Haitian Hip-Hop, From Top to Bottom
by Jonel Juste (April 2019)
As a front-row witness of the rise of the hip-hop movement in Haiti, I want to show here how it started strong in the 80’s to stumble down in the past years, particularly after the devastating 2010 earthquake that hit Haiti. Like the country, Haitian hip-hop was devastated. It was not because all the rappers were killed (in fact, just a few were), but because Haitian hip-hop has changed a lot, and not for the better. This doesn’t mean Haiti doesn’t have some good hip-hop artists in Haiti anymore, it still does but they’re not the most popular or the most followed. The most popular rappers are those who present a bling-bling, Americanized version of Hip-Hop. Haitian rappers today want to do commercial rap and, to them, the best way to go about it is bragging about money and wealth they often don’t possess and selling the American dream in a poor country like Haiti.
Haitian hip-hop history is quite intriguing. Haiti, as we know it, is borne of a slave revolution that challenged colonialism and the 18th-century world order that was based on oppression and slavery. Haitians are by nature a proud and rebellious people. Hip-hop was a music genre created from the desire to challenge the status quo, to change things, to rebel against the establishment. So, to me Haiti and hip-hop were meant to be together (which does not mean that Haitians accepted hip-hop right away, but we’ll come back to it later).
In the documentary “Coming Home: Haiti”[i], the American rapper John Austin IV aka Ras Kass put it this way: “hip-hop is rebellion at its best, it’s culture transformation, usually from an underdog”. And when it comes to Haiti, Haitian American hip-hop music attorney and journalist Combat Jack (Reginald Joseph) stated that it “is a place of creativity, inventiveness, freedom, and there’s a strong sense of pride in Haiti being the only country to defeat colonial slavery. And being a place of spirituality, rhythm, and verbal communication, it’s only natural that there is hip-hop in Haiti”. [ii]
Like the Republic of Haiti, Haitian hip-hop emerged from revolt, protest and a desire for change. It came in a time when Haitians were fighting for democracy at the end of the 80’s. The dictator and son of the dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, alias Baby Doc, left power in February 1986, overthrown by a popular uprising; however, after his departure, the country fell into the hands of the army that established a military dictatorship. [iii] Like Duvalier, the military was still abusing and killing people as they did in the Massacre of Ruelle Vaillant[iv]. It was around that time that the first hip-hop smashing hit was playing on the airwaves. It was called “Sispann” (Stop it) and behind this song was a master of lyrics and beat called Master Dji, dubbed the godfather of Haitian hip-hop. “Sispann” was very political, hence controversial.[v] Personally, when I first watched this clip on TV, I thought Master Dji must have been in hiding after releasing this song under the military regime. The clip of the song included footage of the abuses and acts of violence of the army. It also showed an excerpt of the visit of the Pope John Paul II in Haiti in 1983 when he famously stated: “Something must change here”.[vi]
Haitian hip-hop was the spawn of the struggles and battles of a people still in search of freedom. It is now part of Haitian history. And what is more interesting about Haitian hip-hop is that it started as Haitian. When studying hip-hop, we saw that most countries started by imitating American rappers, singing about a reality that was not theirs. Haitian hip-hop started in Creole, French, and singing about local struggles, daily issues. Haitian hip-hop started on top only to tumble down afterwards. In fact, it has become less Haitian in the past years. Before going further, let’s quickly review Haitian hip-hop history through the years.
1980: The Genesis
As I said earlier, Haitian hip-hop started in the 80s thanks to rapper, DJ and radio host George Lys Herard, aka Master Dji. It’s interesting to underline that the pioneer of Haitian hip-hop came from a well-off family. His father was notably the owner of a radio station, Radio Port-au-Prince. After attending an all-boys Catholic school, he went on to university in France, where he found himself working for the mythical Radio Nova. After some time, he went back to Haiti, where he continued his radio career. Dubbing himself Master Dji, Herard released “Vakans” (Vacation in Creole) with singer Sylvie D’Art in 1982. It was the very first Haitian rap song[vii] that was released 4 years before the revolutionary “Sispann”. It is important to underline Master Dji’s background because one could presume that Haitian hip-hop had humble beginnings while it started strong with someone who could be considered part of the Haitian elite. George Lys Herard was a visionary who traveled, visited other countries, spoke many languages (which reflected in his works), and he surely witnessed the advent of hip-hop in the US and decided to start the movement at home in Haiti.
