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