Music of Barbados - Popular Music

Popular Music

Barbados has produced few internationally popular musicians, worldwide pop superstar Rihanna being the most famous. It has however created a well-developed local scene playing imported styles like American jazz and calypso, as well as the indigenous spouge style. Calypso was the first popular music in Barbados, and dates back to the 1930s. Barbadian calypso is a comedic song form, accompanied by guitar and banjo. More recent styles of calypso have also kept a local scene alive, and produced a number of famous calypsonians. Spouge is a mixture of calypso and other styles, especially ska, and became very popular in the 1960s, around the same time as the Barbadian jazz scene grew in stature and became home to a number of famous performers. Modern Barbadian popular music is largely based around reggae, ragga and soca, and includes some elements of indigenous styles. Artists like Terencia Coward have used modern popular music with instrumentation borrowed from folk tuk bands. Two of the more popular bands of Barbadian popular music are Krosfyah and Square One ; the new wave of singers, largely soca, include Rupee, Lil' Rick and Jabae with lead vocalist Bruce and Barry Chandler, all recent winners at crop over. A more experimental artist such as poet and fiction writer Anthony Kellman writes thoughtful poetic lyrics delivered in a musical style deeply rooted in Barbadian indigenous folk music with strong elements of African and Latin influences. His albums Wings of a Stranger, Limestone, and Blood Mates have been described as groundbreaking due to his original style.