Here is a question that should be asked, was Beckett's "Coming High" aka Marijuana, the Caribbean's first Ragga Soca song? Apparently that is the opinion of Mr. Michael Peters and also the thinking of many persons hailing from the beautiful country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. What is your opinion? I have my thoughts and will share them with you today.
"Michael Peters, Vincentian music aficionado credits Alston 'Becket' Cyrus for developing the Ragga Soca genre, with his experimentation of Rhythm & Blues flavors in his calypso compositions of the late 1970's. Peters states that Becket's "Coming High" (circa 1977) was the Caribbean's first Ragga Soca or as Trinidad and Tobago now calls the genre, Groovy Soca (7).
The preceding paragraph in quotes was taken from a discussion thread on islandmix that dealt with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines music industry. I wrote this post because there is a great disparity in what Trinidadians consider Raga Soca to be and what citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines consider Raga Soca to be. First off let me say this... they are absolutely wrong to state that Trinidadians consider Ragga Soca to be Groovy Soca. I don't know of any Trinidad and Tobago Citizen who thinks that way. It is a totally wrong conclusion on the part of the writer to state that Trinidadians Groovy Soca is the same as 'Vincy Ragga Soca' or to put it another way that Trinidad's Ragga Soca is Groovy Soca... no we are not on the same wave length. Something is remiss here and we need to address it.
Mr. Michael Peters makes several bold statements when he concluded that Beckett is the foundation of Vincy Ragga Soca. That music has been mislabeled there is no 'ragga in that soca' but we will come to that in time. Let us take a look at what Mr. Peters stated.
First off Michael Peters credits Beckett as the the man who sang/developed the very first 'Vincy Raga Soca' sub genre song with 'Coming High' in the late 1970's. Secondly, he went on to say that it was a combination of Rhythm and Blues flavors in his calypso compositions.
Thirdly he stated that Vincy Raga Soca is what Trinidadians call Groovy Soca today. Well this may be the first thing he got right! Trinidad's Groovy Soca is not the same as Trinidad's Ragga Soca! Let me say it again for emphasis, Trinidad's Ragga Soca is not the same as Trinidad's Groovy Soca. However, Trinidad's Groovy Soca and what they call Ragga Soca in Saint Vincent today is the same! Simply put Trinidad's Ragga Soca sticks to the plan of the Ragga Muffin style of Jamaica's Ragga muffin DJ Style but with a Soca vibe in the music. You have a Ragga chant style vocal element with a Soca musical vibe!
Having defined the Trinidad view of Ragga Soca, we need to comprehend the term Ragga Soca and how it came to be, and what Trinidadians consider Ragga Soca to be... I can't speak for the people of St. Vincent but I can reference the music from a Trinidadian point of view... after all Soca came from Trinidad and Tobago (that is also disputed by many small islanders but that is a different discussion).
The following discussion relates to how Trinidadians see the sub-genre we know as Ragga Soca:
"Negotiation of Trinidadian identity in ragga Soca music by Glenda Alicia E. Leung
ABSTRACT: In the late 1990s, a new musical genre emerged in Trinidad called ragga Soca. Ragga Soca is described as the product of blending Trinidad's indigenous Soca music with Jamaican dancehall. One peculiarity of ragga Soca is the borrowing of Jamaican Creole English phonological features into the performance genre. Initially, there was much opposition to this genre as it challenged notions of Trinidadian identity and self. This paper considers the linguistic innovations of ragga Soca artists, in particular, their use of Jamaican Creole English phonological borrowings, demonstrating that they have not only created a new performance genre, but have used Jamaican Creole English to mediate their Trinidadian identity.
The ideas expressed in the paragraph above has nothing to do with Rhythm and Blues flavors in calypso compositions as referenced by the thoughts expressed by Michael Peters regarding Beckett's 'Coming High'. Jamaican Dancehall music blended with Trinidad's Soca with a strong emphasis on the use of Jamaican Creole English created what Trinidadians call Ragga Soca. This has nothing to do with Rhythm and Blues flavors and calypso music. The term Ragga comes from the Jamaican word 'Raggamuffin' and in Trinidad that is clearly a reference to 'Dub music'. In Trinidad, Ragga Soca is a blend of Soca and Dancehall music with a lyrical style similar to the dancehall singing style of the Jamaican artistes. That is Trinidad's version of Ragga Soca and it could have a groovy or power element depending on the mood of the artiste/music producer.
Groovy Soca has always been around. This is one of the most silly arguments I have ever come across. On Islandmix one of the users named Socapro, a Trinidadian radio personality on Genesis Radio out of England attempted to explain how the term came about. We all know that the Soca Monarch Competition created by Mr. Monroe used the terms Power and Groovy Soca to differentiate the two styles of Soca Music. Socapro explained that Soca music was always of the Groovy style in the early years until singers like Maestro and most notably 'Superblue' added pace and the jump and wave phenomenon that lives on to this day. The fact remains that it was now the right time to give Soca new categories and names for purely promotional and financial reasons. The birth of the Power and Groovy Soca competitions came from this business decision. As the competitions grew the terms became cemented in folklore and remains with us to this day.
In Trinidad and Tobago Groovy Soca and Ragga Soca are not the same thing as the Vincy massive want you to think. Mr. Michael Peters was 100 percent incorrect when he made the statement that "Becket's Coming High (circa 1977) was the Caribbean's first Ragga Soca or as Trinidad and Tobago now calls the genre, Groovy Soca".
Clearly there is a labeling issue here and this controversy will continue with both sides brandishing their pronouncements with conviction that the truth lies with the territory one come from. As a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago it is obvious that I will go along with the combination of Dancehall music and lyrical style from Jamaica woven into our sweet Soca music to call that sub-genre Ragga Soca not the music of St. Vincent. In my humble opinion Beckett's Coming High was a calypso with some jazz and blues segments. The music that I hear coming out of St. Vincent that is labeled Ragga Soca is what Trinidadians call Groovy Soca. There's simply no Jamaican Raggamuffin sound in that music.
The discussion will continue but the music will continue to play on. Does it matter who is 'right or wrong' or it is more important that we learn to respect each others views but at the same time dance to the same rhythms? Please share your thoughts with us...
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Use the comment feature of this post to share your thoughts about the song here with your peers. All comments will be posted. Please don't forget to visit us on our 'Facebook Fan Page'. Use the search term @sokah2soca and don't forget to "LIKE US". We are also on Twitter and are now using Instagram; SoundCloud and don't forget to #Sokah2Soca and Enjoy!
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