Soca music is a dynamic mix of Calypso and Indian music. Soca beats and rhythms are played on a bunch of different Indian rhythm instruments like the dholak, tabla, and dhantal. It is most popular in the Caribbean, but also has a worldwide following.
Garfield Blackman, more popularly known as mr shorty Y Ras Shorty I, he was the innovator of Soca music. When Shorty was a kid, he would always listen to Calypso or Indian music all around him. He created Soca music by combining Calypso and Indian music, and added many rhythms to the ceiling with a lot of Indian rhythm instruments. Lord Shorty first called this new musical style Solca, representing the true “Soul of Calypso”. Solca became popularly known as Soca. Lord Shorty wanted Soca to “lift people’s spirits”.
Soca swept across the world like a hurricane after several hits from the Soca artist Arrow, including Hot Hot Hot.
Soca numbers by various other artists are also very popular. Soca continues to evolve into new musical forms.
Jamoo
Jamoo is a mix of reggae and gospel, with a modest following. It was started by Lord Shorty after he stopped playing Soca. Jamoo spreads a message of kindness and spirituality, just as Lord Shorty originally intended him to do Soca. But Lord Shorty came to feel that the Soca artists were spreading bad messages in stark contrast to their original purpose: “to lift the spirits of the people”.
A little about Shorty and his childhood
Garfield Blackman, who would be better known to the world as Lord Shorty and later as Ras Shorty I, an extraordinary Calypso singer-songwriter who invented Soca Music and Jamoo Music, was born in Trinidad on October 6, 1941. During his childhood in Trinidad , Shorty was exposed to a sea of music: Caribbean Calypso music, West African music, and East Indian music. As a child, Shorty “was inspired by his older brother George, who played harmonica, and was so talented that he soon mastered the organ and guitar,” recalls a cousin. Garfield Blackman aka Lord Shorty aka Ras Short I started singing Calypso songs before I was seven years old.
