Aiye De Fosto, Hail!
By Dr. Winford James
May 02, 2004
A hat-trick of winning panorama tunes, and not a cent for him in either prize money or royalties. Firestorm, played by Trinidad All Stars, won in 2002 - not a cent. Pandora, played by Exodus, won in 2003 - not a cent. War 2004, played by Exodus again, won in 2004 - not a cent. Indeed, were it not for War 2004 and Ah Paid Meh Dues, Panorama this year would have starved from a lack of suitable pan tunes, the songs having been played by virtually every band and War 2004 in particular so completely taking over the place in the semi-finals that one fan suffered major trauma that the papers didn't scream the next day 'WAR IN THE SAVANNAH!'
The artist, The Original De Fosto Himself, is very clearly a very talented calypsonian, but he is also very clearly an ignored, unacclaimed, disrespected calypsonian. He has given us calypsos in a variety of genres: nation-building, social commentary, political, sport (cricket), and pan, especially the last mentioned. But outside of Carnival and our increasingly rare moments of cricketing celebration, he is not played on the radio, and I suspect his records hardly sell, the pan fans among us not only being a relatively small and declining community but also preferring to hear and watch and move to the steelbands playing the music than buying it.
Further, doubtless because of the low appeal of his preferred genre of pan calypso, he does not give concerts, is hardly ever part of the performers in them, and does not go on musical tours of the Caribbean or further afield. To find his music, one has to go to the calypso tent, the Dimanche Gras stage, or TUCO offices at The Savannah. Not even the record shops stock sufficient copies of his CDs.
But over the years, he has regaled us with quite a repertoire including Kung Fu Fighters, Super Jam, Legend of a Hero, Fetters, Batman, Trinbago Hold On, The Unfinished Symphony, Pan in Yuh Pan, Play Mr Pannist Play, Pan in a Rage, Pan in Town, Pan Messiah, Doh Sing Dat, Cultural Icons, Bionic Fever, The Mecca, Tune for Pan, Four Lara Four, One More Kitch…, and Pan Forevermore.
My mind's eye sees him now, dingolaying on the Dimanche Gras big stage, in full, flowing, resplendent, attire, head banded, body strikingly fit, dingolay moves strong yet supple, face alight and alive with musical energy and joy, the man at one with his music, his intermittent smile wide and big-toothed and rapturous….
This year, in Ah Paid Meh Dues, he lamented the failure of the judges so far to give him the Calypso Monarch Crown. He had given them and us 'topic, melody and music. Tune to dance, tune to prance, lyrics in meh song.' He had given Cultural Icons and Pandora. He had nourished pan with tunes. He had sacrificed 'for this culture…giv[ing] up offers in England, some in Canada, some in de Virgin Islands, some in America'. He had paid his dues. 'What ah do them oiye?' he cried. 'What ah do them aiye?… What again you want me to do?… What again yuh want meh to sing to be de Monarch or King?'
And, in disappointment, he bawled onomatopoeically, 'Aye ya ya ya ya ya! Ya ya ya ya ya ya! Ya ya ya ya ya ya. Woe yo yo yo yo yo! Yo yo yo yo yo yo! Yo yo yo yo yo yo!'
This is an artist who not only sings and performs songs, but writes them as well. So he is talented in two major areas of the art of calypso. It has always seemed to me that the true calypsonian is not only a renderer of calypso but, critically, a creator, and, therefore, the Calypso Monarch Competition should specially value the artist's creation of lyrics by having it as part of the marking scheme. If that were in place, De Fosto would surely have fared much better.
He continues to demonstrate that he is a creator. His latest CD sports a calypso on Lara's unprecedented 400 not out. It is called He Strikes Again (A Tribute to Lara). Go buy it.
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