Ramajay Mas Unveils “I Am Warrior” for New York Carnival 2014
After winning New York Carnival’s Adult Large Band title in 2013, Ramajay Mas returned in 2014 with something to defend — and a completely new presentation for Eastern Parkway.
The Brooklyn mas band unveiled “I Am Warrior,” a costume concept built around strength, warriors and bold tribal-inspired design. Julianspromos captured the launch with Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosting the coverage while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage.
The launch gave masqueraders an early look at the costumes Ramajay planned to take onto Eastern Parkway for the 2014 West Indian American Day Carnival.
Watch Ramajay Mas “I Am Warrior” 2014
The Julianspromos video was uploaded on June 8, 2014.
Returning as the Band to Beat
Ramajay entered 2014 carrying serious expectations.
The previous year, the band had won the Adult Large Band category with “Reflections of Carnival: Then & Now,” finishing ahead of Sesame Flyers International and Kaios International.
That changed the energy surrounding the next launch.
Ramajay was no longer simply trying to establish itself among Brooklyn’s major mas organizations.
It was coming back as a defending champion.
And “I Am Warrior” was the first look at how the band planned to follow one of its biggest seasons.
“I Am Warrior”
The 2014 presentation moved Ramajay in a very different creative direction.
Instead of looking back at Carnival history as the 2013 presentation had done, “I Am Warrior” drew from imagery connected to warriors, strength, power and battle.
The official 2014 New York Carnival band directory listed Ramajay Mas Inc., led by Reishelle Maynard-Richards, with “I Am Warrior” as its Carnival portrayal.
That larger theme gave individual designers room to create their own interpretations.
Marlon Smart’s “Zulu”
One of the designers working with Ramajay in 2014 was Marlon Smart, who created a section called “Zulu.”
His designs used the larger warrior theme through gold and earth tones, animal-print influences and strong visual elements intended to communicate power. Smart was one of several designers contributing sections to the overall presentation.
His experience in mas stretched well beyond that season. Before joining Ramajay, he had worked with Peter Minshall’s Callaloo Company in Trinidad, Poison, Galvanize Entertainment and Sesame Flyers in New York.
That mix of Trinidad and New York Carnival experience helped give Ramajay a design team familiar with both traditional mas construction and the more contemporary costume styles popular with younger masqueraders.
Vivaa Inside the Ramajay Launch
For Julianspromos, Vivaa guided viewers through the 2014 launch.
The surviving images from the coverage show her on camera with the Julianspromos microphone, connecting viewers with the atmosphere surrounding the costume presentation rather than simply showing the runway by itself.
Behind the camera, Julian C. Hackett filmed and edited the coverage.
By this point, mas-band launches had become an increasingly important part of the Julianspromos New York Carnival archive, documenting Carnival months before the costumes reached Eastern Parkway.
What Happens After the Launch
A band launch shows the polished result.
The work behind the costumes continues long after the presentation ends.
By late summer 2014, Ramajay’s Brooklyn mas camp was still deep in production. The organization operated as a family-centered mas band, with Reishelle Maynard-Richards, her family and designers working on costumes, wire structures, jewels and the large frames needed for more elaborate pieces.
Ramajay’s 2014 camp was listed at 1012 East 92nd Street in Brooklyn, where preparations continued toward Labor Day.
That makes the launch footage even more interesting today.
It captures the moment when months of design and construction were first transformed into a public Carnival presentation.
Mas for More Than One Generation
Ramajay’s 2014 season also reflected a broader conversation happening within New York Carnival.
Veteran designer Percy “Uncle Percie” Maynard argued that bands needed to remain welcoming to older masqueraders as costume styles became increasingly minimal and youth-focused. Ramajay tried to maintain costume options that allowed different generations to feel comfortable participating.
That gave “I Am Warrior” another layer.
The challenge was not simply to create costumes that looked dramatic on a launch stage.
They also had to work for the people who would actually wear them for hours on Eastern Parkway.
From Launch Stage to Eastern Parkway
By Labor Day, “I Am Warrior” was no longer a collection of new costumes being introduced to potential masqueraders.
It was on the road.
Ramajay joined the other adult mas bands participating in the 2014 West Indian American Day Carnival, bringing the warrior-themed presentation onto Eastern Parkway as part of New York’s massive annual Caribbean celebration.
That transformation — from design table, to band launch, to mas camp, to the road — is one of the things that makes Carnival launch footage so valuable years later.
From “WINGS” to “I Am Warrior”
Ramajay’s earlier Julianspromos footage also gives this page a wider story.
In 2012, Julianspromos documented Ramajay’s “WINGS” presentation before it went on to win the Adult Large Band category.
In 2013, Reflections of Carnival: Then & Now brought another major victory.
Then came “I Am Warrior” in 2014.
Viewed together, those seasons show a mas band changing themes, designers and visual direction while continuing to compete at the highest level of New York Carnival.
From the Julianspromos Archives
The Ramajay “I Am Warrior” launch represents another chapter in Julianspromos’ growing documentation of New York Carnival during the early 2010s.
By 2014, the archive was following Carnival well before Labor Day — documenting costume launches, mas bands and the people involved in creating the presentations that would eventually appear on Eastern Parkway.
With Vivaa hosting and Julian C. Hackett shooting and editing, the Ramajay footage preserved more than finished costumes. It captured one stage in the evolution of a band Julianspromos had already been following across multiple Carnival seasons.
That continuity is what gives these archive pages their value today.
You can go back to WINGS in 2012, follow Ramajay through its winning 2013 season, and then watch the band return with “I Am Warrior” in 2014.
Different presentation.
Different costumes.
Same road ahead.
Eastern Parkway.
Event Details
Mas Band: Ramajay Mas Inc.
Presentation: I Am Warrior
Year: 2014
Band Leader: Reishelle Maynard-Richards
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Carnival: West Indian American Day Carnival / New York Carnival
Julianspromos Host: Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson
Video: Shot and edited by Julian C. Hackett
Video Upload Date: June 8, 2014
Archive Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcW2hBneZ5Q
Media: Julianspromos video + surviving photo gallery
