Culture and artd

Reggae Reggae is the most internationally famous style of Caribbean music. It has its origins in Jamaica in the late 1960s. It is widely identifi ed as the music of Jamaica and its diaspora and has gained international prominence, for example in the United States of America, Africa, Japan and Germany, because of its infectious rhythms and dynamic performers. In the view of Professor Peter Manuel (1998), “Reggae can be considered to be a reinterpretation of American rhythm and blues”. It also has evidence of Jazz, Calypso and African music and is sung in Jamaican Patois and Jamaican English. Reggae was popularised in the 1970s by Bob Marley with his Rastafari lifestyle. His album Exodus was listed by Time magazine as the album of the century. The music has become popular among young people because of the message it carries – a message of peace and love that they can identify with. It is also an outlet for documenting social and political criticism. In Jamaica it is one of the largest sources of income as it is a major earner of foreign exchange. For example, the Reggae Sumfest held in Jamaica annually has attracted an international audience. Bob Marley and the band Third World have placed Jamaican Reggae music on the European, American and Asian music charts. Calypso Calypso had its origins in Western African music and singing, and resistance by the lower socioeconomic classes to the colonial powers. It was a means to poke fun at important people and institutions, such as the Roman Catholic Church, and today this music form provides a social and political commentary of events, mainly in Trinidad and Tobago. Apart from entertaining, Calypsonians such as The Mighty Sparrow act as voices for their people, expressing their views and protesting government actions, for example. However, Calypso has not gained as large an international audience as Reggae. Exceptions are Arrow’s “Ah feeling hot, hot, hot” (which could be defi ned as Soca, a development of Calypso, see below), which has gained international recognition, and Calypso Rose’s “Fire in meh wire”, which has been sung in nine different languages. Rose and others have helped to open the doors of Calypso to the rest of the world and these doors can help foster development in the region, bringing in tourists and much needed foreign exchange. Making the Connection Rastafari and its beliefs are examined in Chapter 17 ‘Intellectual Traditions’. Quick Facts Other internationally renowned Jamaican music artistes include dancehall musician Shabba Ranks. Dancehall is often viewed as ‘youth’ music and has connections with US Hip Hop and Rap music. 196 REVISION GUIDE TO CARIBBEAN STUDIES Quick Facts Other songs by Calypso Rose include “Tempo”, “Leave meh alone” and “Do them back”, while some other famous Calypsonians are The Mighty Sparrow, Lord Kitchener and Chalk Dust. Did You Know? Popular arts have great significance in social analysis as they are a means to express the views of the masses. Calypso provides many examples of this. For example, Dr Leroy Calliste’s (Black Stalin) “Caribbean Unity” (1979) and David Rudder’s “Haiti I’m Sorry” (2010) both express a unity plea or a longing of Caribbean people for a collective regional identity and regional solidarity. Rudder has been recognised internationally for his quest for national and regional integration as well as capturing the essence of Trinidad and Tobago’s multi-cultural society via his music. Black Stalin’s Calypso “Caribbean Unity” asked some pertinent questions of politicians on issues such as CARICOM and CARIFTA and on integration attempts from the top down that ignore a popular groundswell of opinion yearning for unity. Both men have been conferred with an honorary doctorate from the UWI for their sterling contributions to Caribbean development in music. Calypso has a special connection to Carnival, and Calypso competitions have been held at Carnival since shortly after Emancipation in the British Caribbean in the 1830s. Steel Band Quick Fact The Steel Pan European (European Steelband) Association has been formed to promote pan music appreciation in Europe. Quick Fact The making of the steel pan is a growing skill that can contribute to national income and the growth of economies, both locally and abroad. The steel band is the only musical instrument to have been invented in the 20th century. It has its origins in Trinidadian Carnival musical traditions and developed in the middle of the century out of experimentation with readily available materials and objects that could be used and tuned for percussion. Today the steel band is mass produced and referred to as an ‘orchestra’. It is also electronically tuned from soprano to bass to produce different sounds. The steel pan as an instrument was associated with grassroots people such as those from poor communities on the outskirts of Port-of-Spain. The names selected for the bands, such as Tokyo, Invaders and Red Army, refl ected the current situation of the war years, elements of resistance to domination and the desire to project a tough image. The steel pan is widely used throughout the Caribbean region as well as in the diaspora. Local pan players went abroad to play pan, then settled and have now become involved in teaching young people there, not only to play the pans but also to tune them. This has resulted in steel pan music becoming part of some schools’ curriculums in Europe and North America. Its popularity is partly because all kinds of music are played: Reggae, Rhythm and Blues, Calypso, Soca and Classical music; which means, therefore, that it can be internationally accepted and appreciated. Steel pan music has been syncretised with Indian music, and Hip Hop and Pop have also embraced this musical form. Punta Rock This music form originated in Belize in the 1970s out of traditional Garifuna Punta percussion music and dance, and has become popular in Central America. It was taken abroad, signifi cantly to the Belize community of New York, where it grew in popularity and developed to take on new elements of more percussion, musical accompaniment and sophisticated arrangements. The songs are mainly in the form of call and response with drums. While originally in the Garifuna language, the music is now translated into English and Spanish. ARTS AND POPULAR CULTURE 197 Other Examples of Caribbean Music Forms Over time, various forms of music have evolved to cater to the tastes of the younger generations, as in the case of the development of Punta Rock out of traditional Punta forms. Other examples of this development are the many forms of Reggae (such as Roots Reggae, Ragamuffi n) and of Calypso (such as Chutney, Soca, Rapso, Reggae Soca). Soca music is the music that is in most demand at Carnival. Its international popularity is growing and iTunes has its own Soca category. It developed out of Calypso in the 1970s and 1980s, introducing Indian rhythms, and is essentially dance music. Soca has always incorporated Indo-Caribbean infl uences, but Soca Chutney is more Chutney in style. Did You Know? A feature of many Caribbean musical forms is drumming. This has a direct connection to the traditions of West Africa and came to be a form of opposition to the colonial powers. Drumming was strongly discouraged and even forbidden among slave communities, and still in the post-Emancipation era was frowned upon as potentially subversive