Trinbago Unified Calypso Organisation (TUCO) president Ainsley King has apologised to the fraternity for suggesting they should temper their work because it is driving some people away from the calypso tents.
King initially made the comment on a radio programme on I95FM on Tuesday, after four-time Calypso Monarch and legendary bard Weston “Cro Cro” Rawlins lost a defamation case to businessman Inshan Ishmael.
During the programme, King said the lyrics and performances of calypsonians throughout the years served as a tool of division between people of Indian and African descent. However, he was heavily criticised by subsequent callers to the programme for the statement and other comments which suggested the lyrics of calypsonians were destroying the art form.
King backtracked on the issue in a release yesterday.
Saying he felt his comments were misunderstood, King said, “TUCO reiterates its unwavering support for our art form and its freedom of expression. However, we also recognise the authority of the courts as the ultimate arbiters of justice, even if we may not always agree with their decisions. Our deep-rooted history and cultural significance in the realm of calypso are acknowledged and respected.”
In an adjustment to his previous comments on the decreasing diversity in the audience for calypsoes, King said, “TUCO’s position revolves around fostering a robust business model that attracts individuals from diverse backgrounds and revitalises our art form.”
Meanwhile, cultural researcher Krisson Joseph said if calypsonians were unhappy with the representation being offered by King, they should let the association know.
Joseph, a cultural researcher and the programme co-ordinator at the Academy of Arts at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, reminded that TUCO is really a union.
Asked what he thought of King’s opinion of how some calypsonians approach the art form, he said, “The membership will have to decide if they want the word of the president to be the last word on that.”
Also addressing the impact the defamation judgment could have on calypsonians, cultural researcher Omari Ashby, who is based at the University of the West Indies, said in the early days of the art form, “calypsonian make jail and thing!”
Ashby, who is the master of ceremonies at the Kaiso House calypso tent, said no serious practitioner would be deterred by Monday’s judgment against Cro Cro, whose song Another Sat is Outside Again, was found to have defamed Ishmael.
Ashby also challenged the sentiment that calypso is dying.
“Kaiso is not dying,” he said.
He acknowledged that the audiences for the tents can have good nights and not-so-good nights. But he said anyone who has been to the tents knows that the art form is far from dead, noting that there continues to be many young performers.
He did, however, offer this proviso, “Perhaps we need to look at the calypso tent format, but in terms of the calypso itself, calypso is doing well.”
Joseph agreed that calypso was in no way dying. On the matter of the calypso being racialised in a way that has driven away the East-Indian audience, he said mature and honest conversation was required to provide a solution.
Joseph said calypso always attacked the existing power structure, but said the subject also requires nuance that has not been present in the discussion.
