1969
I AM JUST A MINSTREL * THE KINGSTONIANS * BULLET 409 * UK
The figure of a minstrel is a reoccurring motif in popular songs from the West Indies, I think this has less to do with the American so called Negro Minstrel shows of the mid 19th century, which were performed largely by white people with 'blacked-up' faces that portrayed and lampooned blacks in stereotypical and often disparaging ways, but with the tradition of the Medieval entertainer. The shorter OED of 1933 gives the description of a minstrel in its early use as: Any one whose profession was to entertain his patrons with music, story-telling, buffoonery, etc. Its genesis being "A servant having a special function" from: Ministry, the action of ministering; the rendering of service. I think it is the embodiment of humility in this concept of the art that helps to grant it its status as art.
See also:
Mix It Up | Can’t Wine | Winey Winey | Sufferer |