| The Evolution Of Calypso |
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Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 4:12 pm
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An Analysis By Michael D. Roberts
Today in 2012 the old Trinidad and Tobago musical art form of calypso has spawned many hybrids and new children in an ongoing evolution. There is some questions around if this unique musical offering is now simply a form of art and not an art form. That is because of the new-age emphasis on an uptempo beat that focuses on the music as opposed to lyrics. So with this controversy in mind I decided to take a stroll back in time so that we understand what is calypso, where it came from and where it is going.
The name “Calypso” can be found in the pages of Greek mythology’s depicting a beautiful demi-god given to a life of idyllic pleasures. But the Caribbean musical art form is perhaps a combination, hybrid or bastardization of many ethnic origins. For example, there is the indigenous Carib Indian word “Carieto,” the French “Carrousseaux,” the Spanish “Calisto” and the West African “Kaiso” that is a corruption of the word “Kaito” that means “Bravo.” In my view the West African name comes closest since the approving shout of “Kaiso!” is still heard when a great calypso is sung and is today used to differentiate between generic calypso dance music and social commentary. The slower, lyrics-dependent calypso is still referred to as “Kaiso.”
Although the first Trinidad calypsonians date back to the eighteenth century, the art form really started to grow and develop at the dawn of the 20thcentury. The early calypsonians sung in Patois (a form of broken French and English) that was gradually replaced by English and comprised of social commentaries on events of the day and community protests against colonialism and oppression. Usually the seriousness of these songs were masked in musical satire and innuendo that only the Black indigenous populations could understand and grasp since the landed gentry considered this Black music as beneath them. Their contempt for early calypso (and calypsonians) was complimented by the local mulatto community who as the bastard progeny of landed whites more readily identified with the colonial master than with their Black kin.
However, Calypso has come a very long way from these early days and reflected, along with its growth and development, the maturity and coming of age of the people who invented the music that is now internationally accepted as a musical art form. So that by the end of the 19thcentury calypso’s evolution had produced several identifiable genres within the original art form. It had already crystallized into a vocal, musical and stylistic representation of the African folk song tradition. In its original form calypso was sung to the musical accompaniment of the African drum ensemble and a chorus. Today calypso’s lyrics run the gamut from simple to complex and musical accompaniment is usually by a professional brass band.
The constant evolution of calypso can also be seen when calypsonian Ras Shorty I began to match up African rhythms with Indian ones in Trinidad and Tobago and perhaps did not know how things would turn out. Noteworthy is the fact that his invention is today considered World Beat music. But Ras Shorty I was not bothered by such considerations. What he really wanted to do was to fuse two kinds of music to produce a newer, more upbeat form of calypso, to compliment the traditional kaiso. The result was Soca - or as Ras Shorty I called it "Soul of Calypso."
Today, Soca music has many trends, sometimes not desernable from its original calypso parent. Indeed, modern soca is not message music, not social commentary, but up-tempo, focused chorus line and pulsating beat. Its music to "jump and wave" by and to dance and party. And it has caught on like wild fire. Bunje Galin, Allison Hinds and Square One, Iwer George and the great maestro, Machel Montano, have been the heavy hitters of modern soca music. And as they churn out hit after hit, calypso's consistent transformation continues unabated, taking the music to even higher heights.
Calypso historians like the Mighty Chalkdust agree that calypso in the Caribbean started somewhere in the 18th century, but it was not until the 20th century that it began to take root and crystallize. This continued right up to the 1960s when calypso, thanks to the technological revolution, assumed a more up-tempo style with the Road March song coming into vogue. The simple, easy bass line of traditional Kaiso was replaced by a more driving beat, giving rise to dance music.
As the times changed, so too did calypso. The birth of Soca, heralded new experiments which helped enrich calypso in general. Older calypsonians like Sparrow, Rose, Duke and others started to produce work in keeping with the winds of change, and added a number of instrument variations to their work which further revolutionized Soca and calypso. In some instances, Soca masters have produced works that hardly resembles the old calypso parent.
For example, the neo-modern music of David Rudder, Grenada's King Ajamu and Montserrat's Arrow, attest to placing the emphasis on beat and delivery, rather than being held captive to the roots of calypso tradition. Their brand of Soca is a mixture of traditional beats co-mingled with elements of popular music all combined to produce an exciting hybrid Soca child.
On the other hand there are a number of Soca off-shoots or trends which further enhances modern calypso in general. Ragga Soca, made popular by Barbadian calypsonian Red Plastic Bag, is a slower, more sensuous from of Soca. That might be because of its reggae roots. Ragga Soca can be a bit bouncy, if the mixture has a reggae dancehall root or more like Kaiso if the beat is not dancehall. But still Ragga Soca is great music to dance to and in recent times it has taken off and becoming more and more popular. Another derivative from Ragga Soca is Ring-Bang Soca, also created by Barbadians and now a standard part of the performing list of popular Bajan bands like Krosfyah.
Trinidad's Rapso is another kind of calypso off-shoot. Developed by Brother Resistance, it is a kind of calypso dub-poetry with the main "instrument" being a bell. There is little musical outlay, with Rapso - a corruption of Rap and Soca - being totally a faster, more verbal version of social and political commentary.
Now gaining in popularity, Chutney Soca is definitely a child of the old calypso daddy. It was created in Trinidad and Tobago by East Indian artists. Chutney Soca is a unique blend of traditional Indian music, including Bhajans - religious songs - fused with soca rythms. Some Chutney Soca purists maintain a pure Indian line with words and elements of the music, but a younger generation of Chutney Soca artists could not care less if the lyrics were in English. Testimony to Chutney Soca's rising popularity is the consistent contribution of Grenada's Tangler (who won the Road March Monarch title in 1997 with a Chutney Soca number called "Bhaji Bhag") who produces at least two Chutney Soca hits each year.
Calypso has come along way and it is quite conceivable that this Caribbean musical art form will under go other evolutions, as new, pioneering artists experiment and add other ingredients to calypso. For the purists and traditionalists that is still sacrilege. They grudgingly accepted the modern Soca dancehall trends as part of calypso. True, there is a singular monotonous quality to the music and the absolutely worn out "get something and wave" and umpteen variations of the "wave syndrome," give calypso purists some justification for believing that people like Machel Montano and HD are guilty of butchering the art form.
But it is as if the purists cannot be pleased, because they criticize calypsonians like David Rudder for making calypso to much like pop music or R&B. One concedes that they do have a point when it comes to maintaining musical identity. Still, there is no hard and fast rule concerning calypso and even though a lot of resistance came with changes in calypso, they were eventually accepted.
And calypso is interpreted by singers from various Caribbean islands in keeping with their understanding of it and by the influence of social mores and historical determinants. Thus, while calypso is an Emglish Caribbean standard, local social influence colors the kind of calypso produced. For example, in St. Lucia and Dominica, where French patois is widely spoken, the unmistakable beat of Zouk and Cadance has found its way into calypsos coming out of these islands.
Nonetheless, whatever the ingredient, no matter what the outcome, calypso music is an integral part of carnival and the masses will just have to adjust to the process of continued evolution in calypso.
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