Black Stalin

With his politically aware lyrics set to a high-tech blend of electric drums, congas, horns, guitar and bass, Black Stalin (born: Leroy Calliste) has been hailed as "one of the kings of soca. A five-time winner of Trinidad's National Calypso Monarch competition (1979, 1985, 1987, 1991, and 1995), Stalin sings of the struggles of South Africa, the quest for world peace, his secrets for staying alive ("stay strong, high and dread") and the craft of pan drum making. CMJ praised Stalin when it wrote, "with the spirit of Rastafari, Stalin and his band of horns, guitars, and pans tell it like it is, smilin' all the time."