Calypso

Calypso is a melodious medium that arose from competitions during the annual pre-Lenten Carnivals on the island of Trinidad in the Southern Caribbean. It quite often features the ringing sounds of the steel drum, the bravado of mostly male Caribbeans boasting about their musical and sexual prowess, or commentary on social conditions. The phonograph -- and emigration -- carried Calypso to the U.S. (particularly the New York area), although the biggest Calypso hits were scored by non-Trinidadians, like the Andrews Sisters and Harry Belafonte.