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.Where is rapso?
Published: Tue, 2011-02-22 18:38
Bobie-lee Dixon
Rapso founder and icon Brother Resistance (Lutalo Masimba). The term rapso first appeared in 1980 on Busting Out, an album by Brother Resistance (Lutalo Masimba) and his Network Riddum Band. But the genre was said to have been developed by the late Lancelot Layne with Blow Away in 1971. Rapso music, as explained by Resistance, is the poetry of calypso and the consciousness of soca. “Rapso music was formed out of the spoken word. From the days of the Midnight Robber, the Chantwell and the Griot,” he said. Since the creation of this genre, it has been infused with soul and reggae music. The art form during the 70s, 80s and early 90s was one of the most prevalent expressions of music, and attracted young artistes like Homefront, Kindred, Ozzy Magic, and 3Canal, to name a few. The extraordinary sound was also recognised and appreciated in London and the UK. However, the music that once was very popular, is now struggling to maintain it’s position in the country’s greatest cultural festival—Carnival.
Each year the rapso community celebrates Rapso Explosion one week before Carnival at the Nalis Amphitheatre in Port-of-Spain. The event has been running for the past 14 years, and is the Carnival showcase of the oral tradition. Some of the activities include new releases within the vein of rapso, story telling, and guest performances by the established rapso artistes. “We are doing our thing still. Brother Resistance is at Kaiso House, sister Ava is there, Karega Mandela is at the Kaiso Karavan at La Joya, and 3Canal has a rapso show for more than five years in running at Queen’s Hall each year around Carnival time,” said Resistance.
He added that over the years the radio had not been kind to rapso artiste, but said they didn’t gripe about it because they were not alone, as steelpan and social commentary had also been neglected. “It is a sad time for the ‘rootical’ sounds of T&T. For whatever reason these radio stations believe the only music relevant to Carnival are the jump and wave and jam and wine tunes—soca. This is not so, Carnival is a story,” he said. “NCC (National Carnival Committee) needs to take a more proactive approach in preserving and strengthening the origins of Carnival. There is need for support structures to be put in place for our Midnight Robbers, Chantwells, Pierrot Grenades and the Griot. “These characters are part of the foundation of Carnival. If their profiles remained lifted in the public, our young ones would understand and appreciate the origins of Carnival, and have a better knowledge of their roots,” he said.
Resistance said while the rapso community have not yet secured the radio license for which it had applied three years ago, it had not given up and would not give up until it had achieved its goal. The frequency, he said, was to be solely dedicated to the art form. “We are also in the process of creating a Web site to market rapso music to the wider world. We have roads shows, where we go into communities to keep the art form alive. We also make sure young rapso artistes songs are recorded, even if these songs are not played on radio. “We are doing the best we can to preserve rapso music and we are thankful for the assistance the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs (Now the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism) have given us over the years, but there is a lot more to be done,” he lamented.
Ed note: The annual 3Canal show is currently running at The Little Carib Theatre, located at the corner of White and Roberts Streets, Woodbrook.
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