On Saturday 1 October, Black History Month dominated Kaiso Lime’s last event for the season.
Kaiso Lime’s host and performer, Tobago Crusoe, set the tone of the show and introduced Ansel Wong CBE, who addressed the Carnival Village audience.
Ansel explained that, along with his team, he established Britain’s Black History Month. He also touched on how Black History Month offers the opportunity to showcase what people of colour have contributed to the development of UK and how they continue to do so.
Before Alexander D Great launched his first number, Heart of Africa, he explained that Black History Month is not about ‘feel-good’ tunes and that history is not necessarily good. His calypso is about restoring the soul of the continent and reclaiming the diaspora.
Alexander’s next song was Remember Our Heroes, originally penned in 1998, where he focused on how we should not forget our war heroes who helped defend freedom in Britain and beyond during the two world wars.
Windrush was the last calypso from the Kaiso Lime’s regular, which referred to the great sacrifices made by thousands of ‘pioneers’ who migrated to Britain from the Caribbean and created the multicultural country we know today.
Tobago Crusoe was next on stage and immediately informed the audience how lots of black people don’t seem to know how great we are as a race and how much we have given to civilisation. The Mighty Chalkdust’s Mamba was the performer’s first choice where acknowledgement and thanks are offered to the African race, the first people on earth.
His second number was Mother Country where the subject is how we must make the effort to know all things African. Identity was next and then he finished off his set with Mighty Composer’s Black Fallacy which focuses on how the English language degraded black people by using the term ‘black’ negatively.
D’Alberto performed four tunes including Kaiso’s Lime’s favourites, Margie by Lord Kitchener and his own composition, Harry for King.
The evening was almost drawing to close when Bubbles stepped up to the microphone, treating the audience to some very energetic performances, including the Kitch classics Pan in A Minor and Sugar Bum Bum.
Accomplished pannist Justin ‘Redz’ Richardson, brought the show and the Kaiso Lime 2022 season to an end by performing Lord Nelson’s Family and Baron’s This Melody Sweet.
Kaiso Lime is set to return to Carnival Village at The Tabernacle next year.
