Timeliness and timelessness are hallmarks of Stalin’s work.

He is one of those calypsonians who has stayed true to the tradition of the artiste mirroring events and struggles of society. He echoes the protests and the emotions expressed by many voices.

His audience identifies with his sentiments, and shares his contempt for bad government, regardless of who is in power. He is the oral auditor general, calling on the purse holders to account for bad spending, self-serving, and waste, while the ordinary people are suffering for “ah piece of action.”

As he pointedly demanded of Mr Divider, during the 1970s oil bloom: “Run something!”

A former limbo dancer and panman, Stalin, born Leroy Calliste, has been a cultural crusader for due financial recognition, respect, and reverence for the arts and artistes.

He has only scorn for the “part-time lover” of cultural expressions, and has himself consistently championed the cause of pan and the panman.

Identifying with the downtrodden, he is the no-nonsense, anti-polarising, voice for the “sufferers” of all races, who, he says, are too busy struggling for survival to find time for hate or to promote racial division.

Stalin vowed to “nah ease up” on politicians making racial appeals to divide the people.

Though he has been strong on the theme of unity, including Caribbean unity, he has steadfastly held aloft a banner clamouring for the dignity and progress of the black man and woman in the diaspora. He has urged them to persevere in efforts to raise themselves to a higher dimension.

Often himself called the Black Man, Stalin has long, long recognised that “black man don’t get nothing easy.” He is himself an example of what can be achieved through perseverance and struggle.

[caption id="attachment_993509" align="alignnone" width="593"] Leroy Calliste Bkack Stalin -[/caption]

Having left primary school in standard four in San Fernando, he educated himself for the calypso journey. He bought a dictionary, learned to spell words and to appreciate their meanings.

Then he began writing lyrics for powerful, hard-hitting, soul-searching, thought-provoking songs. He embraced a mission to inspire his people with a sense of hope and positive vibrations.

Social conscience

A social conscience leads him to avoid the frivolity of writing “party songs,” when serious issues remain to be addressed. Wait, Dorothy, Wait, he says to her and others urging him to compose songs they could party to. Patience pays off, and when Stalin eventually “comes with it,” immediately a hot, and long-lasting, party hit is born (Black Man Feeling to Party).

The Black Stalin is also the warrior, employing calypso to celebrate the resistance of still-oppressed African peoples.

Sometimes a pessimist, he is wary of promises that “better days are coming.” At other times he is the optimist, counsellor, motivational voice of exhortation and hope, urging, "we can make it if we try," and encouraging us to