It appears as if everyone enjoys bashing today’s young people and their music. But so-called art forms are not abstract inventions
imposed on history. Rather they are carried in the vital living of community…and the engulfing violence.
So let us attempt a return to the source. When it comes to Carnival and its offshoots such as calypso we must turn to Canboulay: that vital claiming of the road of the post-emancipation energy articulated in the nation architecture; our matter-in-motion.
Here took place the emergence of the African as it is carried by people in the encounter of nations of traditions, such as Congo, Yoruba, Rada…and from different Caribbean territories. But it is the field and frame that is a constituting aspect of wider nation architecture: “Africa” along with India and Europe.
It is the master template that is landscape itself. Hence calypso is born of this vitally emerging African community in the very energy of the road – Canboulay. Yet here is being constituted the landscape’s total cultural ethnic architecture but not merely as fragments but as possibility of wholeness.
Yet this is resistance/affirmation struggle. Being is never neutral. It is always directed for and against. Here in our space, “Self” affirmation means such struggle against the structures, the very forces of oppression, which indeed brought what we call a society into being. Or we may fail to so resist.
Yes, compromises were made. The contending forces find not balance but a sort of equilibrium; a stasis. It is a stasis that oppresses. Not only African and Indian, not only social practices not deemed acceptable and of course political practices seen as subversive, but the space in its entirety. Here a range of vibration feeds the street, disclosing people as vitally kinetic. Calypso here emerges as the music of the street. This is the first phase, the generations pre-1900
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Cultural evolution: inevitable.
If I read him correctly , the author suggests that modern youth soca music is "market driven music" and a musical representation of "capitalism gone mad".
I agree.
Glenroy: Listen to DIFFERENT ME (watch the video put up by WST). Even though the song rips off everybody else's musical ideas, I think that it is a WONDERFUL PIECE OF SOCA (modern youth soca). If they forget about the wining and jamming and drinking theme for a while and put some mainstream lyrics over a musical track like that the music could well take off globally. I like the CHANGE that I see this year with the SOCA and hope they stay with it for a few years.
"Different Me" being picked up by VEVO is a serious accomplishment in terms of getting global recognition. The only other Trinidad artists that have garner this type of attention is Bunji Garlin with "Differentology" and of course Nicki Minaj. There is a level of production that has to met to be even considered for VEVO.
Now, the question is can this level of performing expectation and production be carried into and successfully executed in the live performances.
I read your piece which was quite imformative, I like soca but not in its present form,some of the young performers tend to water down the music with only catch phrases and no lyrical content