30
« on: March 22, 2024, 10:25:48 AM »
This might not be the best place for this but here it is.
Quick history session Contro. By the way, I shared the same sentiment. .
From 1900s to 1930s Carnival was co opted by the colonial government. The calypsonians use to sing songs that poked and discredited the British government. They were concerned that calypso would open the eyes of the people in Trinidad and reject colonial/British government. To prevent that, the colonial government began to offer monetery gifts and awards to calypsonians, who did not sing about the colonial british government. They encouraged the calypsonians to sing about island life, rum and other things that would not raise the consciousness of the people. They also switched carnival from August to February to coincide with the Christian lent. This is where we get some of these house negros, who don't know their history, saying things like Carnival is French influenced. . Or the belief that Carnival somehow came from Europe and not the Caribbean/Africa.
Fast forward to mid 1960s. Calypso was still the music of the Caribbean. Jamaica as a society had embraced calypso so much that calypsonians were going to Jamaica to perform, make records and so forth. One famous Trinidadian named Lynn Tait showed up in Jamaica for a concert and eventually decided to stay. His stay in Jamaica would reshape music in the Caribbean. This is a very touchy subject for Jamaican who don't know. Lynn Tait laid the foundation for what we have as reggae in the mid late 1960s. Many documentaries about reggae music credit Lynn Tait as the guy who got the wheel moving to create Reggae. In fact in 2010 Portia Simpson commemorated Lynn Tait at a ceremony at the national stadium in Jamaica for being the pioneer to Reggae.
Now to speak to your point about calypso losing popularity because Trinidad became a republic is not that simple and a bit far fetched. Calypso lost its popularity or lost its position from being the music of the Caribbean for 3 main reasons. First it was the rise of Reggae music. Second was the popularity of Bob Marley. Third was the context and political climate in the 70s.
Calypso tried to put a face of on the music like Bob Marley and Reggae. It was a failure. Sparrow is not, and I say this again NOT anywhere near the level of Bob Marley. He will never be. The guy who probably could have been the Bob Marley of Calypso would have been Maestro who died in a car crash. He was young, vibrant and rebellious.
In the late 60s and going into the 70s, many countries in Africa and the Caribbean were ridding themselves of colonialism. The rebellious nature of Reggae music and the message of love is what resonated with people outside of the Caribbean much more than the messages of Calypso. Also Calypso was mainly being written for Caribbean society, way of life and for carnival. This did not fit in with the global audience like Reggae music was.
England and English culture is what gave Reggae music the platform to go global. Reggae music fit in well with the civil unrest that was happening in England in the 70s and 80s.
So brother, Calypso was not penalized because Trinidad became a republic. It's the rise of Reggae, popularity of Bob Marley and the global context that propelled Reggae past Calypso.
Show Posts