Like in many countries, when hip-hop started in Haiti, it was not well received by what we could call the music establishment and the older members of Haitian society; however,young people loved it. It was new, it was easier to do than Konpa, the Haitian pop music; it also required less instruments (basically all you need is a DJ for the beat), and it could be performed anywhere. By the end of the 80’s, this musical genre started to seduce in Port-au-Prince a growing number of young people fond of novelties and driven by the desire to appear, to challenge, to make themselves known [viii]. Wilner, a rap fan who grew up at this time remembers that, “The youth was tired of Konpa singers’ laziness. Those musicians had no lyrics, they just aligned some words like ‘Darling, I love you’, ‘Why do you make me suffer like that’, and went to the studio to record one more insipid song. On the other hand, rappers had good beats, good vibes and great lyrics”. Enthusiastic, aware of their flagship position, young people wanted to develop rap in Haiti through the production and popularization of albums, through regular performances on stage, and attract more and more followers for young people. So a network made up of rappers, DJs and fans began to build up in Port-au-Prince.
After gaining some personal success including international recognition and award[ix], the godfather of Haitian hip-hop, Master Dji, started a band called Haiti Rap & Ragga with young rappers such as Supa Dénot, Elyrack, Frantzy Jamaican, BOP, Vency, T-Bird, Tresor, etc. With his new band, Master Dji released two albums in the early 90’s: Match la Red and Maximum Respect.
The 90’s: First feud between King posse and ORS
After Master Dji died in 1994, his band died with him but hip-hop survived. He left a legacy, and the movement went on. Other hip-hop bands emerged in the mid-90’s and a new generation of rappers has entered the musical arena[x]. Haitian hip-hop or Rap Kreyòl started to become really popular around this time. I remember that two bands were literally running the show: It was King Posse and Original Rap Staff (ORS). They were the first two rap bands to start a hip-hop rivalry (and we know how feuds sit well with rap). In the time of Haiti Rap & Ragga, there was no feud since the band was unique. But in the nineties, hip-hop bands started to multiply and compete with each other. I remember the first time I heard the first hit song of this new generation of rappers, it was called “Lokal” sung by King Posse, a rap band from Petion-ville that was very popular[xi]. Their songs weren’t deep, but they were catchy and people could dance to them. King Posse was mostly the king of parties and carnivals. On the other hand, Original Rap Staff’ songs were more profound, and they had more talented rappers. They were singing about various topics. Their first massive hit was “Bagay dwol” (weird Stuffs) that depicted the social and political situation at this time. They produced a lot of hit songs after that, and like Master Dji, they were cultured, educated and could rap in various languages with a surprising verve. On one hand, you had King Posse’s fans and on the other hand ORS’ devotees who could spend long hours arguing about their respective bands. At the end of the 90’s emerged other groups such as Masters, Rap’n’Family, Metal Ice, all female band 4X4, and Black Leaders that were quite successful.
Hip-hop was gaining more fans and the audience was widening, especially among the youth. Still, hip-hop was not well perceived by the whole Haitian society. Since it came from America, some people considered it an imported product[xi], others linked it to violence or gangs.
The year 2000: Barikad Crew, Rockfam
The rise of Rap music and hip-hop was not smooth and seamless. In fact, the genre was harshly fought and defamed by the music establishment. It was perceived as a threat and money was spent to shut it off. Radio stations were paid to play less hip-hop; rap bands were promoted less while Kompa made a great comeback on the airwaves, in clubs and festivals. [xii] However, rap didn’t die out, young people kept playing it, and in mid-2000, bands such as Barikad Crew (BC) and Rockfam emerged. Like King Posse and ORS before them, these two bands feuded to rekindle the flame of Haitian hip-hop[xiii]. The two bands were identified by the colors of their handkerchiefs; Barikad was red and Rockfam was black. It was the war of handkerchiefs!
On June 15, 2008, a tragic event was going to hit Barikad Crew in particular, and Rap Kreyòl in general. It was the death of the three so-called “generals” of the band: Jean Walker Sénatus Daddy “K-tafalk”, Junior Badio “Deja Voo”, and Johnny Emmanuel “Dade”. These three young rappers, as well as their drummer and a close friend, died in a car accident on their way to a gig. To make things worse, the girlfriend of one of the victims killed herself after the disaster[xiv]. It was a national tragedy and the deceased received national funerals. I remember at this time I was a reporter covering the event that took place on the largest public square of the country; the Champ-de-Mars was all red, the color of Barikad Crew. Nevertheless, as awful this loss was for Haitian hip-hop, it showed how the nation was attached to this music genre and to rappers. It also brought back Rap music on the airwaves since radios were playing it all the time after the catastrophe to honor the dead. It was a true revival of Haitian hip-hop. The other rappers and bands like King of Kings, Flex, Tribu de Job, AsRap, Mystik 703, Majik Click, quickly stepped into the breach. Besides other genres like Kompa, Rasin, Reggae, hip-hop claimed its spot into the heart of Haitian music lovers. Barikad Crew became very popular, most of its songs were hits. They strategically kept the feud going with Rockfam. Haitian rap has also been boosted by a certain Grammy-winning Wyclef Jean, who included Creole rap[xv] on Creole 101, his fifth studio album released in October 2004.
