Creolization in Caribbean Music - English
In chapter 2 of "Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean", there were several examples of the creolization theme but let’s look at one from Trinidad and Tobago. The musical genre we are looking at is calypso. Calypso style music, according to the book is a “vehicle for social protest”. When listening to calypso music, it’s important to do just that. Listen! Really take in the lyrics because they are usually controversial or satirical. There have been many times when I was listening to calypso music and have had a good laugh or resonated with an opinion or life lesson because of the lyrics. Calypso came to be because enslaved Africans were forbidden from playing drums and other instruments. As well as they weren’t allowed to gather, so these people found another means of communicating, often to make fun of slave masters, and a very entertaining way might I add. And thus, calypso was born. Calypso music evolved from a blend of French, English, Spanish a...