President Anthony Carmona says calypso must remain a potent, transformational and relevant force to ensure its perennial rightful place in the country's culture and the world at large.
He made the statement during his address on Saturday at the 29th Annual "Top 20" Stars of Gold and Calypso of the Year Awards hosted by the National Action Cultural Committee (NACC) at the Central Bank Auditorium, Eric Williams Financial Plaza, Port-of-Spain.
Carmona said the calypsonians of the past were international, not because of rhythm only but because their subject matter was international.
He said that the artform has evolved and the content is now becoming too culturally focused and is not as far reaching or internationally understood as it was in the past.
"A calypso grounded in a rhythm that is international, will become international but it will be a rare phenomenon for a calypso dealing with a peculiar national issue to be so endowed," he said.
"To give an example of using our cultural persona for mauvais langue and gossip with international outreach, skilfully done was that genius of a song Phillip My Dear by Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow. In this calypso, a man had broken into Buckingham Palace and it was alleged that he had entered the Queen's bedroom," he said.
Carmona said he is about conscious music in calypso and its important role in arresting injustice and being a catalyst for the required changes in society. "The cry for justice is often reflected in the chant lines of the calypsonian. It is a regional thing," he said.
As a calypsonian himself and still a composer of calypso, Carmona said the honour and privilege is his to be in the company of "the vanguard movement" called the National Action Cultural Committee who, he said, fight tirelessly and selflessly to preserve the artform in its purest manifestation.