After the 2010 earthquake: hip-hop went downhill
Then the 2010 earthquake came. Not only the country was devastated but hip-hop also suffered some losses. Among the artists who died in the catastrophe were rappers like Jimmy O, Easy One, and Young Cliff (Barikad Crew) [xvi]. Like Haiti, hip-hop had to rise from the ashes. And that’s when things went downhill. A band like Barikad Crew was still active but some of its best members like Fantom and Izolan went solo. BC tried to survive but it inevitably weakened and came to a stop after some time. They released their last album R.E.D. in 2012 and make yearly appearances as a band during carnivals. In the mid-2010, a new generation of rappers and hip-hop artists invested the stage such as Wendyyy, Roody Roodboy, female rapper Niska (today Kanis), Trouble Boy Hitmaker, Baky Popile, BIC, Princess Eud, P-Jay, Blaze One, K-Libr, Izolan, Fantom, Steve Bryan, J-Perry, etc[xvii]. What is noticeable is that we have today more solo rappers than bands, and as a result hip-hop has become more individualistic than a collective project. Haitian hip-hop has become more materialistic, more self-centered. Some rappers like BIC[xviii] or K-libr are still doing conscious rap. BIC, an ex-member of Flex, has revealed himself to be a great lyricist who directly addresses the social, cultural, and political issues that will affect people in everyday life. K-libr, not only raps but actively participates in social causes such as the Petrochallenge, a civic movement denouncing corruption and demanding accountability from Haiti’s political class, accused of squandering billions of dollars in proceeds from Venezuela’s discounted PetroCaribe oil program.
However, BIC and K-libr are an exception to the general rule. Most rappers now sing about themselves, their expensive sneakers[xix], their $200 panties etc [xx]. Today’s rap has become more bling-bling because rappers want to imitate their US counterparts. Some of them sing about the mansions they don’t have, they boast about the luxury cars, the money, the yachts they rented for the video clips. In a country like Haiti, they are selling the American Dream, or they are showing off their “success”. Ironically, even in the US, some rappers don’t have the wealth they brag about in their videoclips.
But all is not lost. Haitian rap music has also known a rebirth, it has conquered new territories like churches. Talking about a conversion! We also have more women in hip-hop like Kanis, and the talented Princess Eud, called Haiti’s first lady of rap[xxi].
Hip-hop’s legacy
As we said in the beginning, hip-hop started strong in Haiti with a visionary, a poet, a talented singer like Master Dji. It started with its own identity and focusing on Haitian problems. The advent of rap in this Haiti coincides with the decline of a dictatorship established and maintained since the late 1950s. Duvalier’s administration was characterized by the squandering of public goods by the high ranking of the regime in a climate of generalized corruption, the supremacy of the unique thought, the arbitrary of the authorities of the State and the hunt to the political opponents. A climate of terror reigned in Haiti for three decades. With the collapse of the Duvalier dynasty in February 1986, the chains of repression jumped; there was a re-appropriation of the free speech by the Haitians who, to speak of the end of the dictatorship, used slogans as “second independence” and “baboukèt la tonbe” (literally, “the bridle fell off”)[xxii]. Master Dji released his first eponymous album at this time and wasn’t afraid to get political and controversial.
Today’s hip-hop, particularly its most popular iteration, is primarily centered around individualism and often displays a more hedonistic approach. Some hip-hop music videos even border on soft pornography. There was a case where a rapper faced legal action for publicly engaging in explicit acts with a female fan who joined him on stage[xxiii].
However, despite the current drift in rap music, it still remains one of the most powerful means to vividly depict the living conditions of the growing population of impoverished Haitians. Through their music, some rappers denounce the political attitudes and structural mechanisms that underpin the various afflictions burdening collective life.
