When it comes to Trinidad and Tobago’s culture, Professor Hollis Liverpool can talk to you for days about it. Better known as The Mighty Chalkdust, he started singing calypso professionally in 1967 and he hasn’t stopped telling stories since.
Behind legendary tunes such as ‘Ah Put on Meh Guns Again’ and ‘Chauffeur Wanted’, his sharp social commentary helped define the thinking of generations. With nine Calypso Monarch titles under his belt – the most of any in his field – he is no longer dominating national stages, choosing instead to focus his energy on his upcoming book. He started penning ‘Teacher by Day; Calypsonian by Night: Recollections of the Struggle for Identity’ two years ago and is excited about how it’s shaping up.
As the nation marked Republic Day, the 85-year-old icon talks to Guardian Media about his love for this country, the art form and the things he hopes will change for the better.
Q: When you think about Trinidad and Tobago, what immediately feels most ‘Trinbago’ to you?
A: I read the papers every day. And I am seeing and hearing about all this war going in and politics. I see plenty of room for calypso. Calypso is what feels the most Trinbago to me. The great calypsos we had before, we need that today. Now they want to have Caribbean Music Awards without calypso? Calypso should be in the forefront of the whole thing. It is the music not only of Trinidad and Tobago but of the whole Caribbean. We should be more proud of that.
Q: What part of our culture do you think we sometimes take for granted?
A: Carnival for one. A lot of people don’t understand carnival. They think it is just jumping and dancing, not knowing the depth of it. We have the music of carnival, the masquerade and industry, even carnival agriculture—the way the festival links to our land, our cane fields, our harvest roots, and the crops that sustained our ancestors. They are all different things and our people not knowing its depth worries me.
Q: What does our music tell the world about who we are as a people?
A: Well that is what calypso is about - telling people who we are. Our music is indeed unique. It is based on two half notes in a bar. It is African in its origin. Schools need to start teaching children about their identity, let them understand who they are. If they know who they are, you think they will kill one together? No, there won’t be any criminals. Children today, they don’t understand the greatness of Trinidadians and what we have done in the world. We have done it all. We have excelled in sports, in music, we have produced so many scientists, lawyers, we have leaders who can show the world how to lead. Children do not have an identity of God. You are a drifter because you don’t even know who made you. Knowing who God is must be the first lesson a child needs to unravel the crisis of identity in Trinbago.
Q: Which Trinbagonian tradition would you hate to see disappear?
A: My Calypso ‘Brain Drain’ of 1968 says it all. I sang about all our traditions like the Goat Race in Tobago, dying out. The young people don’t even know where Tobago is.
Q: What food instantly takes you back to home and childhood?
A: Pelau. Wet or dry, just a well-made pelau, because you know some people, you see dey pelau and you not even seeing the pigeon peas.
Q: We definitely have the gift of gab. What is it about the way we speak, joke and interact with each other that feels uniquely Trinbagonian?
A: I can give you examples, my accent took me all over the United States. Some people gave me free books and typewriters when I was studying because of my accent. They ask where I am from? I say Trinidad and Tobago. I studied at the University of Michigan, I could not afford to pay for that. I got a scholarship to do my doctorate. I graduated in 1993 in ethnomusicology and history.
Q: If you had to introduce a visitor to Trinidad and Tobago through just one cultural experience, what would you choose?
A: In 1976 for Carifesta, I sang ‘A Chain of Strength’ with Jimmy Cliff in front of thousands of people and introduced Jamaica to calypso. It was the performance of my life. I won the best Caribbean song competition and took home two gold medals—one for the best song and one for best overall presentation—along with a special award from Prime Minister Michael Manley.
Q: What is one part of our culture that you think deserves more recognition, both at home and internationally?
A: There are several calypsonians who are still alive, and who have been singing for over 40 years, yet they held the CMA in Trinidad and did not include any of them. Yes, they gave Calypso Rose an award but that was not enough. So I think calypso itself deserves more recognition.
