Calypso Music, Party Songs or Deeper Meaning?

Calypso music is a style of music that originated on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the mid-17th century. This style of music, which become more popular in the rest of the world in the 1950’s, uses an upbeat tempo with many traditional island instruments such as maracas and steel pan drums to convey the idea that the songs are festive and great in a party setting. What many unaware listeners fail to hear however are the meaningful lyrics are used as a creative outlet to criticize political leaders, talk about social problems such as the detachment of the upper class, and even using sarcasm to talk about infamous people throughout history.

Calypso music is an island influenced African originated type of music that not only functions as a way to express the emotions of an entire group of people, but also expresses their struggles, heritage, lifestyle, and even political feelings through an upbeat tempo provided by festive instruments such as the trumpet, steel pans, maracas as well as seemingly cheerful lyrics.