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Ras Shorty I

Also known as Lord Shorty, Garfield Blackman, The Love Man, Father of Soca

Garfield Blackman (1941-2000), the Father of Soca: as Lord Shorty he fused calypso with Indian rhythms into 'sokah', then as Ras Shorty I created the gospel-soca style jamoo.

From
Lengua, south Trinidad
Genres
calypso, soca, jamoo

Known for

  • Creator of soca (originally spelled 'sokah'), fusing calypso with Indo-Trinidadian rhythms
  • Indrani (1973) and the album Endless Vibrations, landmarks of early soca
  • Cloak and Dagger, his 1963 breakthrough
  • Watch Out My Children, an anti-drug song translated into 10 languages
  • Jamoo, the gospel-soca style he developed with his family band, the Love Circle

Who he was

Garfield Blackman was born on 6 October 1941 in Lengua, in south Trinidad, and died on 12 July 2000.1 He was nicknamed "Shorty" as a joke about his 6ft 4in frame, began singing at seven, and broke through in 1963 with "Cloak and Dagger".1 He won the South Calypso King title in 1962 and reached the National Calypso Monarch finals in 1968.2

As "Lord Shorty", the self-styled Love Man, he was one of the most outrageous calypsonians of his era. Then, in the late 1970s, he changed his life completely: he moved his family deep into the Piparo forest, took the name Ras Shorty I and devoted himself to spiritual music.12

Signature sound and key songs

Shorty's great gift to the world is soca itself. In the early 1970s many people felt calypso was losing ground to music from abroad. Shorty believed the answer was to renew it, and having grown up in a predominantly Indo-Trinidadian village, he drew on Indian rhythms to do it.2 His 1973 song "Indrani" tested the idea, and the album Endless Vibrations made people take the new sound seriously; his widow Claudette recalled that it sold "like hot roti".2

He spelled it "sokah", his granddaughter Nailah Blackman explains: the soul of calypso, with "-kah" standing for "divine" in Hindi.3 The Guardian's obituary credits him with bringing the sounds of Trinidad's Indian community into the island's musical mainstream.1

As Ras Shorty I he kept writing hits. "Watch Out My Children", an anti-drug song warning of "a fella called Lucifer with a bag of white powder", was an international success translated into 10 languages, and "Latrine Singers" took aim at the sexual fixation of a new generation of calypsonians.1

Legacy

Soca, now the sound of Carnival across the Caribbean and its diaspora, is Shorty's legacy. In Piparo he also formed the Love Circle with his wife Claudette and their children, the family band through which he developed jamoo ("Jehovah's music"), his gospel-soca hybrid.12

The family line continues. His granddaughter Nailah Blackman is one of today's biggest soca stars, and her own Carnival concert, Sokah Origins, carries his original spelling of the music.4

Start here

  • "Indrani" (1973): the first experiment.
  • "Endless Vibrations": the title track of the album that launched soca.
  • "Cloak and Dagger" (1963): the early Lord Shorty breakthrough.
  • "Watch Out My Children": the Ras Shorty I anthem.
  • "Latrine Singers": his sharp critique of the new calypso.

Sources

  1. The Guardian (UK): Ras Shorty I obituary (2000) (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. Caribbean Beat: All in the family, Lord Shorty's musical legacy (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. VICE: Nailah Blackman profile (opens in a new tab) ↩

  4. Billboard: Nailah Blackman announces 'Born a Diamond' (2025) (opens in a new tab) ↩

More soca artists

Sources

  1. The Guardian (UK): Ras Shorty I obituary, by Peter Mason (15 Jul 2000)
  2. Caribbean Beat (issue 70): All in the family, Lord Shorty's musical legacy
  3. VICE: Nailah Blackman profile (on her grandfather and 'sokah')
  4. Billboard: Nailah Blackman announces 'Born a Diamond' (2025)

Last verified 3 October 2026. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.