the belated tributes, the “state funerals,” the promises of statues after the fact. But this time, let’s change the ending. Let’s honour Ellie Matt not with flowers on a casket, but with real, life-affirming assistance while he’s still here to receive it.

Let us not become a nation that only remembers its heroes when they’re no longer alive to hear the applause.

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THE FINAL APPEAL

This is not just a call to government. This is a call to the entire nation, the entertainment industry, the cultural community, the diaspora, and every Kittitian and Nevisian with a sense of pride and memory.

Let us rally behind our King of Calypso. Let us give back to the man who gave us so much joy, recognition, and national pride.

A National Cultural Stipend, urgent medical assistance, and meaningful recognition must be extended now—not posthumously.

We owe Ellie Matt not just our praise but our action.

Let this commentary be the spark that ignites that action—before it’s too late.