I disagree completely with the idea that Calypso Fiesta is responsible for killing the calypso artform. It is dying from lack of sustenance.
A good calypso requires a certain amount of intelligence to write. It requires a brain attuned to our peoples and their circumstance. It requires a knowledge of calypso rhythm.
Calypso was dealt a dying blow by the advent of soca. Soca appealed to the younger generation. Soca is more about dance and prance. Calypso is about social commentary, for the most part. Very occasionally a great calypso would come along. Bassman comes to mind. This could not have been written by Shadow unless he had a feeling for our consciousness. We can all identify with that tune.
How can we get back to writing good calypsoes that our people will love? Political offerings are fine, but to be loved they must have a humourous aspect to them, they must have a catchy chorus, not be the boring commentaries that they have become.
The money that was lavished on the pitiful offerings, over the last few years, was certainly no help. It rewarded mediocrity. I am no calypsonian, but I do appreciate a good rendering.
I suggest our budding calypsonians go back over all the great calypsoes of the past, even consult with the likes of Black Stalin, to recover the essence of a winning calypso. Or they just all go and plant peas in Tobago.
Anne Murphy