In 2018, young vocalist and songwriter Nia Golden invited some of the island’s most prolific songwriters and some up and coming ones to sit down and share their wisdom on the craft.
Now, she is releasing videos from that discussion on her social media. The first two episodes in the Montserrat Calypso Songwriters Series are now available on her Facebook page.
Golden shared that for the past two years she’s been singing back-up for the calypso shows during the December festival and it made her curious as to how calypso music is constructed. She was able to sit down with Minister of Communications and Works Paul Lewis, who writes calypsos for the reigning monarch Sylk; four-time calypso monarch Herman ‘Cupid’ Francis, 10-time calypso monarch Justin ‘Hero’ Cassell, former calypso monarch Jester ‘Ice Man’ Weekes and former monarch and the island’s most prolific calypso songwriter Cecil ‘Cepeke’ Lake to find out more about the calypso art form.
“I really enjoyed speaking with them and I learned a lot about what the musical scene was like back then. They are filled with a lot of information that younger writers can use and I am glad they agreed to share their experience with me on camera,” the singer said.
You can watch the first two episodes below. Follow her page to see future videos in the series.
In this video, Cupid, Cepeke and Minister Lewis shares on the calypso scene when they were younger.
In this video, Justin ‘Hero’ Cassell explains his introduction to the craft and how it has evolved to what it is today.
