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“[…] The calypso artform, like other artforms, has […] always been constantly evolving. Although I am an elderly person, I was quite impressed with many of the calypsos sung by many young calypsonians this year.
“I particularly like Yung Bredda’s We Rise. He gave an absolutely superlative performance at the Dimanche Gras show…”
The following Letter to the Editor in defence of modern calypso and the 2025 Calypso Monarch show was submitted to Wired868 by Louis W Williams of St Augustine:
I am somewhat amused by the current debate about what is calypso. Those of us who “in town long” know that this is a perennial debate, as we have been down this road before.
A related issue in such debates is who is a calypsonian as distinct from a “calypso singer”. My concise response to all of this is that the calypso artform, like other artforms, has never been static and has always been constantly evolving.
If that evolution were not taking place to reflect the changing realities of a more modern era, calypso would have already been confined to the musical cemetery.
The calypso bards of the 1920s complained that what Sparrow—who arrived on the scene in the 1950s—was singing was not authentic calypso.
Shadow received similar treatment in the 1970s from the older calypso bards of his era, and David Rudder had a similar experience in the 1980s.
Although I am an elderly person, I was quite impressed with many of the calypsos sung by many young calypsonians this year.
I particularly like Yung Bredda’s We Rise. He gave an absolutely superlative performance at the Dimanche Gras show and, in my opinion, ought to have won the Calypso crown.
Shadow had a similar experience in 1974. Yung Bredda is severely underrated by the calypso elites. He must endeavour to prove them wrong by ensuring that his success and popularity this year are not a one-off affair.
Notwithstanding the above, my calypso of the year is Squeezy Rankin’s Justice. It is so poignant. He dealt so comprehensively and eloquently with this good boy syndrome plaguing the nation.
It was rather unfortunate that his performance at the Calypso Monarch finals, through no fault of his own, was ruined by a defective sound system. Obviously, in such circumstances, he was not fairly judged.
Calypso is not dying. It has demonstrated its adaptability, versatility, and immense resilience over the many decades, even in light of resistance to change by those very few and ageing bards who are comfortable in the old way of doing things and, like the proverbial dinosaur, are oblivious to the march of time.
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