Calypso History Month honours Bro Resistance

“Calypso is a living vibration rooted deep within my Caribbean belly,” calypsonian David Rudder sang in his classic Calypso Music.

This month the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) will observe that “living vibration” through its annual Calypso History Month. Its theme this year is De Bell Reigns.

This year’s observance is dedicated to TUCO’s late president Lutalo “Brother Resistance” Masimba, who died on July 13.

PRO Sherma Orr-Watkins said if Masimba was alive he would not have accepted the organisation's dedicating the month to him. She said TUCO had tried honouring him before, but he did not accept it.

“It is so sad to know you have to die, and this is how we have to do it, but we just have to do it this way,” she added.

A gala will be held on November 3 at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s where Masimba will be honoured and a plaque presented to his family.

The organisation has a number of other events planned. They are largely virtual again, owing to the covid19 pandemic.

Calypso History Month started with a church service which was recorded on September 10 and which will be aired on October 10 on TTT.

“We have online lectures in schools where the education and research officer Meagan Sylvester will be doing. Every Friday in October and the first Friday in November we have shows…in collaboration with WACK (90.1 FM), where we will be doing calypso online.”

The organisation will also host a Talk De Calypso competition. Open to all TUCO members, the preliminaries will take place on October 16 and the finals on November 6.

Orr-Watkins said the competition was taking calypso and talking it poetry style.

Each of the organisation’s zones will also have its own events, such as the north zone’s Extemporama and the south zone two calypso shows.

TUCO has found younger audiences are listening to calypso.

“Although we tend to say it is only old people, young people also listen to calypso,” Orr-Watkins said, and this was also evident by the quality of entrants to its junior calypso competitions.

She said younger calypsonians were also partnering with older calypsonians.

Calypsonian Edwin “Crazy” Ayoung was also doing a great job of this, she said. Crazy has done some calypsoes with younger artistes and is also helping to mentor some of them in the artform.

Orr-Watkins said TUCO is looking forward to the country reopening.

“We hope this will go away soon and TUCO will be there waiting just to explore…and come out with the younger artistes and work with them.”

She said there were great plans ahead for calypso.

Spotify: Calypso catches on overseas

Although some might be tempted to believe that calypso is largely listened to by an older audience, data from the audio streaming and media services company Spotify showed Gen Z (18-24) makes up for 15 per cent of its calypso listeners.

It said in a release that whilst one in five listeners of calypso is in the age group 35-44, the genre is consumed amongst all ages.

Calypso has its own playlist on Spotify and is among the most streamed local genres in TT.

Although he is not a calypsonian, American singer Harry Belafonte – credited with popularising calypso to international audiences in the 1950s – is the most streamed artiste in the genre, Spotify said.

It added that his and Calypso Rose’s catalogues dominate the most played songs in the genre.

Most-played artistes:

Harry Belafonte

Calypso Rose,

Aldwyn “Lord Kitchener” Roberts

Kentrick “Lord Creator” Patrick

Slinger “Mighty Sparrow” Francisco

David Rudder

American actor and singer Robert Mitchum

Barbadian calypso band The MerryMen

The Jamaican Steel Band

Jamaican band Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.

Most-played calypso:

Belafonte’s Jump in the Line, followed by his Banana Boat (Day –O) and then Calypso Rose’s Calypso Blues.

Where people listen:

Outside of TT, calypso was most consumed in: the US, France, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, Spain, Netherlands, Mexico and Italy.

What age groups listen?

23.9 per cent of calypso listeners are 35-44 years old

16.1 per cent are 30-34

15.4 per cent are18-24

15.3 per cent are 25-29

14.8 per cent are 55 and older

12.4 per cent are 45-54

2.2 per cent are 0-7 year-olds

The data was compiled over the last 90 days, Spotify said.

Events for Calypso History Month 2021:

October 8 – Vintage - WACK Virtual Platform, 5 pm

October 10 – TUCO’s Thanksgiving Service, TTT, 8.30 pm

October 14 –Education and Research Officer, TV6, 7 am

October 15 – Long Gone but Living On in Calypso (Humour), WACK Virtual Platform, 5 pm

October 22 – We Know Calypso (Youths), WACK Virtual Platform, 5 pm

October 23 – Talk De Calypso Preliminary, judging place to be confirmed

October 29 – Mother of Them All (Women), WACK Virtual Platform, 5 pm

Rhand Credit Union Calypso Event, WACK Virtual Platform, 6 pm

October 30 – Crackers and Cheese –Stacey Sobers

October 31 – South/Central Zone: Calypso Showkase – Gayelle The Caribbean, 9 pm

Central Bank Show - To Be Announced

November 3 – TUCO Gala, Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, 5 pm

November 5 – Calypso is Christmas Too – WACK Virtual Platform, 5 pm

November 6 – Extemporama – I ENT live streaming, 5 pm

November 6 – Talk De Calypso: Final – to be confirmed

November 6 – South/Central Zone: Calypso Showkase – WACK 90.1 FM. 4 pm