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By Rahym Augustin-Joseph
On Wednesday December 28th 2022, we learnt of the passing of a quintessential Caribbean Man, Black Stalin, who spent his lifetime epitomising love for this Caribbean civilisation, through calypso. Like many other legendary calypsonians, both past and present, he lived up to the North-star of the art form, which is to touch the soul of ordinary Caribbean people, by articulating their voices, particularly those of the poor and downtrodden. Black Stalin was resolute in his music to show that the voices of ordinary people must have an important place in our discourses, as he felt that they were not being represented adequately, and it was the role of the art form which maintained the soul and consciousness of the people to represent their interests.
Black Stalin has made monumental contributions to shaping our consciousness and the destiny of our region, through his ability to lay bare the issues facing our region and articulate what we must do in order to solve them, in both an unfiltered yet witty way. He always asked us to confront our past of enslavement and colonialism, but never allowing it to dampen our future. His life’s work was focused on ensuring Caribbean people emancipated themselves from mental slavery by moving away from the European imposition of knowledge and their claim of a monopoly civilisation, and ensuring that we create an Afro-Caribbean viewpoint that was indigenous and unique. He firmly rejected the continued European answers to our problems and through his music, attempted to show why an original, authentic and indigenous response was needed, as our most anti-colonial responses must come from within. Even more than that, he was certain that while we responded to colonial projects, we needed to stay clear from the treachery of the isms and schisms, as they always ended up in huge confusions, and needed a nuclear army to defend them. He wanted us to chart our own developmental agenda, with equal rights and justice at the centre. Now more than ever, we must heed his words as we continue to face the effects of the Russia-Ukraine War, COVID-19 Pandemic, Climate Change, Colonialism among other issues, which have caused our many inequalities to be exposed.
Black Stalin as Regionalist
What was really admirable about Black Stalin, was his belief in a Caribbean regional integration movement which was representative of the ordinary peoples’ interests and not complicated by technical jargon and interests. Moreover, it had to be reflective of our own inward intellectual production and not an imposed foreign construct. While chastising our political elites for not being able to build a sustainable regional integration, he reminded us of the strident fact that, our prime motivation for integration must always be because we are all one race and one people in his seminal song, Caribbean Man. We all came from the same ship, he reminded us, and we must push a common intention and that must always be the ambition of the Caribbean man. Stalin hoped for a region which would put away petty principalities and nationalities and unite in order to champion our collective cause, recognising that together we are much stronger than we are individually. He was resolute, similar to the great Cuban philosopher Marti, in believing that foreign models such as the federation were insufficient to answer our local questions, and did for us in music what Marti did for us in philosophy. His response was therefore, to create anew.
Even while being a firm anti-colonialist, he was fascinating because of his ability to sing both about important issues of the day, and ordinary day to day life in the Caribbean, as seen in his famous song, Wait Dorothy Wait. Interestingly enough, his life was so dedicated to the cause, that Dorothy would have to wait until some of the important issues were solved. Stalin’s determination to the cause was so significant that he could not be bamboozled by Dorothy as yet, because the oil money was still missing, KKK was rampant, South African people were still in bondage and poor people were in the pavement and the ghetto and the need to share the cake equally continued to be at the forefront of his mind. Until then, Dorothy had to wait to jam in this period of nuclear and revolution.
Stalin defied our society which constantly asks Caribbean artistes to create music which is exportable as its primary function, as if to suggest that Caribbean music cannot be ‘international’ enough because of its Caribbean uniqueness. Instead, he, just like Bob and others, created music which was global and local at the same time, because of its essence, nature and impact. His music was always steeped in a Caribbean cultural particularity, as he loved the region for the region and not solely because of its value to the outside world. He was still confident however, that the Caribbean must have a unique voice in the world and that we needed to tap into the skills and potential of the Caribbean peoples. He always asked Caribbean artistes to find themselves in the music, as one must seek to define oneself in this world and contend with destiny and fate. One must lead the music, not the other way around. He believed in Caribbean pride to further our development, as one people because of our uniqueness as a people. He was cognisant however, as seen in his tribute to Sundar Popo, that we are a diverse people and that we needed to harness that diversity in order to develope the Caribbean civilisation. Knowing from where we have come, was always at the forefront of the agenda of the man, and he was keen to ask us, how can a man who doesn’t know his history form unity? How can a man who don’t know his roots, form his own ideology? Moreover, Stalin was always fearful, that if we did not guard our culture from imperialism, we would wake up one day and find “Canada is the land of the limbo, England is the land of calypso and Sweden is the land of Steelband, and there is nothing left for Trinbagonians, and one would hold onto their own if they did know.” He pleaded with us to love our own, and we could only do so if we confronted our roots and ideology.
Black Stalin as Caribbean Intellect
It is for these reasons above, we must claim Black Stalin in the vanguard of Caribbean intellectuals, as the Caribbean intellectual cannot be located in the same place as another intellectual. Ours is one who is answering questions about our everyday existence and framing them in non-philosophical terms through music and dance among other areas. Alistair Hennessy was referring to individuals like Black Stalin when he noted that the intellectuals in the Caribbean are those who elicit enthusiastic responses and it is reserved for those like calypsonians who relate to popular responses and traditions, and those who replicate African speech rhythms and who do not despite writing in creole and those who prefer public readings and whose work, literary and musical forms, are fused. Our distinctive set of ideas and problems faced in the developing world makes the work of intellectuals like Black Stalin different from other intellectuals.
As we continue to mourn the loss of this iconic Caribbean man, let us be reminded of his philosophical underpinnings, made manifest in his music. Let us be comforted by the strident fact that he served the region well, but I can’t help but wonder, according to Chalkdust, about when Stalin done singing, what is going to happen to this art form?
Rahym Augustin-Joseph is a St. Lucian third-year student of the UWI Cave Hill Campus, reading for a double major in Political Science and Law. He aspires to be an attorney-at-law and is passionate about the intertwining of politics and law and its ability to transform Caribbean civilization through the empowerment of people. He can be reached via rahymrjoseph9@gmail.com.
