Haitian hip hop
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Haitian hip hop is hip hop music originating from Haiti and sung by artists of Haitian descent. The most popular form of this is the rising of "Hip Hop nan Kreyol" or Creole (Haitian Creole) Hip Hop. Often, hardcore beats are used while the artist raps in creole. Creole hip hop though relatively new, has become very popular with Haitian youth. Many Haitian rap artists have had rough childhoods and difficult living conditions producing rappers in which socio-economic topics are spoken through their lyrics. Though similar to mainstream American hip hop in that materialistic imagery is portrayed or lyricized, the negative aspects of Haitian society for the less fortunate such as topics concerning slum life, gang warfare, the drug trade, and poverty are much more common. The most well-known exports of Haitian hip hop has been two members of the legendary Grammy Award winning Hip Hop group the Fugees, Wyclef Jean & his cousin Pras Michel aka Pras. However the godfather of hip-hop in Haiti is the late Master Dji who not only released the first Haitian rap song in the early 80s but also he has been influential in pushing other young Haitians to become rappers, DJs and breakdancers.
Kreyol Hip-Hop is one of the most powerful music genres to emerge from the haitian commnity, during the late 80s.Individuals such as Master Dji, and O.R.S, were some of the early pioneers of this art form. Master dji, who is believed to be the founder of Kreyol Hip-Hop, brought it to national spotlights with songs such as TANN POU TANN, MANMZEL and POLITIK PAM. Even though the music gained commercial success with the explosion of master dji, we can still find traces of kreyol hip-hop, and Haitians rapping on beats way before Master dji came to scene. For a while, Haiti started to embrass hip-hop and also adapt it in other types of music, such as Konpa;. But it all faded away, when master dji died in 1994.
Nevertheles, his legacy wasn't left forgotten , and kreyol hip-hop was preserved by several artists from the underground. Haitian rap groups such as O.R.S, ASRAP, Masters and 33rd have tried real hard, to bring kreyol hip-hop back to the mainstream by continuing what Master dji started. However, kreyol hip-hop is not perceived by many Haitians as an art form, but as a fad which they expect to die soon.. Although some haitian rappers gained some type of success, the music itself, never really had an impact on the mainstream due to a lack of understanding of Hip-Hop. Throughout the years, the music has undergone many changes which led it to become what is know right now as the kreyol hip-hop movement. With hatian artists like Mecca A.K.A grimo, Wyclef Jean,benchoumy and Seca konsa, the movement has taken major steps, and has rose back to the surface.To even talk about The Kreyol Hip-Hop Movement, without mentioning its roots would be like preaching to the choir. Because, In order for our people to better understand what the movement is about, we have to explain it to them step by step, starting from its genesis. Hip-Hop is a culture of music, dance, creativity, and artistry which gives people an avenue to express themselves and deliver positive messages to their surroundings. But, We find in our community, a great number of people, who are constantly asking theirsleves these questions: What is Kreyol Hip-Hop? What is Hip-Hop? Where does it come from? And last but not least, Is Hip-Hop a Haitian culture?
Well, throughout this article, their questions will finally be answered; and to better explain "Kreyol Hip-Hop", we will break down the term piece by piece.
First of all, what is kreyol?
Although a small minority of about 10% of the population speak French
Kreyol is the true national language of the Republic of Haiti; it is used for the everyday communication, as the symbol of their national identity. Kreyol comes from a Portuguese word meaning "raised in the home". It was first referred to Europeans born and raised in the overseas colonies. Than, it was later used for languages that arose from the plantations that the Europeans established, using slaves imported from West Africa. Kreyol resulted from African slaves' efforts to speak the French that they heard when they arrived in Haiti. Slaves came to Haiti, from all over West Africa and spoke many different languages.
Now, you’re probably asking yourself: why are we taking this all the way back to slavery? ; Well, believe it or not, Hip-Hop is traced back all the way to slavery. Hip-Hop music comes from the griots of West Africa which were shipped to small islands such as Haiti, during the slave trade. A griot is a West African poet, praise singer, and wandering musician, considered a repository of oral tradition. Hip hop music is related to the griots of West Africa, traveling singers and poets, whose musical style is considered the ancient form Hip-Hop.
Now we all know that Haitian music was greatly influenced by French colonial ties and African migration through slavery. During the slave trade, the griots, kept their musical traditions, when they traveled to other countries, countries such as Haiti.
