Birth of Soca Music
Soca is a outgrowth of Calypso. In the early part of the ‘70s, Calypso fell into a decline with the public. The soul and early disco sounds from the States were what people wanted to hear, and that was what people wanted to give them. Lord Shorty (later known as Ras Shorty I) released Soul of Calypso in 1974, about the same time Eddy Grant was pushing up the beat and instrumentation. However, it is Lord Shorty who is widely credited with inventing soca in the early 1970's when he added Indian rhythmic instruments (like the tabla) to traditional Calypso to create a new sound. He called his genre "Soka", as in, "the SOul of KAlypso". "Soca", a misspelling of his original term, eventually caught on as the generally accepted spelling. Soca is not, as many people assume, a fusion of calypso and American soul music as it was born as a mix of disco, calypso, flavored with East Indian spices.
Indian people make up a large percentage of the population of Trinidad and Tobago, and have done so for a very long time. Indian music and culture have therefore had a great deal of influence on Trinidadian music. "Because Trinidad has both East Indian and Afro-Caribbean population, fast Indian rhythms entered calypso, and then the instruments became electrified," observed Music Publisher/ Producer, Jean Michel Gibert. The sound went global with Arrow's "Hot Hot Hot," international hit, and soon other talents, like David Rudder, emerged on the scene.
Even at the time of his passing, the late Arrow was still living off the song - he still recieved healthy royalty checks. On Hot Hot Hot "it's a perfect example of soca, music for partying, uptempo and joyous, if not very conscious. "Who Let The Dogs Out" is in the same tradition. It was created as a soca song by a Trinidadian artist Anselm Douglas, and was in the Top 10 here a few years ago. The Baha Men covered it in a more hip-hop way."
Soca's lyrical content, much like traditional calypso (and its cousin, Jamaican mento), frequently revolves around saucy or bawdy lyrics and thinly-veiled double-entendres. Some soca artists also include social commentary in their lyrics, but generally, soca lyrics are considered silly and playful.
Indian people make up a large percentage of the population of Trinidad and Tobago, and have done so for a very long time. Indian music and culture have therefore had a great deal of influence on Trinidadian music. "Because Trinidad has both East Indian and Afro-Caribbean population, fast Indian rhythms entered calypso, and then the instruments became electrified," observed Music Publisher/ Producer, Jean Michel Gibert. The sound went global with Arrow's "Hot Hot Hot," international hit, and soon other talents, like David Rudder, emerged on the scene.
Even at the time of his passing, the late Arrow was still living off the song - he still recieved healthy royalty checks. On Hot Hot Hot "it's a perfect example of soca, music for partying, uptempo and joyous, if not very conscious. "Who Let The Dogs Out" is in the same tradition. It was created as a soca song by a Trinidadian artist Anselm Douglas, and was in the Top 10 here a few years ago. The Baha Men covered it in a more hip-hop way."
Soca's lyrical content, much like traditional calypso (and its cousin, Jamaican mento), frequently revolves around saucy or bawdy lyrics and thinly-veiled double-entendres. Some soca artists also include social commentary in their lyrics, but generally, soca lyrics are considered silly and playful.
Birth of Soca Music
Soca is a outgrowth of Calypso. In the early part of the ‘70s, Calypso fell into a decline with the public. The soul and early disco sounds from the States were what people wanted to hear, and that was what people wanted to give them. Lord Shorty (later known as Ras Shorty I) released Soul of Calypso in 1974, about the same time Eddy Grant was pushing up the beat and instrumentation. However, it is Lord Shorty who is widely credited with inventing soca in the early 1970's when he added Indian rhythmic instruments (like the tabla) to traditional Calypso to create a new sound. He called his genre "Soka", as in, "the SOul of KAlypso". "Soca", a misspelling of his original term, eventually caught on as the generally accepted spelling. Soca is not, as many people assume, a fusion of calypso and American soul music as it was born as a mix of disco, calypso, flavored with East Indian spices.
Indian people make up a large percentage of the population of Trinidad and Tobago, and have done so for a very long time. Indian music and culture have therefore had a great deal of influence on Trinidadian music. "Because Trinidad has both East Indian and Afro-Caribbean population, fast Indian rhythms entered calypso, and then the instruments became electrified," observed Music Publisher/ Producer, Jean Michel Gibert. The sound went global with Arrow's "Hot Hot Hot," international hit, and soon other talents, like David Rudder, emerged on the scene.
Even at the time of his passing, the late Arrow was still living off the song - he still recieved healthy royalty checks. On Hot Hot Hot "it's a perfect example of soca, music for partying, uptempo and joyous, if not very conscious. "Who Let The Dogs Out" is in the same tradition. It was created as a soca song by a Trinidadian artist Anselm Douglas, and was in the Top 10 here a few years ago. The Baha Men covered it in a more hip-hop way."
Soca's lyrical content, much like traditional calypso (and its cousin, Jamaican mento), frequently revolves around saucy or bawdy lyrics and thinly-veiled double-entendres. Some soca artists also include social commentary in their lyrics, but generally, soca lyrics are considered silly and playful.
Indian people make up a large percentage of the population of Trinidad and Tobago, and have done so for a very long time. Indian music and culture have therefore had a great deal of influence on Trinidadian music. "Because Trinidad has both East Indian and Afro-Caribbean population, fast Indian rhythms entered calypso, and then the instruments became electrified," observed Music Publisher/ Producer, Jean Michel Gibert. The sound went global with Arrow's "Hot Hot Hot," international hit, and soon other talents, like David Rudder, emerged on the scene.
Even at the time of his passing, the late Arrow was still living off the song - he still recieved healthy royalty checks. On Hot Hot Hot "it's a perfect example of soca, music for partying, uptempo and joyous, if not very conscious. "Who Let The Dogs Out" is in the same tradition. It was created as a soca song by a Trinidadian artist Anselm Douglas, and was in the Top 10 here a few years ago. The Baha Men covered it in a more hip-hop way."
Soca's lyrical content, much like traditional calypso (and its cousin, Jamaican mento), frequently revolves around saucy or bawdy lyrics and thinly-veiled double-entendres. Some soca artists also include social commentary in their lyrics, but generally, soca lyrics are considered silly and playful.
