Ras Shorty I (6 October 1941 – 12 July 2000), born Garfield Blackman and also known as Lord Shorty, was a Trinidadian
calypsonian
A calypsonian, originally known as a ''chantwell'', is a musician from the anglophone Caribbean who sings songs of the Calypso music, calypso genre. Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition. Origin ...
and soca musician, known as the Father of Soca and The Love Man.
Biography
He was born Garfield Blackman in Lengua Village, Princes Town, Trinidad, and rose to fame as "Lord Shorty" with his 1963 hit "Cloak and Dagger", subsequently taking the name Ras Shorty. A prolific musician, composer and innovator, Shorty experimented with fusing calypso and the other Indian-inspired music, including
chutney music
Chutney music ( Caribbean Hindustani: चटनी संगीत, 𑂒𑂗𑂢𑂲 𑂮𑂑𑂹𑂏𑂲𑂞, چٹنی موسیقی) is a genre that blends Hindustani folk music, including Bhojpuri folk traditions, with Caribbean calypso an ...
, for nearly a decade before unleashing "the soul of calypso",
soca music
Soca music, or the "soul of calypso", is a genre of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1970s. It is considered an offshoot of Calypso music, calypso, with influences from Afro–Trinidadians and Tobagonians, Afro-Trinidadian a ...
. Shorty was the first to really define his music and with "Indrani" in 1973 and the album ''Endless Vibration'' in 1975. On 30 August 1977, Shorty's friend and collaborator Maestro (Cecil Hume) died in an accident in Trinidad and his loss was felt by Shorty, who penned "Higher World" as a tribute.
In Dominica, Shorty had attended an Exile One performance of
cadence-lypso
Cadence-lypso is a fusion of cadence rampa from Haiti, Jazz, Blues and calypso music, calypso from Trinidad and Tobago that has also spread to other English speaking countries of the Caribbean. Originated in the 1970s by the Dominican band Exil ...
, and collaborated with Dominica's 1969 Calypso King,
Lord Tokyo
Hayden Desiree (20 June 1934 – 12 April 2015), better known as Lord Tokyo (named after the capital city of Japan), (and sometimes as Doctor Tokes),kwéyòl. Shorty's 1974 ''Endless Vibrations'' and ''Soul of Calypso'' brought soca to its peak of international fame.
Soca's development as a musical genre included its fusion with calypso,
cadence
In Classical music, Western musical theory, a cadence () is the end of a Phrase (music), phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution (music), resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don ...
, and Indian musical instruments—particularly the dholak, tabla and dhantal—as demonstrated in Lord Shorty's classic compositions "Ïndrani" and "Shanti Om".
His fame continued to grow throughout the 1970s, and he became one of the country's top performers. He recorded tracks such as "Kim" and "Money Eh No Problem", which was a stinging political and social commentary based on the words of Trinidad's then Prime Minister,
Eric Williams
Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...
of the
People's National Movement
The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active Politics of Trinidad and Tobago, political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's hist ...
. "Money Eh No Problem" was used in a political advertising campaign in 2000 for the
United National Congress
The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago. The UNC is a Centre-left politics, centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unio ...
while Shorty lay on his deathbed unable to protest the use of his music for the wrong reasons, a guiding principle behind his life choices.
In 1984, he voiced his disenchantment with soca, claiming it was being used for the wrong reasons. A short time thereafter, he embraced a strict form of Christianity, adopted the name Ras Shorty I and moved with his family to the Piparo forest in the southern hills of Central Range (Trinidad and Tobago), where he and his family focused on creating faith-based music.
In the late 1980s, he began recording again, fusing soca and gospel in a style he called 'jamoo'. He continued recording into the late 1990s, writing hits such as " Watch Out My Children", which focuses on the dangers of drug abuse. The song was recorded in ten languages and was adopted by the UN in an anti-cocaine campaign. He toured transnationally with his band, the Love Circle, which consisted mainly of family members. During his lifetime Lord Shorty fathered a total of 23 children. The Love Circle included his wife Claudette and sons Eldon, Sheldon and Isaac, who have gone on to record several highly infectious hits, including "Blessed are the Elders" and "To The Ceiling". His daughters, Marge, Nehilet and Avion Blackman, also have successful careers in recording and fashion design. Artist Ataklan has also benefited under the musical training of Ras Shorty I and has gone on to become a maverick of the
rapso
Rapso is a form of Trinidadian music that grew out of the social unrest of the 1970s. Black Power and unions grew in the 1970s, and rapso grew along with them. The first recording was "Blow 'Way" by Lancelot Layne in 1970. Six years later, ...
tradition.
The family aims to put across positive messages with their music, focusing especially on youth. They also exhort modern soca artists to preach positivity and the word of God through their music. Through his daughter Abbi Blackman, Ras Shorty is the grandfather of singer Nailah Blackman.