Sister Ava walks rapso road

“I did not choose rapso, rapso chose me. This is the road that I was meant to walk.” Known in the rapso arena as “Sista Ava,” Ava Sam’s mission is to educate and reach others, using what she believes can bridge any generation gap— music— and in particular, rapso music. Sam defines rapso as “the power of the word in the rhythm of the word” and was introduced to the art form through a workshop on oral traditions held by Brother Resistance and Karega Mandela back in 1995, where she was a back-up singer for a friend. However, she says she was “always on the cultural bandwagon,” and fell in love with rapso, which she found similar to reggae (which she had also liked) and here was her opportunity to do something like reggae, but with a Trini flavour. “I had really, really liked reggae, but I wanted to identify with me and my culture...rapso was it. I didn’t have to talk like a Jamaican or anything — I could be myself,” she proudly stated.

She made the distinction between the oral tradition and rapso; the former which includes poetry, rap, robber talk, dub and of course rapso — it’s just the accompanying music that is different. She said rapso isn’t only one style of music. For example, it is also the poetry of calypso and the consciousness of soca. “A lot of people tell me, ‘Ava, don’t just be a rapso artiste,’ but they have a narrow view of the whole thing. Being a rapso artiste, I could sing so many different styles of music under that same umbrella, same story line but I could jazz it up and do whatever I want. I feel comfortable here,” she said. Sam grew up in Simeon Road, Petit Valley where she was exposed to calypso, drumming, chanting and brass all the time. In her neighbourhood there was a pan yard, an Orisha yard, and Spiritual Baptists. She still resides there to this day with her better half, Brian Villafana, and her three children. She was also a member of Diego Martin Junior Secondary School’s steelband and was a front line tenor for Merry Tones Steel Orchestra for six years. At that time, she was also a folk dancer with the Lower Laventille Folk Performers.

After taking part in the rapso workshop, in 1995 she and some others formed a group, Black Birthmark, which still exists today. Sam admits that she initially shied away from singing front line and doing solo acts, so she worked with several local groups, including Blackbeat International and Natural Cultural Performers, the latter of which is a band of drummers who represented TT at Carifesta 1996. However, and due to the encouragement of several others who knew of her potential, Sam took up the challenge and was dubbed, ‘‘Sista Ava.’’ Sam is now part of the annual workshop on oral traditions through which she was introduced to the art form, and also makes the time to visit schools and prisons. Out of her experience, Sam also started hosting cultural workshops and shows of her own, in various communities in her effort to give others the opportunity to learn what she has learnt.  She also began doing solo acts at the Klassic Ruso North Zone Tent, where she performs during the rapso segment.

Her dedication to the rapso movement stems from her gratitude for the freedom she has to express herself through it. Sam readily agrees that a lot of people, especially young people, know about “conscious music” but not about rapso, and believes this is so because of what they have been exposed to. “People will like reggae more because it’s what they have been hearing over the years. How many times have you heard rapso on the radio? Not many. You have to go to a concert for that. Rapso is not new, though many think so. It is unfortunate that rapso is not openly appreciated in Trinidad and Tobago. Most people go off on the conscious/reggae music, but I always wanted to walk that cultural road, and when I met Resistance and others, I realised, okay, it’s cool, I could grow my dread, I don’t have to sing like a Jamaican, but I could sing in my own dialect and carry the same conscious message.”

Sam believes that now, more than ever, rapso is needed as the public needs to be sensitised to what’s happening around them. “We can’t just sing about jam and wine, and watch my brother dying in the ghetto, or see a woman who has six children and can’t feed them. Rapso is the voice of the people in the heart of the struggle.” While she acknowledges the fact that rapso may not be a very profitable endeavour, for her it isn’t about the money. She advises people who want to get involved only for the profit to find something else to do or go abroad, where there is an appreciation for the art form. “Nothing is wrong with making the dollar, but it’s a different walk for me,” Sam stated. “It pays when a mother will come to embrace me and say how much she appreciates what I just said, or when two brothers who were bandits come off the street, want to get involved and share with others how hard it was — no kind of money could buy that. For me, it pays, big time.” Her future goals are centred around her family and her music, which she plans to continue once she is alive. She would like to see her music play on the air (for people to recognise exactly what rapso is) and while she presently has no recordings, she plans to do two songs by next year. Sam performs with Divas Calypso Cabaret International, managed by Rudolph Ottley.