If you analyze music genres, such as RARA, or RACINE, and even KONPA, you will find traces of the griots; you will find traces of Hip-Hop. The griots used to recite poems, or they would talk over a beat led by the drum. We encounter that allot, in the Konpa music, where allot of artists would talk throughout some parts of a song, or during what they call the SOLO. Ansy Derose use to not only talk over his songs, but also recite poems at the end of his tracks; for example, we could see that in LAKAY MWEN, where he recites a poem about Haiti. going against most beliefs, hip-hop has exsited in the haitian community for quite a while; it was just overlooked. Hip-Hop music comes from a combination of funk, disco, soul, jazz and blues. Funk is also incorporated in MIZIK RASIN, along with rock. The main instrument behind Hip-Hop is the drum which is the first instrument created in Africa. We also find the drum in music genres, such as RARA. Hip-hop is also present in Zouk.
Zouk is another form of music which was followed by an influx of Haitian artists like System Band, Zin, Top Vice and Karess who included rock and roll, hip hop and jazz into kompa, and experimented with new lyrical content, such as feminism.
What is Hip-Hop?
Rap music, is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s. Rap music, is part of a culture which is known as Hip-Hop. According to Webster's dictionary, culture is defined as "the concepts, habits, skills, arts, instruments, institutions, etc. of a given people in a given period; civilization." One artist defined hip-hop as "a set of expressions in vocalization, instrumentation, dancing and the visual arts. The Hip-Hop culture consists of: rapping (MCing) and DJing (production and scratching), along with Hip-Hop’s dance (breakdancing), Hip-Hop language’s (slang or Ebonics) and urban inspired art, or notably graffiti. The culture took birth in south Bronx, amongst the Hispanics, and the African Americans. Now, most of the African Americans living up north, migrated either from Africa, From the west Indies (Haiti) or from areas in the south such as New Orleans.
Now let’s go back in time for a minute:
"During a six-month period in 1809; 10,000 refugees from Haiti arrived at New Orleans. They had a profound impact upon New Orleans' development. Refugees established the state's first newspaper and introduced opera into the Crescent City. They also appear to have played a role in the development of Creole cuisine and the perpetuation of voodoo practices in the New Orleans area. More importantly, they were responsible for preserving the city's French character for several generations."
New Orleans is the state, where Jazz and Blues were created in the late 1930’s. Around that time, allot of people from New Orleans moved up north, to cities such as New York, Chicago or Boston. The reason why they moved up north was to search for jobs, and opportunities. Through this migration, came about the Harlem renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance, also known as The New Negro Movement, was a period of self-expression in the African American community, throughout art, literature, music and culture in the United States. It was led primarily by the black community based in Harlem, New York City, after World War I. They would value their heritage, and stand up for what they believed in. And from the harlem renaissance, from jazz, from blues, came rock and roll, than disco than funk, than pop, and finally hip-hop
As we can see, hip-hop’s history came from a long way, and has matured over the years. Hip-Hop music recreates itself non-stop and has blended with all types of other music. The music itself has traveled, from West Africa, to the West Indies, from the West Indies to the U.S, and from the U.S to all over the world; especially in places like Haiti, where the kreyol hip-hop movement originally started.
As an "MC" I acknowledge the true meaning of Hip-Hop in its artistic form, and I cherish the culture. Kreyol Hip-Hop is not only a movement, but also a culture, the Haitian culture. In our society, we could trace the emergence of Hip-Hop, back to the 80s, and even before that.
Quoting Johnny Jacques (an official spokesperson for kreyol hip-hop):
"Take the song "Juicy Lucy" by Tabou Combo in 1984. Though it wasn't done in Kreyol, it was some seriously entertaining Hip Hop. So please, before continuing on just keep in mind, this movement has been around longer than some of us. I truly believe Kreyol Hip Hop in Haiti would have been only second to American Hip Hop today in popularity had it not been for our political turmoil in the 80’s which saw the disappearance of Haiti's middle class as well as chased away a lot of the art and culture in our society."
kreyol hip-hop is the voice of a young crowd from the urban landscapes, with most performers of the music are from the inner-city neighborhoods. The music is therapeutic, and if used in the right way, could bring allot changes to our community.
hip-hop is blunt, it is filled with anger, joy, sorrow, pain, violence, and messages.
hip-Hop is not only a form of expression, but also the reflection of the world in which we live today. There's two sides to hip-Hop, the positive side and the negative side; just like in life where the good comes along with the bad. we cannot judge hip-Hop from its negative side, and just ignore whatever good things it brings to the table.
the kreyol hip-hop movement is a powerful tool; and if we use it right , we could move on to bigger and better things and possibly a cross over. in order for that to happen, the movement needs support from the haitian communities, from it people. I just hope that by reading this essay, my haitian people will get a better understanding of where the kreyol hip-hop movement came from and where it could be in a couple of years.
