Calypsonian

A calypsonian, originally known as a chantwell, is a musician from the anglophone Caribbean who sings songs of the calypso genre.

Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition. Originally called "Kaiso" in Trinidad, these songs, based on West African Yoruba, Ewe-Fon and Akan musical beats, were sung by slaves and later ex-slaves in Trinidad and Tobago during recreation time and about a host of topics – their land of origin, social relationships on the plantations and the lives of community members, including plantation managers, overseers and owners.

Traditionalists see calypso as social commentary because in earlier years it served the purpose of telling stories, relaying news events and giving criticisms of persons and policy. Calypso was therefore divided into two classes: the social commentaries, which had songs dealing with politics and community issues; and the humorous calypso, which told stories of events, real or imagined, with the intent of making the audience laugh.

By the late 19th century the British began large-scale immigration projects, mainly from Barbados, in an effort to anglicise Trinidad, which resulted in a decline in the use of French Creole in the songs so that by the 1930s English Creole became the language of Trinidad Calypso. Despite the changeover, many words and expressions survived in Trinidad Creole and as a result also survived in its calypsos, including terms such as "santimanitay" from the original sans humanité, among others.

Trinidad became the mecca of calypso in part because it was the most prosperous territory in the region and consequently many migrants headed to the island during the 20th century, including performers. As a direct result, Trinidad became known as the land of calypso.

Many early kaiso/calypsos were sung in French Creole, as Trinidad gained a significant number of free and enslaved blacks from the French Antilles of Martinique, Guadeloupe, French-dominated Grenada and Dominica following the Cedula of population of 1783. The patois or French creole was the original language of the calypsonian and calypso music.

Calypso music was developed in Trinidad in the 17th century from the West African kaiso and canboulay music brought by African slaves imported to that Caribbean island to work on sugar plantations. They were stripped of all connections to their homeland and family and not allowed to talk to each other. African griots (musicians and storytellers) among the slaves used calypso song to mock the slave-masters and to communicate with each other. As calypso developed, the African griots became later-generation chantuelles or "chantwells" preserving their people's history and traditions orally, a role that would eventually develop into that of the modern calypsonian.

The Chantwells would sing of contemporary and mythical figures. They would also preserve the complex oral traditions of their West African origins, with songs of derision, praise, satire, and lament. At first, the chantwells were mostly women because the males were targeted for destruction on the plantation. Upon emancipation, the tradition continued and developed, and chantwells would sing call-and-response chants called lavways, sometimes lionizing and cheering on locals sportsmen such as stick-fighters, with the chantwell giving the call and the audience providing the response. This form of music gradually evolved into the modern calypso. As the country became urbanized, chantwells became more and more a male function.