31 yrs of calypso excellence

GARY CARDINEZ

THE 31st Annual Top 20 Stars of Gold and Calypso of the Year Awards Ceremony is dedicated to the memory of Winston "Shadow" Bailey.

From 8 pm this evening, the auditorium at the Government Campus Plaza on Richmond Street, Port of Spain, will come alive with calypso music as the National Action Cultural Committee (NAAC) hosts the event.

The NACC recognises that calypso has given birth to a number of genres in the course of its development. There is a difference in the calypso during the era of bards like Attila, Roaring Lion, to the calypso of Sparrow and Kitchener era; the era of Ras Shorty I and Maestro and the present generation. They represent different genres, but each has its validity.

For NACC, these are all derived from the same source – calypso – the mother. Each has its own relevance and significance. However, at times, problems arise in terms of the designation. What in NACC’s view should ideally happen, is that each particular genre should have its own name and designation. For example, just as present generation music is called soca, the music of the Sparrow/Kitchener era could be called maybe kaiso or something agreed upon and the music of the Attila/Roaring Lion era could be designated something else and so on.

In this way, the problem of one being seen as valid, to the detriment of the other genres, because of being referred to as calypso, instead of one of its genres could be eliminated. The road march of the Roaring Lion era, for example, differs from the road march of other eras, but that does not make that of any other era any less relevant. Same for the Panorama selections. What tends to happen is that genres of preceding eras tend to influence in some ways, even if sometimes subtle, succeeding genres, even as they carve out their own identity.

Art form evolves and goes through changes. This is an inescapable part of life and something we need to understand. It is necessary to appreciate the merits that genre has and brings to the table. Otherwise, we run the risk of being "stuck in the mud" and becoming biased, intolerant and resistant to change.

Something that is noteworthy in 2018, where soca is concerned, is that one particular music label only goes with what it considers to be conscious music. In fact, there is a noticeable presence of socially-conscious music coming from the soca genre. Voice, the 2018 soca monarch, was able to qualify for the Calypso Monarch finals and placed second with his selection Year for Love. For Panorama, a number of steelbands chose soca selections, with the winner of the large band category so doing. This is a genre that is not only shaping, but cementing its identity.

The Top 20 Calypso Awards Programme takes into consideration there are various calypso genres and seeks to reflect this in its compilation of the Top 40 calypsoes. Each genre is represented by what is considered to be its best for meeting the criteria.

In this respect, where the Top 20 Calypso Stars of Gold event is concerned, it is the fundamentals of the calypsoes, with the exception of performance, which are adjudicated. The following represent extracts from “The People’s Judgement” outlining criteria for Top 20 adjudication:

We look at the excellence of the calypso itself. Stage performances of the artiste, including choreography, use of props etc are not features in our criteria. These awards are for the excellence of the calypsoes.

Attention must be focussed on the lyrics of each calypso, that is, the way in which our language is used to portray the theme of the song. We look toward beauty in the expression of each calypso.

Attention must be focussed on the music, its arrangement and the extent to which there is balance between the lyrics and the music, so that the music supports the theme.

Attention must be focussed on the originality of the theme, which suggests how thoughtful the composer had been in determining his/her topic.

It should also be noted, that judges are given the option of selecting any composition not on the list provided, which they believe should be included in the Top 20. Therefore, if any selection is not on the Top 40 list coming from NACC, is included by judges in their listing, then, once it has enough submissions, it would then become one of the Top 20 calypsoes for the year in question."

The top 20 calypso finalists are:

Helon Francis, Change,

Stacy Sobers, Queens and Kings

Kes, Hello

Lady Watchman, Deadbeat

Patrice Roberts, Sweet Fuh Days

Brian London, I Playing Police

Tigress, Rowley to Rowley

Kurt Allen, Circle Square Science

Naila Blackman, Sokah

Devon Seale, Not Red or Yellow

Mark Eastman, Fantasy Island

Voice, Year for Love

Aaron Duncan, One nation

Duane O’Connor, No Front Page

Tiny, Reparation

Olatunji, Body Line

Karene Asche, Song of Inspiration

Blaxx, Hulk

Turner, Champions

Chucky, The Campaign Truck