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[edit] Emergence of Hip-hop in Haiti
Hip-hop descended onto Haiti during the rule of Jean-Claude Duvalier (otherwise known as "Baby Doc" in the 1970 and 80’s. The appeal of hip-hop had a lot to do with the hard sound and anger harbored in African-American Hip-hop. That is why that the first Haitian Hip-hop artists (like Master Dji) had a sound and look that was synonymous to African-American hip-hop at that time.[1] Hip-hop gave Haitians an instrument in which young Haitians can express their pent-up feelings towards a government, which, up until that point, was totalitarian and the source of immense violence, injustice and poverty [2]. The entry of "Baby Doc" Duvalier into power therefore, opened the doors to cultural exchange again, and allowed Haitians to be exposed to hip-hop that was perfect in helping Haitians expressing their feelings after years of forced silence.
[edit] Hip-hop in Haiti today
The poverty in Haiti today is critical. Due to the rising prices of sustenance (especially rice) Haitians have been forced to eat dirt to quench their hunger. [3] This has caused many countries, including the U.S., to increase foreign aid in order to help remedy the issue. Currently, Haitians are feeling heavy hearted in the face of this poverty, and rely on music and carnival, for mental escape and empowerment. Wyclef Jean, a native Haitian, has been instrumental in using hip-hop in this way, giving hope to the Haitians of Haiti during such hard times.[4]. Thanks to Wyclef, Haitians have learned to celebrate and critique their culture using Hip-hop.
[edit] Haitian Hip-Hop Artists
Other Haitian hip hop artists and groups include Barikad Crew, Masters of Haiti, RockFam, Sky'z Da Limit,Mystik 703, KZN (Klan Zanset Neg), Seca Konsa, Live Jam,Twoface, Scorpion, Lil Dan, Ace,Red C entertainment, Original Rap Staff, Boule MIC, Bennchoumy, Jimmy O, Mecca aka Grimo, Majik Click, Haitian Fresh, 2Double, NGS (Neg Getto Salomon), 33rd. Side, NXM, Lord Duice, Marathon, King Possee, and many others. Excluding Haitian born rappers, there are American rappers of Haitian descent such as Tony Yayo of G-Unit, Pastor Troy, De La Soul rapper David Jude Jolicoeur, G-Unit member DJ Whoo Kid as well as others.
The influence of Hip-hop amongst the Haitian culture has also brought attention to music executives of Haitian descent. Haitian music managers executives include, Jimmy Rosemond of Czar Entertainment (clients: The Game, Gorrilla Black, many more) Papa Jube of SOB's, Ben Aubin of BAM (Ben Abin Management) (clients: Fugees' Pras Michel, Rock of Heltah Skeltah and Boot Camp Clik,Fugees' drummer and producer Donald Guillaume and many more). They have been influential in solidifying an avenue for this platform to flouish.
With the overflow of deported Haitians in Haiti, the Hip Hop Kreyol movement now known as RAP KREYOL has been collaborating with Koze Kreyol, a group of deportees who formed a movement to push RAP KREYOL to the forefront of Haiti's music. Their urban "street" experiences in the States has provided much real-life references into the movement.
One of the First Creole Hip-hop album to ever released within the states were Sky'z Da Limit's "Haiti: Love & Politics" in 2000, followed by their classical ensemble "Afrikayiti" in 2006.
[edit] External links
- Video - Haitian Hip-Hop
- Video - Haitian Hip-Hop
- DHAC - Covers the latest on Haitian Hip-Hop
- Shakaitutu - site focusing on urban haitian music
- RapForum - News and interviews about Haitian Hip-Hop
- Rap Lakay - History and information on haitian rap and reggae
- Sak Pase Records - Wyclef's label promoting Haitian hip-hop
- RockFam Lame a - Official website of RockFam
- SDL (Pure Rap) - Official website of Sky'z Da Limit
- Chevry Records - Record label focusing on haitian dance hall
[edit] References
- ^ "Telemix TV Show". HaitiNetRadio Photo AND Multimedia. Accessed 1 May 2008.
- ^ Dupuy, A. (1988). “Review: Conceptualizing the Duvalier Dictatorship.” Latin American Perspectives, (15)4, pp. 105-114. [1]. Accessed 1 May 2008
- ^ Katz, J. (2008). “Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt.” National Geographic. [2] Accessed 1 May 2008.
- ^ Tayler, L. (2008). “Wyclef Jean Brings Hip-hop Hope to Haiti.” The Circle. [3] Accessed 1 May 2008.
- "Mystik 703 is flying high" (in french) Rap Forum, March 05, 2007
- "Interview with Dug G of RockFam" Shakaitutu, September 03, 2007
- "Biography of RockFam" (in french) Roroli, November 21, 2006
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