I think I heard this RAM song at least 5 times in Port-au-Prince. The guesthouse owner loves RAM and plays it quite often, but I heard it elsewhere, too. Haitians of my demographic, just as South Africans I met who were in my generation did not show much interest in earlier forms of popular music. I only met one Haitian person who absolutely loves 1970s konpa, otherwise most of the younger Haitian folks I spoke with loved nouvelle generation konpa, rasin, and hip-hop. Indeed, one young woman in Jacmel played various examples of Haitian hip-hop for me, but most of it sounds too derivative. For that reason, I think older styles of Haitian music and 'distinctly' Haitian forms like RAM are excellent examples of Haitian music.
My love for older styles of Haitian music probably impressed my uncle and a few other folks I met, but I can get into RAM, too. Still, I prefer older styles with jazz, Cuban, and Caribbean influences, as well as konpa. I suppose I should listen to Zenglen after shaking hands with one of their members in Petionville, but I'll take things one at a time. Oh, and I forgot to mention Wanito. A very kind American woman I met at the guesthouse actually met him through a friend, and showed me a video of him performing. His music reminds me of US pop and R&B (simple, sweet, overproduced), but in Kreyol. Sometimes he has a reggae and acoustic influences (listen, this too) . Read an interview here.
I agree with you on the older forms of Haitian music. About Ram, I like their first two albums the best.
ReplyDeleteNice to hear from you, ken_yatta. I think older styles of Haitian music are just, well, more beautiful. I appreciate the jazz and Cuban influences, aesthetics, instrumentation, and lack of cheap, overproduced sounds one can find in more recent music.
DeleteAre you a fan of merengue or bachata? Merengue grew on me, but bachata sounds like garbage.
Oh, and I think I agree with you about RAM.
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