Early in the pandemic, I went down a rabbit hole of surveys of music genres and scenes. One of the most captivating books I encountered was SKA: the Rhythm of Liberation by Heather Augustyn. It was a fantastic book the traced the evolution of Calypso and Ska music and how it came from the songs of enslaved people in the Carribean. “Watina” is a song that may not have been from this period, tells the story of the Garifuna people, a people that were forced into slavery and many of which were forced to migrate to the Americas. It’s performed by Calypso Rose, the 82 year old Calypso music legend that has been steadily releasing records since 1969!
You can enjoy “Watina” in all the usual places here. It’s the first single off Forever, which is due out on August 26th!
