Barbados has a long history as one of the earliest British colonies in the Western Hemisphere. After gaining independence in 1966, Barbados actively sought to develop its own cultural identity by looking to pre-independence traditions like the Landship cooperative and Tuk music. Over time, Barbados introduced new music styles like Spouge in the 1970s, and genres that fused Soca with other influences like Ring Bang, Ragga Soca, and Bashment Soca in later decades. Popular Barbados artists known for genres like calypso, folk, Soca, and dancehall include Red Plastic Bag, Mighty Gabby, Poonka, Alison Hinds, and Edwin Yearwood.

1. Folk and Modern
www.stefanwalcott.com

2. Barbados
 Barbados is one of the
first colonies in
Western Hemisphere.
 In 17th and 18th
centuries it was one of
the most wealthy and
treasured possessions
in the British crown.

3. Pre-Independence
 The black middle
classes and educational
systems emphasised all
things English.
 Retentions, including
dialect speech were
common mostly
among working
classes.

4. The Landship
 After independence in
1966 Barbados actively
sought out identity.
 Looked back to pre-
independence traditions
that defined it such as the
Landship.
 A black co-operative
similar to Regiments in F.
Caribbean and TnT.

5. Tuk
 Tuk music is the
soundtrack to
Landship
performances.
 Drum and fife music.
 Performed in 3
movements. With last
movement being called
Tuk.

6. Spouge
 Spouge music was
popular song form of
1970’s.
 A creation of Dalton
‘Jackie Opel’ Bishop
who returned from
Jamaica with rhythmic
idea.
 Similar in
instrumentation to 70’s
reggae.

7. 80s to Today
 Soca music became part of Crop Over and Barbados
introduced two important ‘modes of operation’.
 Ring Bang- which gave birth to the modern rhythm
heavy sound of modern Soca.
 Ragga Soca – A fusion of Dancehall American R+B and
Soca.

8. Ring Bang
 A variation of the traditional Tuk.
 Was created in 90’s in Eddie Grant’s Blue Wave Studio.

9. Ragga Soca
 A slower form of Soca.
 Created in 90’s with Key track being Red Plastic Bag’s-
“Ragga Ragga.”
 Came out of Nicholas Brancker’s ‘Chamber Studios’.

10. Bashment Soca
 A very minimalised form of Soca.
 Emphasis is on speech rhythm.
 Watershed record: “Hard Wine” by Lil’ Rick.

11. Artist Names
 Red Plastic Bag (calypso and soca)
 Mighty Gabby (calypso, folk and soca)
 Poonka (Tuk and calypso)
 Alison Hinds (soca)
 Edwin Yearwood (soca)
 John King (calypso and soca)
 Kid Site (Bajan dancehall and calypso)
 Lil Rick (Bajan dancehall and soca)
 Draytons Two (Spouge)

12. Sources
 www.stefanwalcott.com
 Best, Curwen. Barbadian popular music and the politics of
Caribbean culture. Rochester, Vt., Schenkman Books, 1999.
 ---. Culture @ the cutting edge : tracking Caribbean popular
music. Kingston, Jamaica, University of the West Indies Press,
2004.
 ---. Roots to popular culture. London; Oxford, Macmillan
Caribbean, 2001.
 Burrowes, Marcia. “History and cultural identity Barbadian space
and the legacy of empire.” Boston Spa, U.K., British Library
Document Supply Centre, 2000.
 Meredith, Sharon. "Tuk in Barbados: The History, Development
and Recontextualisation of a Musical Genre" Diss. University of
Warwick, 2002.