BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MALLET EDWARDS is not only a two-time Senior Calypso Monarch in St. Kitts and Nevis, but also a former teacher in the subjects of Spanish, French and Caribbean History.
In our last telephone conversation with this Kaiso legend, Edwards said that during his years studying and performing, he was also fortunate to meet calypsonians such as the Mighty Duke, whom he met in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the legendary Shadow and the great Ellie Matt by whom he was also inspired.
Edwards told SKNVibes Entertainment that he wrote, sang and performed some of his tunes while as an educator, adding that from time to time he would be approached by a number of students to whom he gave valuable advice.
“I was always approached in regards to assisting youthful calypsonians, especially the framing and shaping of the lyrics because I was very focused on the lyrical aspect of the product as distinct from everything else,” Edwards explained.
He added that choice of words, use of language, twist and turns of language were some of the other main focuses when it came to molding the next generation of calypsonians.
“In those days we had a very vibrant Calypso movement on St. Kitts. We had very good musical accompaniment from bands such as Ellie Matt and GI’s Brass Band, Heat Waves, Silver Rhythms and Combo. Those days the bands controlled the tents and they were very discerning, selective and discriminative in their selection of calypsonians who they were backing up,” Edwards said.
The former Calypso Monarch said that he was unclear about how the bands currently operate, adding that since 1994 when he migrated from St. Kitts he has not been to a Calypso show.
Edwards reflected that while a performer in the Calypso art form, he could not recall receiving monetary awards. He explained that the winners and runner-ups received products from the then sponsoring agents.
“I think after a while they moved from the trophies and products to monetary prizes. I think they always awarded vehicles, land and so on, but I never got anything outside of a trophy.”
Based on some of the material and lyrics he heard over the years, Edwards said that the current standard of Calypso has improved tremendously. “The crowd involvement and so in the delivery and presentation of the product have improved in time, based on what I am hearing and seeing so far.”
‘Mallet’, his adopted name, was given to Edwards years ago by one of his colleagues at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.
“It was given to me for some strange reason by a guy named Henry Brown…maybe you might want to ask him. One day I was with him and he was like, ‘Boy you look just like a Mallet.’ And the name stuck.”
While on his way to St. Lucia, Edwards realised that the then Deputy Prime Minister of that island was named George Mallet. “I didn’t want for there to be any possibility of confusion between the stage name I had then like the Hon George Mallet, so I decided to change my name slightly from Mallet to Hammer,” Edwards said.
‘Hammer’, Edwards explained, is a smaller version to a mallet. A mallet is described as a large wooden structure used for pounding.
Edwards further explained that his original name was Erstein.
In his advice to calypsonians in the Federation, Edwards said: “First of all I would love to see calypsonians writing poetry…converting current issues and situations into poetry. Poetry is the basic form of Calypso.”
Where is he now?
Edwards currently resides in St. Lucia and has been there for some 15 years. He has retired from his permanent job in that island but not from competitions as a calypsonian.
“I am retired but not tired. I am currently involved with Calypso in St. Lucia and my focus is essentially on wit and humour, and I also assist some calypsonians here.”
Mallet, who retired in 2009 as the Programme Officer of the Functional Corporation and Programme Management of the OECS Secretariat in St. Lucia, is involved in the delivery of consultancy services in the fields of business management, planning management, community and human resources management and project management.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: SKNVibes solicits suggestions from the public in identifying other individuals who have made significant contributions to the Calypso art form in St. Kitts and Nevis. Feel free to email us at newsroom@sknvibes.com or call us at (869) 466-9242 or (869) 662-3901 and pass on the relevant information.
