By Raffique Shah
March 08, 2025

This has been a bumper year for Carnival-related cultural art forms. I have no authority, nor do I have any qualifications to intervene in any debate or discussion on how 2025 matches up with 1962, 1964, and so many other occasions when our calypsonians gave us songs that were timeless. I most definitely will steer clear of engaging in any debate with Dr Hollis Liverpool, The Mighty Chalkdust, a calypso legend, four or five times over during his lifetime.

Whatever the differences between Chalkdust, other calypsonians, as well as intellectuals on the subject, “I not going dey.” I’d be a fool to enter that “gayelle”. As a citizen of this country, though, and a verified lover of the art form, I have the right to speak out or write about it—especially so now when young calypsonians burst onto the scene with exciting, melodious songs that have all of us singing and dancing to the lyrics, beats and catchy hook lines and choruses.

As I sat quietly and listened to the Calypso Monarch competition, semi-finals and finals, I found lyrics that stimulated my intellect as well as satiated my taste for beautiful melodies. Having turned the ripe age of 79 on Friday last, I can now safely say the future of calypso does not look as bleak as it once did. Those who made their way to the finals were mostly younger calypsonians, some of whom can be referred to as young veterans on the stage. Among this crop of singers, many have actually had voice training, some have studied music, and yet others are good composers.

At the semi-finals in Skinner Park, I was pleasantly surprised by the high percentage of bards who sang, not lamented or croaked, their lyrics. From the 1960s to the 1980s there were a few classic calypsoes that not only won the big stage, but were also huge hits on the road come Carnival Monday and Tuesday. The most melodic calypso ever sung was Sniper’s “Portrait of Trinidad”. It had lyrics, melody, rhyme, and a message that needs to be reiterated today for the ignoramuses who keep repeating that annoying line: Trinidad is not a real place.

In 1966, I would return home from training at Sandhurst in December, and the taxi I used to take me to Teteron Barracks was playing on its radio: Trinidad is my land and of it I am proud and glad…

I asked the driver the name of the song. He was an Indo-Trinidadian, often seen as not having an interest in calypso or pan. He responded, “Sniper, Sir.” I explained that I had been out for about two and a half years and we spoke a bit more on the topic.

There were many good years for calypso and pan since then. But equally, or maybe inequally, there were bad ones. When Lord Kitchener returned from England circa 1967, and met the Mighty Sparrow, they began a rivalry that seemed to be choreographed. Lord Melody, who had also spent a few years in England, added to the rich level of lyrics and melodies, not to mention the banter. Who can forget Melody calling Sparrow’s wife Belmont Jacka$$ and Sparrow returning and labelling Melody’s wife Madame Dracula? Classics, I tell you.

Sparrow churned out hit after hit, using his melodious voice to captivate and enthral his audiences. He used his talent to dominate the art form, leaving no elbow room for his rivals to climb past him. Then came Winsford Devine. Luckily for calypsonians, Devine was a composer, not a singer, thus he couldn’t be a competitor. Had he a fraction of the voices that brought his compositions to life, and to the stages and screens the world over, he would have been the greatest superstar in calypso. His calypsoes were rich and plentiful.

When his songs and music jammed the dancehalls and airways and rendered them impassable, soca music slipped in. This quicker beat all but displaced calypso. Suddenly the streets and fetes were alive with people waving their flags, rags, hands, spouses, just about anything they were asked to do in the song by an elite that made significant money from local music. Soca went on to dominate the fetes, streets, etc, and has just about displaced calypso from the airwaves altogether.

This year we saw a turn of the tide with younger singers joining the veterans like Karene Asche, Roderick Gordon, and who can forget Ann Marie Parks Kojo, aka Twiggy: yes, girl, you’re 65 and still very relevant.

I know how Chalkie must feel, sidelined by artistes who have packaged their offerings in attractive and appealing bundles.

I will say this much: it is now our turn to lead, guide and mentor the younger generation.