inna modja: malian sensation

                                        

"In spite of the close ties that she maintains to her home country, Modja’s music is definitely a departure from what we usually think of as World Music or “African sound”. But then, what is African sound? And should upcoming African musicians like Inna Modja embrace influences from all over the world; or should they be ambassadors of their own musical heritage?" 

Interview Fridays: Zeno Obi Constance Con't

Zeno Obi Constance

Last month, distinguished Trinidadian author and playwright Zeno Obi Constance released a new book, The Man Behind the Music: The People's Calypsonian, on the life and music of noted calypsonian Brother Valentino. Constance is a self-proclaimed calypso collector and has been studying Valentino’s work since his university days. This is part two of the interview first posted last week. 

Interview Fridays: Zeno Obi Constance on New Book, Calypso & Valentino

Last month, distinguished Trinidadian author and playwright Zeno Obi Constance released a new book, The Man Behind the Music: The People's Calypsonian, on the life and music of noted calypsonian Emrold Phillip, Brother Valentino. Constance is a self-proclaimed calypso collector and has been studying Valentino’s work since his university days. This interview, which will be presented in two parts, covers the story behind the book, his friendship with Valentino and his thoughts about the state of calypso music in Trinidad & Tobago. 

Zeno Obi Constance

KAISO! part 6: Buhwamoder, Modern Minstrel. But wha de modda?

For the sake of time and the Twitteratti, who in this day and age for the most part cannot take long, heavily cited blogs, I will try to keep this short and get straight to the point: Buhwamoder,*** the man behind the song "Bend Right Over," is a modern-day minstrel; an Arab man in black face. Yes, they do still exist, but wha de modda?  

KAISO! Part 5: What about the music?

Asking the question why Buhwamoder gets more airtime than Kurt Allen in Trinidad is the same as asking why Lil' Wayne gets more airtime than Talib Kweli in the US. To me, it seems as though something is unbalanced in both cases but my taste might just be "different" Even though I wine, jump, and chip to the same soca "riddims" if at a party (where I am not in charge of the music selection), I have a "different" relationship to the music. I wouldn't buy a Buhwamoder CD if there was one.

KAISO! Part (4): Moko Jumbie

Gayelle The Channel has launched their coverage of Carnival and as usual they have some great programming. There was a segment on recently about the Keylemanjahro Moko Jumbie School  showing the processes behind concepts for bands each year, the training, and most importantly the creativity and dedication of the members. Here's a similar documentary on the history of Moko Jumbie in the Caribbean:

The Moko Jumbies are the spirits that guard Carnival bands: 

In Iwoye, a Ketu town in West Yoruba country near the Dahomey border, the "Gagalo" silt dancers come out at the annual festival held to honour the supernatural protector of the town - "Orisa Oluwa." It is a harvest festival at which yams are offered and the stilt dancers must perform before the harvest begins...In Trinidad today and in the US Virgin Islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix, especially, an abundance of stilt dancers can be seen. They are called in both places the "Moko Jumbie" (Rituals of Power & Rebellion 65-66)    

KAISO! Part 3: Gripping for Dear Life Behind A Skirt

Doused in blue paint and demanding money he drew nearer. "Pay de devil!" he sang while ferociously beating his biscuit-tin drum. This is mas? Or this is madness? I being too young to tell the difference gripped for dear life behind my aunt's skirt that Carnival morning. I was not letting this madman get my money or my sanity. 

                                            


Fright is a family tradition (with all due smiles and respect). My grandmother has told me that when she was young and heard the devil mas bands coming down the street, she found solace in bed! My sister remembers cowering in the back seat of a car while devil masqueraders stopped traffic drenched in oil, adorned with menacing horns, pitch forks and tails. Yet while I have fear to follow, devil masquerade has another narrative: 

KAISO! Part 2: de reason why

so why do i care about (anti) master narratives, mas and a set of other things people already dash by de way side? its simple: memory is a hell of a thing and i just happen to think its important. chalkdust had his reasons too:

KAISO! Part 1: de dame lorraine

this is the first line of a poem I haven't written yet:

the consistent experience is the mother.

maybe this will turn into a poem about "dame lorraine" mas (as in mask or masquerade). to start the KAISO! ca'naval series i'm posting an excerpt describing the ancestry of "dame lorraine." i've seen many non-Caribbean people give male masqueraders dressed as women strange looks at Caribbean Carnival parades in the US.

KAISO! de anti-master narrative ca’naval series

for the rest of the 2011 trinidad & tobago ca'naval season i’ll be posting quotes from the book Rituals of Power & Rebellion by noted calypsonian Hollis "Chalkdust" Liverpool. the main purpose is to share the story of the forgotten/unknown african contributions to t&t carnival. a visual narrative will be provided by Studio Lafoncette Photography: Blogging de Carnival. hope you enjoy! and just so you know where i'm coming from here are my "guidelines":

Everyday You Learn Something New: Garveyism in Trinidad

The other day, I was on the promenade in San Fernando (Trinidad) by the taxi stand. I cannot count the number of times I have waited for transportation in this area. This particular day I walked past the waiting area when I bumped into a statue and monument to Marcus Garvey. Somehow, I've never noticed the sculpture before and I'm not sure that many people do. When I told a friend of mine that the man in the white suit was Garvey, he said, "All de time I passing this thing and I thought it was some calypsonian or something." At least he had some thought about it because the monument was apparently in my blind-spot.   

Oh How Times Have Changed!

When I was growing up I wasn't allowed to watch The Simpsons because my parents thought the jokes were too adult. So of course, this was a show I would sneak to watch sometimes. Now that I'm an adult, I'm free to watch The Simpsons if I like. I guess its just not as exciting without the adrenaline of pushing the "last" button on the remote every time an adult passes the room. Oh how times have changed. 

The other night I just happened to be watching the show with a few friends and there was the famous family on a mission in Brazil to find a missing orphan Lisa Simpson had befriended. While watching I realized that the missing adrenaline rush was not the only reason I stopped watching.