Ninjaman LIVE IN JAPAN (REGGAE SPLASH 1991)

"Housequake" -PRN

EXTEMPO WAR -Gypsy vs. Big B

Lord Superior -"Trinidad Carnival" (Live)

EXTEMPO NEWS!!!

Flourgon, Daddy Lizard, Courtney Melody & Johnny P Old Skool Session (BBC 1Xtra)

CLASSIC DANCEHALL VIBES....

The Roaring Lion Tribute (1994)

Roaring Lion (22 February 1908 – 11 July 1999) was a Trinidadian calypsonian (calypso singer/composer). His 65-year career began in the early 1930s and he is best known for his compositions "Ugly Woman" (1933), "Mary Ann" and "Netty, Netty", which are still performed today. The song "If You Wanna Be Happy", which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 18 May 1963, as well as the R&B singles chart, is based on Roaring Lion's "Ugly Woman".

Lion was born Rafael de Leon in Aroquita, in the Caura Hills of northern Trinidad, to a mother named Basalicion de Leon and a father named Arias Cairi Llama. 

From a young age, Roaring Lion (de Leon's adopted stage name) became known for his skill in creating calypsos (particularly in his ability to extemporize lyrics on any subject). Contrary to his humble origins, he cultivated a refined stage persona and always appeared sharply dressed. His career officially began in 1924; he cut his first sides in his late teens. He recorded extensively between the 1930s and 1950s, and was one of the calypsonians who deserves the most credit for the increasing international popularity of the genre during this period.

His lyrics, delivered in rapid-fire style, show an impeccable command of the English language (as well as Trinidadian English Creole), and are replete with witty turns of phrase, humorous metaphors, and clever alliteration and internal rhymes. Of all the early calypsonians, he was by far the most scandalous, with the most banned songs by a large margin. 

Further, the lyrics of many of his "war calypsoes" (essentially insult songs) presage those of similar hip-hop battle rap songs by over 50 years. 

His grandson is American actor and television personality, Alfonso Ribeiro

"Pick Myself Up" (Live) -Andrew Tosh

Andrew Tosh live and direct doing a tribute to his legendary father, Peter Tosh. 

Terri Lyons with an EXTEMPO for COVID-19

STAY AT HOME!!!

EXTEMPO- GYPSY vs. LINGO

Extempo (also extempo calypso) is a lyrically improvised form of calypso and is most notably practised in Trinidad and Tobago. It consists of a performer improvising in song or in rhythmic speech on a given theme before an audience who themselves take turns to perform. It is inherently competitive and success is judged by the wit and ingenuity of the performance.

It is similar in form to what has been defined as traditional African song: "a recitative or chants with a short chorus. The soloist gives the melody while a chorus sings a refrain. As the melody is given out, they turn to one another, each improvising in turn. Extempo tends to comprise topics from current events treated with mockery, ridicule and sarcasm, or with flattery or praise.”

It is characterised either by the “single tone”, consisting of four-line stanzas or the “double tone”, which has eight-line stanzas. There are four basic melodies common to extempo: “Sans Humanite”, “Matilda”, “Miss Mary Ann”, and “Big Bamboo”. The most widely used is "Sans Humanite". Another characteristic of extempo is that the performer must be able to think quickly since the subjects are handed out on the spot and the lyrics are then improvised.

The competitive nature of extempo is reflected in the annual Trinidad Carnival with a formal competition for the title of National Extempo Monarch. Extempo War, or warring, is the practice of competitors attacking each other's efforts at extemporizing in the course of their own performance. It is not an essential part of competition, but is a regular feature, and an entertaining one. The acknowledged "Grandmaster of Extempo" was Lord Pretender, who was twice honored by the Trinidad & Tobago government for his services to calypso.

Extempo war may also be called simply Calypso War.

Not all extempo performance is competitive. Away from competition, formal roles for extempo performers are typically as emcees or hosts at private functions.

Extempo is similar to the African-American tradition of "the Dozens" in its competitive aspect, but may be distinguished in that the aim is not to improvise humorous abuse to an opponent, incorporating a given form of words, but to entertain an audience of one's competitors while extemporizing on a given theme. The abuse or sarcasm may be directed either at one's competitors or at subjects relevant to that theme, ideally both.

It is also similar to the United States tradition of freestyle rap.

Notable EXTEMPO MASTERS: 

• Lord Pretender
• Brother Resistance
• Big B
• Black Sage
• Gypsy
• Lady Africa
• The Relator (Willard C. Harris)
• Shortpants (Llewllyn Macintosh)
• Lingo
• Incredible Myron B (Myron Bruce)

RIP Bob Andy

"Too Experienced"

The legendary Lord Pretender (1991)

Lord Pretender (8 September 1917 – 22 January 2002) was the stage name of Aldric Farrell, M.O.M., H.B.M. a calypsonian vocalist born on the island of Tobago widely acknowledged to be a "master" of extempo, a lyrically improvised form of calypso music considered a forerunner of rap. Starting with an impromptu performance at the age of 12, his career spanned nearly seven decades until cancer of the larynx forced him to retire in the mid-1990s.

In 1957, Lord Pretender won the prestigious "Calypso King" competition. Honored by the Trinidad and Tobago government for his services to calypso in 1972, Lord Pretender went on to receive the island's Hummingbird Medal in 1994.

Farrell's mother went to the United States to look for work and left him, at a young age, with his maternal grandmother in Trinidad.

