Calypso

Calypso is Trinidad and Tobago’s signature musical export, born out of West African call-and-response traditions and French Creole storytelling in the plantations of colonial Trinidad, and refined into the witty, socially sharp song form the Caribbean carried to the world. Calypso lives on in New York City, from Carnival season performances to the artists, sound systems, and community events keeping the genre’s satirical, storytelling spirit alive far from Port of Spain. Expect coverage of Calypso artists, historic and contemporary, alongside the parades, fetes, and cultural events where the genre still does its real work: commenting on the moment through song.