How Caribbean Music is Shaking Things Up

Preserving culture and traditions has always been a goal of many governments across the region. Modernization and influence from metropolitan countries have seemed to erase what was distinctly West Indian and is slowly replacing it with international trends and ideas. If we’re being honest with ourselves, this was inevitable. The advent and firm implementation of various social media in our daily lives would make this unavoidable. Times have changed and so have our values, opinions and tastes.

Admittedly, this isn’t the only reason why our culture is gradually dwindling. A lot of it is caused in part by the fact that older generations refused to pass down traditions to subsequent generations, with the belief that these practices were for the lower class and the uneducated. One such tradition was language. I had always known that many St. Lucian parents would prohibit their children from speaking Creole – even in the home. At the same time, I wasn’t aware of how big a problem it was until my first tertiary level Sociology class when half of the students couldn’t understand a simple Creole sentence. Some of my neighbour’s had children whose first language was Creole, so understandably this was a bit surreal for me.

However, now that this ‘younger generation’ isn’t so young anymore, there has been a developing interest in learning the language, greatly due to the popularity of ‘Dennery Soca’/ Kuduro or ‘Lucian Soca’ as it is more popularly known around the region. With so many of the lyrics in Creole, a lot of people now have to choice but to learn more than just the swear words so that they can understand what they’re listening too. How ironic, since older generations held strong opinions on the ‘vulgarity’ of this genre when it had just begun to gain traction. ‘Lucian soca’ has arguably become one of the biggest resurgences of some form of culture in recent times.

Realistically, the lyrics which generally have to do with dancing, drinking, partying and other salacious activities will not teach a non-speaker how to understand a regular Creole conversation – give or take a few words. However, it’s a start. Since becoming so popular as a genre, and generating a slew of household names, more people have accepted the fact that ‘Dennery segment’ is here to stay. Now at an international level, 2018 saw local St. Lucian artists tour the United States, and fostered several collaborations with established regional artists. While the beats and energy exuded through this genre are one of a kind, they’re doing much more for the survival of tradition that would have ever been thought possible.

Several people have taken issue with the material in these songs (as well as other popular Caribbean genres like Soca and Dancehall), accusing it of promoting promiscuity, violence and general negative behaviours. Recently, this argument was brought up on Twitter and was just as quickly dismissed, noting that several artists speak on poverty, politics, self-love, hope and a myriad of other positive and poignant issues which a similar across the Caribbean.

In a panel discussion at the Community College in St. Lucia, many people suggested that nothing good comes out of those songs – and that they instil sexist ideas in the heads of young boys, and teach girls that they’re objects of desire. While this might be the case in some songs, many more songs speak of more relatable and important themes like love, relationships, peace, and success, like the music of Asher ‘Smallz’, Teddyson John and Voice.

Caribbean music is much more than bending over or flinging women from speakers. It’s more than catchy beats with no substance. It is not just a unifying tool, but has morphed into an instrument of education and is truly shaking things up.