He made his first public performance at the age of twelve in 1929, where he delivered a self-composed calypso about the ghost of a young girl.

Early appearances quickly gained Farrell popularity and earned him the moniker "the Boy Wonder", though he soon reverted to "Pretender", a previous nickname from his school days.

His grandmother did not approve of this career choice due to the "scandalous reputation" of the calypso musicians and more than once, she entered a calypso tent and dragged Pretender out mid-performance. Farrell later recalled: "I'd get two clouts in the face. My grandmother would say: 'You disgracing the family.'"

Pretender regularly performed calypso in the tents throughout Trinidad and Tobago, and his career progressed steadily during the mid-1930s as he performed side by side with stars of the calypso scene, such as Attila the Hun, Roaring Lion, and Lord Beginner. Wealth did not automatically follow success in the business; when Pretender accompanied fellow calypsonian Executor on a tour lasting over a month, he received just 60 cents and two bags of oranges as payment.

Lord Pretender won his first music competition with his calypso "Ode to the Negro Race", which became a popular wartime number. The song's chorus states: "God made us all and in him we trust; So nobody in the world is better than us." In 1937 he made his first recording, for RCA Victor's Bluebird Records sub-label, and in 1939 Lord Pretender placed third in the original "Calypso King" competition, an event he later won in 1957. The honour of being crowned calypso monarch was regarded by the islanders as the ultimate achievement for any calypsonian.

Pretender's 1961 song "Never Ever Worry" is considered to be "one of the classic calypsos of all time". Fellow calypsonian David Rudder once remarked that: "Pretender talked about how there's always someone who has more worries than you. Pretender grew up in an era when calypsonians were not accepted as they are today, and it's this philosophy that got him through those hard times and made him last so long." In 1996 "Never Ever Worry" featured in the soundtrack for the U.S. road movie, Cadillac Ranch:

Don't mind how you suffering bad

What I say is true

Always consider:

Somebody suffering more than you.

Excerpt from "Never Ever Worry"—Lord Pretender (1961)

In 1972 Pretender received his first national award, the Trinidad & Tobago Public Service Medal of Merit Silver (for Calypso), from Governor-General Sir Solomon Hochoy. The next year he competed against Roaring Lion, Viper, the Great Unknown and Owl, in a calypso contest, after which Lord Pretender was honoured as king of extempo.

Lord Pretender enjoyed a lengthy career in the music business and until the mid-1990s gave regular performances. In 1994 he received the prestigious Hummingbird medal, but despite frequent appearances on stage he did not make much money during his 72-year music career. In the mid-1990s, cancer of the larynx put an end to his singing career, and in later life the government provided him with rent-free accommodation at Port of Spain. A single man with no children, Lord Pretender was a big fan of horse racing, and could frequently be observed at Trinidad's Santa Rosa Park racecourse with his horse-owning friend Lord Kitchener.

Pretender died at the age of 84, having been hospitalised for several months due to the throat cancer he had suffered for years. The general secretary of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) stated that: "Pretender was one of the legends of calypso," and that, "Trinidad has lost a cultural icon....His exploits and achievements will for a long time form part of our cultural legacy as well as our national history."

Style[edit]

Lord Pretender perennially appeared on stage smartly dressed in a sharp suit with skinny tie, his act characterised by the casting of suspicious glances and an idiosyncratic utilisation of his fedora as a prop.

Pretender stressed social commentary in calypso, and throughout his career stayed with oratorical ballads. According to Rapso artist Brother Resistance, Pretender had "zero tolerance for calypsonians who ignored lyrical content in their song,"and was known for stressing a "witty, moralising element" in his compositions. Upon Lord Pretender's death, David Rudder commented that Pretender was "a stickler for what he considered to be authentic kaiso." Rudder, who in the past had been criticised by Pretender, also remarked: "The last time I saw him...he asked me when I was going to sing calypso."

The zenith of a woman's ambition in life

Should be to be a loving mother and a pleasing wife

For thus they are by nature intended

Not as overlords or slaves but to man subjected

To join with him in love and connubial unity

In generating humanity.

"Mother Love"—Lord Pretender (1937)

In "Yo No Quiero Trabajo", Lord Pretender tells of the commonly held perception by men of the time that dating a rich white woman led to an increase in respect:^[10]

Even my friends they envy me

But I am idolized by the family

And sooner or later I'll buy a car

To drive around the circular.

"Yo No Quiero Trabajo"—Lord Pretender

Extempo

Pretender was widely considered "master" of extempo, a lyrically improvised form of calypso music considered a precursor to rap music, which at the time was held to be the supreme form of calypso. Extempo involves the improvisation of lyrics based upon topics suggested by the audience; the performer spontaneously devises songs filled with intricate lyrics and rhymes. Pretender has been described as extempo's "greatest exponent, and virtually sole guardian."

"He never entered the annual extempo competition, instituted in the hope of reviving the discipline in Trinidad, because by general consent, he would have spoiled the party for everyone else. No one could match his ability to conjure up humorous, and perfectly scanned, verses from nowhere."

Talking of his technique, Pretender once explained that, "the trick is always to have your first and last verse." Rudder described Pretender as "a sly, old fox when it came to singing extempo," and fellow calypsonian Mighty Sparrow agreed, stating that: "When you think you have him, he rest a hot piece of extempo on you. He could think fast."

A classic performance by the legendary calypsonian Pretender shows why they don't make them like him anymore From 1991, here is the late, great Lord Pretender.