Master Dji Started It But Where Are We Taking Creole Hip Hop?
Creole Hip Hop: Where are the Leaders
Will Creole Hip Hop Ever Be Considered Part of the HMI
Creole Hip Hop has a Past, Will it Have a Future?
When looking back at the entire history of Rap and Hip Hop, it’s easy to see how much the industry has grown. Providing a unique opportunity to various dedicated and consistent artists, the industry has changed the lives of many. It’s simply amazing to witness how life altering one hit record can be. Hip Hop as a whole has positively evolved in many different countries, notably in the American and French markets. Considered to be its own culture, Hip Hop serves as a great teaching tool to future generations.
Now let’s bring things a bit closer to home, to my island Haiti, where Hip Hop Creole has made musical waves. First, I personally congratulate Barikad Crew and Rockfam for holding things down for Hip Hop movement. Also I give respect to P-Jay for reinforcing a well-known fact in this industry, “Attract or bring the women and the men will follow.” Furthermore, I must admit Wendyyy is a rapper that brings it 100% of the time, although many have always musically slept on him. He’s tagged as a “dyole” but he can certainly backup whatever he says. And let’s not forget Fantom and Izolan, who’ve open up the way for solo MCs. Both have released multiple albums and mixtapes, independently, without their respective comrades. Although, the quality of each’s work could have been better we MUST give them credit on their accomplishments.
We all know Master Dji is our Hip Hop Creole pioneer and is credited with passing the baton to newer generations. But what has the new generation done with it? Is Master Dji mission being accomplished? Where is the movement now? Where is it heading? Who are currently its leaders?
If you look at the assets amassed by artists, it’s easy to assume that nothing has been done since the time of Master Dji. It’s easy to point fingers at people for what they aren’t doing rather than giving credit for what they have accomplished. But truthfully the movement has stalled and with each hopeful musical “HIT”, disc jockeys and members of the media try to quickly crown the next big record yet the artists have not lived up to the massive expectations. It’s not always the artists’ fault because majority are young and vulnerable. There are a lot of industry vultures roaming on the hunt for an opportunity to take advantage of young talents. Instead of an artist working on their next hit, they find themselves travelling all over the country to make a measly $500 US dollars, just to turnaround and have the manager take a cut and spend the rest on alcohol, sex, and other wasteful habits .
So where is Hip Hop heading? Some media members would argue that the movement is not going anywhere because of its lack of identity— it’s truly suffering. Mimicking the US Hip Hop industry gimmicks has proven to also be a failure because not all trends can be applied in Haiti. Being a struggling third world country, Haiti already has an identity crisis. Since the aforementioned is more of a political statement, I would rather not expound on Haiti’s predicament because I care too much for my life. Anyhow, the movement needs a clearly defined identity and a definitive sense of direction. Where’s ASRAP? Where are the leaders of this movement? In comparison, the US movement has Chuck D and KRS-One amongst many others leaders, all the while Hip Hop Creole t has none. If there are leaders, they are invisible; I’m sure there are potential leaders around, but they decide to stay behind the scenes, criticize the mistakes being made versus helping rectify industry mistakes. It’s definitely time for the criticizers to become active in the movement. Otherwise all dormant leaders should keep their mouth shut and keep their opinions to themselves.
The new generation of Creole Hip Hoppers must always remember some of the ‘Ol Heads’ like Money Honey Mike, Magik Click, Trajik, the late Easy One, Masters and a few other notable artists and groups that help clear the path and allowed Hip Hop Creole to latch on to a wider audience.
As we cross the half-way point of this year, where is the next Hip Hop Creole “HIT”? LEVEL is the most recent hit I can remember, yet artists all over Haiti are putting out music daily. When will the money hungry members of the media actually focus on promoting good music and not just any and every piece of garbage they’re paid to promote. Will albums actually sell this year? We need to progress cohesively and take the movement to the next level. We need to follow in the footsteps of Bricks and Dug-G, cast the hatred aside, come together and make good music. And market our music to not just to a selected few but to the whole Creole market. Change of attitude, change in demeanor, change of heart– Creole Hip Hop can be a viable piece of the HMI’s future but not if it remains as it is today. Changes need to be made now.
