Lancelot Layne (died 28 July 1990) was a

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, ...

artist from

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 ...

Biography

Lancelot Layne was born to a Ms. Ethel Strawn (''née'' Serrano) and raised in Gonzales,

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, a village near

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

. He had a start in many local singing shows and showcase forums in and about Trinidad. During his career, he travelled around the world giving lectures and shows at many music institutions and universities, and was one of the first artists to bring the

music of Trinidad and Tobago The music of Trinidad and Tobago is best known for its calypso music, soca music, chutney music, and steelpan. Calypso's internationally noted performances in the 1950s from native artists such as Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. ...

to the rest of the world. Layne took many trips to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, after studying African history. A 1998 United Nations Radio programme described the links between calypso and

highlife Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (region), history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasse ...

music, focusing on an exchange of visits between Layne and high life musician Koo Nimo of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. In later years, Layne joined the

Orisa Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several African diaspora religions, religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and B ...

faith. He had a son, Brian Llenwyn Layne, and

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

daughters, Niasha and Anuska, who are accomplished pannists. He is often described as being the founder of rapso; his 1970 song "Blow Away" was the first rapso recording, although the term was not coined until 1980. Many of his most remembered songs were not recorded, including the song "Strike Squad", which he composed for his local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team. "Get Off The Radio" was a protest song about the imbalance of

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

between local and foreign works. In 2016 German reissue company Cree Records/

Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging primarily in country music but varying in everything from 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History T ...

released a comprehensive compilation album of Lancelot Layne's work. The artwork for the album was done by

based Painter

Peter Doig Peter Doig ( ; born 17 April 1959) is a painter of Scottish nationality who has lived and worked between Trinidad, Canada, the USA, Germany and Britain. He settled in Trinidad with his family between 2002 and 2021, when he moved back to London. ...

Discography

*1971 ''Afro'dadian/Blow'way Antillana'' *1972 ''Carnival Calypso Hits'' (LP) *1974 ''Neo Calypso'' (LP) *1975 ''Endless Vibrations/Soul Train'' *1975 ''Dat is Horrors/Kaiso For Mout'' *1975 ''Who Could Help Me/Make Life Easy On Me'' *1976 ''Yo Tink It Sorf/Chant'' *1976 ''Doh Dig No Blues'' *1977 ''These Boots Are Made For Walking/If I Were You'' *1980 ''Dis Pan Is For You'' (LP) *1982 ''Get Off The Radio'' *2016 ''Blow'Way'' (2LP/2CD, Cree Records)

External links

Lancelot Layne compilation by Cree Records
by his daughter, Niasha Layne.

from the Calypso Archives.
Origin of Rapso
from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

website.
The Carnival Story - Calypso Revolution
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Layne, Lancelot 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago singers Rapso 1990 deaths Year of birth missing