Global Music Cultures
Calypso music culture
Many musical genres emerged as a result of the protests. Everyone knows about the well-known genres such as rock, punk rock, etc., which appeared in 60s of the last century, in their texts you could often hear the protest note. But not a lot of people know that one of the first musical cultures of this kind was the music of calypso. This style occurred in the 17th century as a way of communication, transmission of news and discussion of relevant topics for the slaves of Trinidad and Tobago, as otherwise communication was limited. Calypso singers expanded the boundaries of freedom of speech; the texts of their songs were giving all the news about life on the island, including the political. When the British authorities on the island intensified, censorship began to closely monitor the lyrics, but calypso music continued to be a source of news.
One of the bright and modern representatives of calypso culture is Leroy Calliste, better known as Black Stalin. His performance for the song called “Black man feeling to party” made the audience move along with fiery rhythms of wind instruments (saxophone, trumpet and trombone), guitar and drums. The important role in the performance played backing vocal, which is well heard during the chorus that made the audience move even faster. Immediately after appearance on the stage Leroy Calliste ignited the audience and didn’t let them stop during the performance. Among the people who came to the concert there are a lot who held flags of Trinidad and Tobago, which indicates the homeland of origin of the musical culture.The role of calypso in the global music culture
The period of calypso popularity fell on the 1930-1950 years. Overall this musical direction is largely influenced on the formation of reggae. This music is more rich and diverse than reggae, has its ancient culture and history, but there was not its own Bob Marley in this musical genre, and therefore it did not receive such international recognition as reggae. Today reggae is not that much popular on all the islands of the Caribbean, a lot of the Caribbean Rastafarians sing their anthems along with the rhythm of calypso, not reggae. But in the U.S. and around the world calypso culture is not widely known, except only among immigrants from the Caribbean. In general, the performers of this musical genre do not seek to a worldwide popularity and just enjoy the sun on the shores of Trinidad and Tobago, knowing that they always have their audience.
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