Introduction

Calypso is a beautiful artform that stems all the way back to pre-emancipation days of slavery. Slaves would take there few moments off while recreating to sing songs of how they were being mistreated or anything that happened that they saw fit to be placed in their compositions. The war cry we hear at the beginning of many calypsos also stems back to the days of slavery. These songs of pain, love, anxiety and troubled times are what kept the slaves going and helped to relieve some stress which in turn maintain a level of sanity.