Red Plastic Bag

Stedson Wiltshire — the island's record-holding calypso monarch.

Red Plastic Bag performing at a Crop Over event in Barbados. Photo: Ronaldwalcott, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Source file page.

Stedson “Red Plastic Bag” Wiltshire, from St. Philip in rural Barbados, is the island's record-holding calypso monarch, with ten Pic-O-De-Crop crowns to his name. He began performing in 1979 and built his reputation fusing reggae and soca, with a poet's eye for everyday Barbadian life — his song “Holes” is a complaint about potholes that every Bajan recognises. His biggest hit, “Ragga Ragga” from 1995, was recorded in seven different languages and carried him to audiences across the Caribbean, the UK, and North America. With his longtime co-writer Mac Fingall he became one of the most prolific songwriting partnerships in calypso. He also won the Sweet Soca Monarch title in 2011, proving his range from hard social commentary to pure fete music.

Red Plastic Bag

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