Min­is­ter of So­cial De­vel­op­ment Don­na Cox has joined the na­tion­al com­mu­ni­tiy in ex­tend­ing con­do­lences to the fam­i­ly loved ones and friends of vet­er­an ca­lyp­son­ian The Black Stal­in. 

The fol­low­ing is a press re­lease from the Min­istry of So­cial De­vel­op­ment: 

Min­is­ter of So­cial De­vel­op­ment and Fam­i­ly Ser­vices, Sen­a­tor the Ho­n­ourable Don­na Cox joins with the na­tion­al com­mu­ni­ty in ex­tend­ing con­do­lences to the fam­i­ly, loved ones and friends of vet­er­an ca­lyp­son­ian Dr Leroy Cal­liste bet­ter known as The Black Stal­in who de­part­ed this life on Thurs­day 28 De­cem­ber, 2022 at the age of 81. 

The five-time Na­tion­al Ca­lyp­so Monarch win­ner was a re­cip­i­ent of the Min­istry’s Spe­cial Achiev­ers Grant ad­min­is­tered to el­i­gi­ble lo­cal icons for their out­stand­ing con­tri­bu­tions to na­tion­al de­vel­op­ment to en­sure that their rights and dig­ni­ty are pro­tect­ed and en­hanced when they are most in need. 

Known for his pro­vok­ing lyrics and in­fec­tious melody, the Black Stal­in was a cul­tur­al icon, whose mu­sic touched many lives as it fo­cused on a mul­ti­tude of so­ci­etal is­sues in­clud­ing ed­u­ca­tion, pover­ty, so­cial in­jus­tice and eco­nom­ic cir­cum­stances. He was able to reach both the young and old as his mu­sic al­so pro­vid­ed a source of in­spi­ra­tion and mo­ti­va­tion de­spite life's many chal­leng­ing mo­ments. 

Min­is­ter Cox, in re­lay­ing her sym­pa­thies not­ed that The Black Stal­in was a fit­ting ex­am­ple of re­silience as he was able to chan­nel past so­cio-eco­nom­ic chal­lenges and make a mean­ing­ful con­tri­bu­tion to the na­tion through his art form. She fur­ther in­di­cat­ed that she re­mains con­fi­dent that his rich cul­tur­al lega­cy will cer­tain­ly live on for many gen­er­a­tions to come