As the winner of the 2024 Calypso Monarch competition in Trinidad and Tobago, Machel Montano claimed that “calypso is soca and soca is calypso” in his song Soul of Calypso. Additionally, his suggestion in the song that “soca is de soul of calypso” points back to Garfield Blackman, the Lord Shorty/Ras Shorty I, who in 1974, purported to have invented sokah. Soca has been criticized as formulaic party music lacking the lyrical and social value associated with calypso. However, it has evolved into the music that drives the festival and fete industries, enriching performers and promoters. Conversely, traditional calypsonians and calypso tents have seen audience attendance drop. This 90-minute roundtable will examine the debate from the perspective of its sounds, artistes, and socio-cultural environment. Each panelist will present for 8 to 10 minutes. The first panelist will examine the rhythms of calypso and demonstrate the musical markers of calypso and soca. Another panelist will discuss the work of Calypso Rose (Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis), the first woman to win the Road March and the Monarch title in Trinidad and Tobago. The third panelist will consider the influence of David Rudder, who won the Calypso Monarch and Road March in 1986. The fourth panelist will discuss Montano’s contribution who, like Rose and Rudder has navigated both genres. All the panelists will reference the history of calypso and soca its competitions, and the context that the two genres compete yet converge, which reflects the Carnival industrial complex in Trinidad and Tobago.