Calypso: Race, Land, and Politics through Journalistic Music
Karbo and Ross examine the political messages of Calypso music from Trinidad & Tobago. The popular genre has perhaps the most vivid and explicitly political words of the series. Calypsonians engage in history and identity with compelling frankness, fusing music, and journalism to speak truth to power. RESOURCES🎵Lord Brynner. “Independence Song.” 1962. 🎵Lord Cristo. “Mock Democracy.” 1966. “Election Violence.” 1962. 🎵Lord Invader. “Rum and Coca-Cola.” 1943. 🎵Mighty Sparrow. “Our Model Nation.” 1962. 📚Quevedo, Raymond. Atilla’s Kaiso: A Short History of Trinidad Calypso. St. Augustine: University of the West Indies, 1983. 🎵 “Commission’s Report.” 🎵 “Country Club Scandal.” 🎵 “The Banning of Records.” 1938. 📚Ramm, Benjamin. “The Subversive Power of Calypso Music.” BBC. October 11, 2017. 📚Regis, Louis. The Political Calypso: True Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago, 1962-1987. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1999. 🎵The Andrews Sisters. “Rum and Coca-Cola.” 1945. 🎵The Mighty Stalin. “The Immortal Message of Martin Luther King.” 1968.