[i] Charles, Laurie. (2015). Coming Home: Haiti Explores Haitian Hip-Hop: “They’re Not Doing It for the Money”. Miami Times. Retrieved 13 April 2019 from https://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/coming-home-haiti-explores-haitian-hip-hop-they-re-not-doing-it-for-the-money-8038681
[ii] Crazy Hood Film Academy. (2015). Coming Home: Haiti. Retrieved 13 April 2019 from https://vimeo.com/209989202
[iii] David, Phil. (2018). Henri Namphy: Coup leader and former president who said, ‘Haiti has only one voter — the army’. The Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2019 from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/henri-namphy-dead-military-coup-haiti-duvalier-a8439216.html
[iv] Ruelle Vaillant Massacre. (2012. December 16). Retrieved from http://www.haitiobserver.com/blog/ruelle-vaillant-massacre.html
[v] Emmanuel V (2018, December 12). Master DJI — Sispann [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzQlmxn4wn0
[vi] Pullela, Phillip. (1983). Pope John Paul II headed to Haiti today to… UPI. Retrieved April 13, 2019, from https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/03/09/Pope-John-Paul-II-headed-to-Haiti-today-to/3434416034000/
[vii] Azulphar, Adolf. (n.d.). Throwback Thursdays: Remembering Kreyol Rap Pioneer Master Dji. LargeUp. Retrieved April 13, 2019 from http://www.largeup.com/2015/11/26/throwback-thursdays-remembering-kreyol-rap-pioneer-master-dji/
[viii] Lizaire, Evenson. (2014). La résonance biographique du rap : entre sens commun et communauté de sens (The Biographical Resonance of Rap: Between Common Sense and Community of Meaning). Cairn.Info. Retrieved April 13, 2019 from
https://www.cairn.info/revue-le-sujet-dans-la-cite-2014-2-page-201.htm?contenu=article#no2
[ix] DJ Mingolove. (2009). Master Dji: 15 years after his death (rest in peace). KompaMagazine. Retrieved April 13, 2019 from http://www.kompamagazine.com/board/viewtopic.php?p=612054
[x] Haitian hip-hop (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2019 from https://hiphopdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/Haitian_hip-hop
[xi] Dumont, Jetry. (2015). The legend of King Posse. Ayibopost. Retrieved April 13, 2019 from https://ayibopost.com/legend-king-posse/
[xii] Wildermuth, Erin (2011). American hip-hop in Haiti: Musical fusion or cultural conquest?. Washington Times. Retrieved April 13, 2019 from https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/21/us-hip-hop-haiti-musical-fusion-cultural-conquest/
[xiii] DJ Mingolove. (2009). Barikad Crew Vs Rockfam: Story Behind The Feud! KompaMagazine. Retrieved April 15, 2019 from http://www.kompamagazine.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=23190&sid=2f277899b7a43b9eadfede105a6cd3ca
[xiv] Barikad Crew subscriber the tragedy. (2015). Haitian Hollywood. Retrieved April 15, 2019 from http://haitianhollywood.com/news/348-barikad-crew-subscriber-the-tragedy.html
[xv] Birchmeier, Jason (n.d.). Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101. AllMusic. Retrieved April 15, 2019 from https://www.allmusic.com/album/welcome-to-haiti-creole-101-mw0000390602
[xvi] Casualties of the 2010 Haiti earthquake (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved April 15 from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_2010_Haiti_earthquake#Individuals
[xvii] Tima, Wanda. (2017). 16 Rap Kreyol Artist You Should Add To Your Playlist (Part I). Lunionsuite. Retrieved April 15 from http://www.lunionsuite.com/rap-kreyol-artist-add-playlist/
[xviii] From rap to folk at the PAPJAZZ. (2018). PapJazz. Retrieved April 15 from
http://papjazzhaiti.org/class/francais-bic-haiti/
[xix] IZOLAN OFFICIAL. (2017, May 10). Izolan ‘’Bel Tenis’’ [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3ZriK-hY0c
[xx] Royal Sparks. ( 2017, June 24). Niska — Bagay Malè Nèt (Video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZwHTpbd8qg
[xxi] St. Fort, Katheline. (n.d.). (Princess Eud: Haiti’s First Lady of Rap? Kreyolicious. Retrieved April 15 from http://kreyolicious.com/princess-eud-haitis-first-lady-of-rap/4312
[xxii] Lizaire, Evenson. (2014). La résonance biographique du rap : entre sens commun et communauté de sens (The Biographical Resonance of Rap: Between Common Sense and Community of Meaning). Cairn.Info. Retrieved April 15 from
[xxiii] WKJA Staff. (2018). Haiti proposes to arrest rap creole rapper Mechans-T after this video of him violating a young woman gone viral on social media!. WKJ. Retrieved April 15 from http://wapkonnjojanko.com/breaking-development-haiti-proposes-to-arrest-rap-creole-rapper-mechanst-after-this-video-of-him-violating-a-young-woman-gone-viral-on-social-media/
