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Veteran calypsonian and parang soca pioneer Edwin “Crazy” Ayoung has thrown his support behind a young artiste experimenting with a Trinibad-meets-parang sound, even as the song delivers lyrics about gunmen, an AR-15, blood and rivals flying through windscreens.
The exchange, shared in a video posted by the TikTok account BT Backup, begins with the young artiste approaching Crazy and acknowledging his legendary status in parang before explaining that he is experimenting with something new.
“I’m trying a new thing in terms of the parang,” the artiste tells him, admitting that he does not know whether Crazy will support the direction.
Crazy’s response is immediate.
“I am dying to hear it and I am supporting you,” he says, explaining that he is happy to see younger people continuing to experiment with parang soca.
Crazy tells the artiste that he started making the style 48 years ago, in 1978, and says younger musicians are needed to keep the music alive.
What follows, however, is far removed from the traditional Christmas themes usually associated with parang.
The young artiste launches into a Trinibad-influenced adaptation drawing from Sugar Aloes’ Christmas classic “Black Cake Lover”, known for its memorable “master baker” theme.
In the new version, the festive setting is paired with much darker street imagery. The artiste references gunmen, an AR-15, blood running red and people being sent flying through windscreens, while retaining a Christmas and parang-flavoured musical backdrop.
Crazy listens closely throughout the performance, occasionally reacting to the lyrics, but ultimately gives the experiment his approval.
“Nice, nice, nice,” he says after hearing part of the song, later describing it as “a new jam”.
Crazy then encourages the artiste to continue developing the sound.
“I like your new fresh ideas. This is what they call fresh ideas, and nothing is wrong with that,” he says.
He goes even further, telling the young performer: “I see nothing wrong with it, because that is the music that’s going on now, and you’re doing something new, and I like your creativeness.”
The moment captures how dramatically Trinidad and Tobago’s musical landscape continues to evolve, with elements of Trinibad now being blended into genres traditionally associated with Christmas celebrations and family gatherings.
Rather than dismissing the experiment because of the lyrical content, Crazy appears focused on the creativity behind it and the fact that another generation is finding its own way into parang.
The exchange ultimately becomes a generational handshake, with one of parang soca’s pioneers giving his blessing to a harder-edged fusion shaped by the musical language of today.
Article and image source: tiktok.com
