Extempo (also extempo calypso) is a lyrically improvised form of
calypso and is most notably practiced in
Grenada
Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...
and
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
. It consists of performers improvising in song or in rhythmic speech on a given theme before an audience, which take turns to perform. It is inherently competitive, and success is judged by the wit and the 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.”
Art of extempo
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.
Extempo war
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.
Related oral/musical traditions
Extempo is similar to the
African-American tradition of "
the Dozens
The Dozens is a game played between two contestants in which the participants insult each other until one of them gives up. Common in African American communities, the Dozens is almost exclusively played in front of an audience, who encourage the ...
" 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
Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...
.
Notable extempo artists
*
Lord Pretender
*
Brother Resistance
* Big B
* Black Sage
* Brian London
*
Gypsy
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, po ...
* Lady Africa
* The Relator (Willard C. Harris)
* Shortpants (Llewllyn Macintosh)
* Lingo
*Incredible Myron B (Myron Bruce)
References
External links
Glossary: National Geographic World Music"Seriously Funny: An Argument for Comedy" UK TV series
{{Calypso music
Trinidad and Tobago styles of music
Culture of Trinidad and Tobago
Carnival music
Calypso music