Rapso is a form of
Trinidadian music
The music of Trinidad and Tobago is best known for its calypso music, soca music, chutney music, and steelpan. Calypso's internationally noted performances in the 1950s from native artists such as Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. ...
that grew out of the social unrest of the 1970s.
Black Power and
unions grew in the 1970s, and rapso grew along with them. The first recording was ''Blow Away'' by
Lancelot Layne
Lancelot Layne (died 28 July 1990) was a rapso artist from Trinidad and Tobago.
Biography
Lancelot Layne was born to a Ms. Ethel Strawn (''née'' Serrano) and raised in Gonzales, Trinidad, a village near Port of Spain. He had a start in many loca ...
in 1970. Six years later,
Cheryl Byron
Cheryl Byron (c. 1947 – June 17, 2003) was a visual artist, dancer, singer and social and cultural advocate.
Biography
She started her studies in her native land, Trinidad and Tobago. There she also studied dance with Neville Shepard and acted ...
(founder of the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
based Something Positive Dance Company) was scorned when she sang rapso at a
calypso tent
Calypso tents are venues in which calypsonians perform during the Carnival season. They usually are cinema halls, community centers, or other indoor buildings which have seating and stage arrangements to host the entertainers, guests and patrons; ...
; she is now called the "Mother of Rapso".
It has been described as "''de power of de word in the riddim of de word''". Though often described as a fusion of native
soca and
calypso with American
hip hop, rapso is uniquely Trinidadian.
History
Rapso music is itself an evolution of the chantwell or griot tradition of
African music
Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and others. The ...
in the diaspora. It is called "the poetry of Calypso" and "the Power of the Word in the rhythm of the Word". Rapso is the poetic "rap" form of Trinbagonian music—the next evolutionary step of Calypso and
Soca music
Soca music is a genre of music defined by Lord Shorty, its inventor, as the "Soul of Calypso", which has influences of African and East Indian rhythms. It was originally spelt "sokah" by its inventor but through an error in a local newspaper ...
. It also has origins in the oral tradition elements of the performances of traditional masquerade characters in
Trinidad Carnival.
Traditional masquerade characters, such as the Midnight Robber, Pierrot Grenade, and the Wild Indians, each have particular forms of poetic and musical speeches that echoed ancient African masking and poetic traditions. Rapso borrowed many of the rhythmic and performance elements of these forms.
The first wave of rapso music occurred in the late 1960s with the invention of rapso by its pioneer Lancelot Layne. The second wave occurred in the late 1970s with
Cheryl Byron
Cheryl Byron (c. 1947 – June 17, 2003) was a visual artist, dancer, singer and social and cultural advocate.
Biography
She started her studies in her native land, Trinidad and Tobago. There she also studied dance with Neville Shepard and acted ...
who was the first woman to perform this brand of music in calypso tents, and mushroomed in the early '80s with the work of
Brother Resistance
Lutalo Masimba (24 October 1954 – 13 July 2021), born Roy Lewis and known professionally as Brother Resistance, was a rhythm poet and musician from Trinidad and Tobago. He died on 13 July 2021, after being diagnosed with cancer.
Background an ...
and the Network Rhythm Band, alongside other artists such as Brother Cetewayo and Brother Book. This wave mainstreamed rapso music in Trinidad and Tobago and World Music.
The third wave of rapso occurred with the advent of young groups including Kindred, Homefront and Boyz 'N The Road in the early 1990s. They were part of a musical movement entitled the "Kiskadee Karavan" that was led by businessman Robert Amar, who invested his money in the unleashing of the young musical genius of Trinidad and Tobago. The Karavan revolutionised Trinidad’s music by taking "traditional" forms such as the rapso and giving it modern production and promotional methods to take the music to stadiums in the native Trinidad and Tobago. This opportunity uncovered many talents on the ground, and created a series of anthemic musical singles. The song "This Trini Could Flow" by super-group Kindred took rapso into the 21st century and firmly entrenched the music as a form comparable to
hip-hop and
dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
.
Modern Rapso music can be described today as the Trinbagonian equivalent of what is known as American rap music as groups like Boyz 'N The Road and Khay (from Boyz 'N The Road) produce and chant to beats and rhythms more heavily influenced by the modern American hip-hop music culture fused with R&B and Jazz, as opposed to the traditional or "Roots" rapso (with calypso and soca music). Nonetheless, traditional rapso continues to live on as super-group Kindred and
3 Canal maintain the balance with the calypso and soca music influences.
Calypso influence on rap
The basic elements of
hip-hop—boasting raps, rival posses, uptown throwdowns, and political commentary—were all present in
Trinidadian music
The music of Trinidad and Tobago is best known for its calypso music, soca music, chutney music, and steelpan. Calypso's internationally noted performances in the 1950s from native artists such as Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. ...
as long ago as the 1800s, though they did not reach the form of commercial recordings until the 1920s and 1930s. Calypso—like other forms of music—continued to evolve through the 1950s and 1960s. When
rock steady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...
and
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
bands looked to make their music a form of national and even international black resistance, they took calypso's example. Calypso itself, like Jamaican music, moved back and forth between the predominance of boasting and toasting songs packed with 'slackness' and sexual innuendo and a more topical, political, 'conscious' style.
Terminology
The term ''rapso'' was not invented until 1980, when the revolutionary Network Riddim Band with its two
chantwells Brother Resistance
Lutalo Masimba (24 October 1954 – 13 July 2021), born Roy Lewis and known professionally as Brother Resistance, was a rhythm poet and musician from Trinidad and Tobago. He died on 13 July 2021, after being diagnosed with cancer.
Background an ...
and
Brother Shortman
Everard Romany aka
Brother Shortman, also known as Rapso Rebel, is a rhythm poet and musician from Trinidad and Tobago.
Biography
Born in Trinidad in 1951, Brother Shortman (Bro. Shortman) became, together with Brother Resistance, the lead si ...
released ''
Busting Out
''Bustin' Out'' is the second studio album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League. Originally released by RCA Records in late 1972, the album garnered renewed interest almost 3 years after its release. By then, band leader Craig Fulle ...
''. Initially dominated by the children of the Black Power movement, changes came in the 1990s with the younger artistes adopting the art form, most significantly the bands Kindred, Homefront, 3 Canal and
Ataklan
Mark Antonio Jiminez, better known by his stage name Ataklan is a Trinidadian singer-songwriter and performer primarily of the modern rapso tradition. Ataklan has been referred to as "Trinidad's answer to Beck" and a "fiercely independent songwri ...
.
{{Soca music