The past and future of calypso appear to agree that ragga soca is a natural evolution of the art form. GILLIAN CALISTE talks to artistes who try to define the new variant and explain why it should be treated as more than a passing fad.

Artiste and ethnomusicologist alike would admit that music is dynamic, and thus subject to change over time. Of course, when even innovators do not understand their own innovations, there is cause for alarm.

Soca superstar, Iwer George, skipping away with a music title is hardly difficult to swallow. Except his offering two weeks ago at the first ever Ragga Soca Monarch Competition was anything but ragga soca according to ragga enthusiasts.

Said ragga fanatic, Bunji Garlin (Ian Alvarez):

"Even if I didn't win it, they should have given somebody whose music is ragga.

"They (National Cultural Promotions) started it off as ragga soca. I don't know if they realized it would have a lot of new people and they wouldn't get the type of crowd they wanted, so they put people with names in it. They realized the concept would change, so they changed the title to 'new wave soca'."

Bunji copped second place in the competition.

Ghetto Flex (Hilton Dalzell), who was first on Bunji's list as a genuine ragga artiste and who came in sixth, also had some complaints:

"The competition didn't embody what was intended. Had I known that, I would not have entered. It's difficult to judge everything under one basket. They said it was new wave music, but everything today is new. So saying it was 'new wave' was a poor excuse."

Prior to the competition, organizers National Cultural Promotions, had in fact admitted that 'many' of the selections may not have been ragga soca by definition, but rather' alternative soca' or 'new wave music' and would still 'by necessity,' fit under the ragga soca banner.

But concern for the emerging art form transcends the competitive arena.

As ragga soca pioneer Kenny Phillips, put it, the definition of ragga soca has become too broad, resulting in a confused type of music which some artistes themselves do not understand.

When Phillips coined the phrase 'ragga soca' some six years ago, his concept was that of soca music, which incorporated rapping, or chanting with a Jamaican accent.

Four years on the dance hall scene, Bunji gave his take on the meaning of ragga soca.

"Soca is what a normal Trini would sing. It doesn't have a Jamaican accent, it's just (Trini) dialect. Ragga comes from the word, 'raggamuffin'.

"For some reason they always class dancehall music as raggamuffin music so now that the soca get oriented with a li'l piece of dancehall or dub or something that is strange they call it ragga soca because it mix with dancehall and soca. But ragga soca is still different from dancehall soca.

"Dancehall soca is soca with raw chanting like from Beenie Man or Bounty Killa.

"Ragga soca is singing soca with a li'l bit of Jamaican accent, but with a soca melody like what I sing.

"Jamaicans don't class it as dancehall because it's nothing close to their accent. To Trinidadians it would sound like dancehall because it's really far from our dialect. It's just probably my deep tone of voice too that catches people. They would say 'He singing dub on a soca rhythm,' "he explained.

Flex adds, "Ragga is a crossover of reggae. It has a strong reggae influence whether in melody/instrumentation or in the singing itself. It must have some element of dancehall. Just as someone singing soca would adopt the Trini accent, someone singing ragga would sing with the Jamaican accent."

But older stalwarts of the arts are still grappling with the confused works they are offered.

Director of Culture at the Ministry of Culture and calypsonian, Dr Hollis Liverpool, (The Mighty Chalkdust) admits, "I'm not quite sure what they are trying to do, but I know it's a variant of soca."

Meanwhile, Bunji swears that, internationally, the art form is riding the airwaves. He claims the incorporation of more widely accepted music has given soca a much-needed boost.

"We want to get our music onto the mainstream market, but we still call it 'we ting'. If you want to reach abroad you have to think about the other flavours going on outside. You can't only please the people at home.

"This is one of the problems with soca music. All of it sounds the same. Even when the tourists come, I would listen to them backstage and three songs would pass and they would be ready to go because the music is the same. You have to vary the music and Trinidadians don't like to see that. We have to flex with one another to get it out there.

"With ragga soca, people feeling it on the mainstream market."

Admitting that any new form of music would always be met with resistance by some, Bunji insisted that Trinidadians be less myopic in their vision for local culture.

"The older folks cannot relate to it (ragga soca). When something different comes, they throw it off as rap or as a dub. Why can't they call it a new kind of soca? Imagine I was singing my song in the Soca Monarch and they just write me off as singing dub.

"We should not have a problem when something new comes up. Something new would always come out of something."

"Once you have an open mind you would understand how the music runs. The music industry doesn't run on one type of music. It runs on - music evolving out of music evolving out of music. And out music industry changing and we can't help that."

He added: "The ragga soca has opened up a new market for us youths, a new way to express ourselves. Before we had to express ourselves the way others wanted us to. And we feel more comfortable this way. Music is about making yourself comfortable too."

He cited the almost immediate popularity of "Jungle Music" (combination of music of various cultures) in England and the United States.

" 'Jungle Music' is wild. They use African music and American, all types. It's different and that’s one reason why it's so popular now."

Widely known for his vociferousness on the preservation of calypso, Liverpool, however, said he had no problem with the changing face of calypso and soca.

"As long as the root remains, you understand the variants (new types of music).

"But the strength of the variants would depend on the strength of the receivers. If the Soca Monarch wins a $100,000 car, it is bound to survive."

Bunji explained his affinity for dancehall/dub music.

"They sing with story lines. They come across real. But is really the rhythm because music is a spiritual thing. It's not from man. So no man could judge it the way it's supposed to be judged. However music comes, you have to accept it."

Bunji said the Jamaican rhythm has captured his imagination even from his childhood.

"That beat just have a real power. I don't know. I like to tell people, I come from a certain (African) tribe of people who used to listen to that kind of music."

Bunji felt Ghetto Flex's and Denise Belfon's 1997 hit, "Rock yuh Body", was successful because it was something new to which youths could relate.

"This Carnival had real energy because the youths were more involved."

Flex also claimed that despite resistance in some quarters, ragga had been accepted by many, especially the youth.

They both were up-tempo and 'laid back', melodious ragga soca pieces which held appeal for all age groups, he said.

He too saw the need to adapt soca music to international trends.

"Radio stations say they're not supplied with enough local material, but material is there. Out of about 500 songs that are usually released, if you hear 50 you're lucky.

"I'm not criticizing the radio stations because they have to do what they have to, but they are already swinging over to R&B. So if we could incorporate some of the international music in soca to make it more acceptable to the youth, it's worth trying it."

And what of preserving soca?

"Everything in this world is about change. Music 150 years ago wasn't the same as it started out and music 50 years ago wasn't the same as it is today. When (Ras) Shorty (I) developed soca, it came out of soul and calypso. Everything evolve as time goes by," Flex said.

He said apart from international tours, he was currently focussed on creating music that people would listen to all year round.

Liverpool shared the view of his younger counterparts.

"Internationally, people are not interested in calypso as such since it is folk music and deals with folk issues. So if you want to make soca international, you have to make the beat acceptable worldwide," he said.

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