Calypso originated in Trinidad, in the West Indies. As such, it is a genre that reconciles the many cultural disparities of its birthplace, incorporating musical traditions from Africa and Europe. Calypso is heavily indebted to kaiso music of West Africa, a genre mixing upbeat rhythms with simple melodies, which became a common form of communication among slaves. The Spanish, French, and English colonists who passed through Trinidad brought dozens of European folk music traditions with them, and these musical influences made their way into the sounds of calypso.
Calypso is by nature a music of defiance. Before solidifying its modern sound in the Carnival celebrations of the early 20th century, the genre served as a form of communication and cultural expression for slaves who didn’t know each other and were forbidden from talking to one another, but who shared a common West African ancestry. By communicating through calypso, slaves defied their masters. In the early 20th century, a number of calypso singers with fierce monikers such as Roaring Lion and Attila the Hun penned politicized ballads to great acclaim.
In addition to being a music of defiance, calypso is characterized by its celebratory nature. While the slaves who trafficked in the earliest incarnations of calypso sang out of defiance, they also sang out in celebration of their pride as West Africans with rich cultural traditions. Calypso assumed its trademark modern sound in the Carnival rituals of the early 20th century, which brought together Trinidadians of all racial backgrounds in a celebration of their shared culture and traditions. In the 21st century, ex-pat communities in places such as Queens and Brooklyn, New York, continue to celebrate their culture and ancestry through calypso.