Kaiso

A type of music popular in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Belize, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Dominica that later evolved into calypso music. Kaiso music has its origins in West Africa (particularly in present-day Nigeria) and in the Kingdom of Kongo and was brought over by enslaved Africans, who (in the early history of the art form) used it to sing about their masters. The kalinda drum rhythm was transported nearly unchanged from the Kongo. The people would also gather in kaiso tents where a griot or lead singer would lead them in song. Many early kaisos were sung in French Creole by an individual called a chantwell. Kaiso songs are generally narrative in form and often have a cleverly concealed political subtext. Kaiso performers are known as kaisonians. 1700s–1940s.