Caribplanet.homestead.com states that calypso began in 1834 with the abolition of slavery. This left many free African slaves stranded in Trinidad and Tobago, where they interacted with their former masters and the indigenous denizens of the islands. The European masters of these slaves changed frequently due to war, leading to a mixture of French, British and Spanish workers living on the islands. The troubadour song styles of France and Spain mixed with the traditional instruments of Britain and Africa to create a new musical style, called calypso. The first recording of calypso music came in 1912 by Lovey's String Band. In the 1930s, calypso music spread to Europe and America when established artists started covering traditional calypso songs. Soon, calypso stars like Attila the Hun, Lord Kitchener, Lord Invader and Roaring Lion became prominent names of calypso around the world.
According to Artdrum.com, the typical instruments in calypso music include steel drums, trumpet, trombone, flute, saxophone, congas, bongos, drum set, piano, keyboard, electric guitar, electric bass and vocals. While much of calypso features melodic vocals and backing harmonies, some calypso also has spoken, rap-like vocals. Some calypso also features extra percussion instruments, such as marimba, shakers, claves and guiros.
Funbarbados.com states that calypso features highly syncopated off-beat rhythms in the rhythm section, most often played by the drum set and conga and bongo drums. Most calypso music is medium to fast in tempo, leading to an upbeat feeling, even when the lyrics are downtrodden or depressing. Guitars plays short, staccato rhythmic lines, while horns like trumpet and trombone play melodic, harmonized fanfares.
Calypso has its own subgenres and variants. Socafreak.com lists these styles as soca, rapso, chutney, and chut-kai-pang. Soca combines traditional calypso elements with rapid, dense percussion that is often electronically programmed. This creates a combination of calypso with electronica. Rapso differs from each by adding prominent hip hop elements, like rapping to the mix. Chutney is a folk style that differs from calypso in its instrumentation, which often features harmonium, dholak and dhantal. Chut-kai-pang is a calypso variant that embodies Trinidad's traditional Christmas music.
Besides being a form of entertainment, calypso has traditionally served as a form of social and political commentary. Due to societal upheavals in the early 20th century, calypso music was often the only form of free speech allowed to artists, as they cleverly obfuscated the meaning of their songs to include subject that concerned all aspects of island life.