Haitian Beatz

Supposedly, the year 2005 marked the 50th anniversary of Konpa music. [Knowing that fact and hearsay are rather fluid concepts in the “HMI,” I will leave it to your own astute judgment whether or

not to believe that number.] Throughout the entire year, Haitian promoters everywhere were seeing “$$$” in their sleep! Every crummy basement party was being billed as a grandiose event meant to “célébré 50 an Konpa.” Well, not wanting to miss out on all the fun [and $$$], Richie–backed by his Zenglen cohorts–pounced on the occasion and released a “solo” CD to, well, you know…

01-Intro | 2m06s

When I buy a music CD, I want to hear m-u-s-i-c! I don’t want dialogue – especially the totally pointless kind.

02-Le Konpa (Happy 50) | 6m45s

Forty seconds in, I reached for the CD jewel case to make sure I wasn’t actually listening to “5 Etwal.” Those of you who read my review of that disc already know I was less than impressed with it. To my amazement, Richie and company saw fit to blunder where they had left off on “5 Etwal.” This piece brings us more of the same: the same silly “slogans,” the same dull brass sound, and the same old and tired eighth-note guitar grooves. Lyrically, Richie attempts to offer a historical perspective on the genre. As with most Konpa lyrics, these too failed to raise my interest level. Quite predictably, it’s your typical rhyming affair that quickly rots into the even more common practice of calling out other band names. Not helping matters in the slightest is Reginald Cange’s delivery. It sounds a lot like a Haitian student ki ap récité yon leçon. [If you've done some schooling in Haiti, you know what I'm talking about.] Oh, and, Mr. Richard does try to get all political on us by condemning the government for not doing anything for the sake of his fellow musicians. I’d advise Richie to get off his high horse and ask himself what have those musicians actually done for their country. I’d also like to know how many free concerts he’s held down there, or here for that matter, for the poor kids who’ll never be able to afford $100 US to go witness his ego inflate.