Calypso
The term calypso derives from a West African exclamation commonly romanized as “Kaiso!” Audience members would frequently shout, “Kah Iso!” (akin to “Go on!”), to encourage the chantwell singers during their performances. By the 1910s, the vocalists were referred to as kaiso singers, which became calypso by the 1920s. By this time music-business entrepreneurs had begun recording musicians in the Caribbean, encouraging international interest in the genre.