Tony Rakhal-Fraser
My colleague and friend, outstanding television journalist Neil Giuseppi (retired) in a Facebook post announced to the national community the “death of calypso”. One response by another “Facebooker” to Neil was to the effect: “stale news, calypso died some time ago”.
My thought was don’t be too quick to lay this venerable citizen in the ground, as there are a few visible stirrings in calypso’s very close relative, soca, which can serve to reinfuse its older and more venerable cousin with vigour, and a reason to keep fighting for survival.
Over the last approximately three years, there have been a half dozen soca pieces which compare quite favourably with the best of the genre created in the 1970s when Shorty, Merchant, Maestro paraded calypso’s most rhythmic and popular form.
Amongst the “new” artistes, composers and performers: MX Prime and the Ultimate Rejects—“We Jammin Still”; 2018 was declared the “Year for Love” by Voice, a beautiful melody with meaningful lyrics which Renegades won the Panorama with. Kees has this year followed a couple of melodious pieces over the period—Exodus controversially dropped Super Blue for Kees’ Savannah Grass, it must have some melody and space for arrangement for Pelham Goddard to believe he can produce a winning Panorama arrangement in two weeks–that must also say something about the quality of players in the band; but that’s another story for another column—the amazing skills of today’s players.
Super Blue had a revival year, 2013; his Fantastic Friday reminded us of the Blue Boy who came up from Point in 1980 and blew the town apart with his Soca Baptist melody and characterisation of the Shouters. There have been a few other authentic soca pieces containing melody, unforced rhythm with great storylines and colourful language representative of the multifaceted character of calypso/soca.
In 2019, Nadia Batson has demonstrated her outstanding capacity as composer/singer; Hookin Meh and So Long have outstanding melodies and storylines that have captured the spirit of the Carnival, and have been easily interpreted by both the sophisticated “big band arrangers” and original small bands such as Tripoli with uncomplicated sweet melodic lines emanating from the pans. Tripoli’s version is the kind enjoyed on the J'Ouvert morning jams of the 1950s and 60s; then when masqueraders easily submitted to the jam. These are a few of the vital signs that give hope that rigor mortis has not yet set in the calypso/soca of the age, notwithstanding the deep wounds in the body of the art form.
However, I agree that excluding a few of the quality true, true calypsonians and calypsoes still editorialising in quality lyrics, sweet melodies and with the “rapier touch”, the lyrics cutting on both sides like the “doctor shop knife”, traditional calypso has gone dull, boring, monotonous with dirge-like rhythms, which influence calypso aficionados, such as Neil and others, to pronounce on the churching of the dead.
In a large number of the “best” calypsoes selected from the 40 and then 16 sung on Thursday last, there is an absence of melody and tune-full sweetness designed “to turn ah woman body into jelly”. No imaginative creation of storylines with a sting in the tail. Double entendre, clever wordplay, and satire are unknown arts in today’s calypso composition. No memorable recording of the history of ordinary people (Duke).
Creative language found in the vocabulary of ordinary people in their interaction with each other has been replaced by long boring discourses that sound more like imitation academic essays.
Humour in calypso has been extinguished by the crassness in the society and the sucking out of the joy and laughter that Chalkdust once said was necessary for survival in this place.
Winsford Devine is a composer who draws inspiration from the “ground”; Merchant and Piggy Joseph were similarly anchored.
The composers and singers of today have concluded that calypsoes for the “Big Yard” have to be laboured droning verse and chorus empty of humour, wit and cleverness and enchanting melody.
Stalin, Valentino, Superior, Brigo and others have talked about the finishing schools of Spoiler and Kitchener and others who passed on to them critical information about composing, styling and the art of finishing the calypso.
We too often leave behind our best traditions and adopt methods and processes without a history to them; we need to return, as Rio once suggested: “Back to Basics”.