Rapso

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Rapso is a form of

It has been described as "de power of de word in the riddim of de word". Though often described as a fusion of native soca and calypso with American hip hop, rapso is uniquely Trinidadian.

History

Rapso music is itself an evolution of the chantwell or griot tradition of

Traditional masquerade characters, such as the Midnight Robber, Pierrot Grenade, and the Wild Indians, each have particular forms of poetic and musical speeches that echoed ancient African masking and poetic traditions. Rapso borrowed many of the rhythmic and performance elements of these forms.

The first wave of rapso music occurred in the late 1960s with the invention of rapso by its pioneer Lancelot Layne. The second wave occurred in the late 1970s with Cheryl Byron who was the first woman to perform this brand of music in calypso tents, and mushroomed in the early '80s with the work of Brother Resistance and the Network Rhythm Band, alongside other artists such as Brother Cetewayo and Brother Book. This wave mainstreamed rapso music in Trinidad and Tobago and World Music.

The third wave of rapso occurred with the advent of young groups including Kindred, Homefront and Boyz 'N The Road in the early 1990s. They were part of a musical movement entitled the "Kiskadee Karavan" that was led by businessman Robert Amar, who invested his money in the unleashing of the young musical genius of Trinidad and Tobago. The Karavan revolutionised Trinidad’s music by taking "traditional" forms such as the rapso and giving it modern production and promotional methods to take the music to stadiums in the native Trinidad and Tobago. This opportunity uncovered many talents on the ground, and created a series of anthemic musical singles. The song "This Trini Could Flow" by super-group Kindred took rapso into the 21st century and firmly entrenched the music as a form comparable to

Modern Rapso music can be described today as the Trinbagonian equivalent of what is known as American rap music as groups like Boyz 'N The Road and Khay (from Boyz 'N The Road) produce and chant to beats and rhythms more heavily influenced by the modern American hip-hop music culture fused with R&B and Jazz, as opposed to the traditional or "Roots" rapso (with calypso and soca music). Nonetheless, traditional rapso continues to live on as super-group Kindred and 3 Canal maintain the balance with the calypso and soca music influences.

Calypso influence on rap

The basic elements of