This is your fave chick Kreyolicious with the latest episode of Kreyolicious Music. Today’s album is Chay (Carimi Music Publishing) by a group called Enposib. The first thing I noticed when listening to Enposib’s Chay album is the band’s very distinctive sound. But as I listened to songs after songs, I thought that maybe instead of doing one of my standard reviews, I could look at the album from an IRL perspective. So, let’s see what it’s like looking at life in the key of Enposib. Let’s examine the life, love and relationship lessons according to the Enposib dudes.
The band Enposib performing live. #kreyolicious
1. A promiscuous man will always be glorified as a player, while a woman who does the same will have vituperative words thrown at her.
She will get a frown and stare-downs of disgust. He’ll get a wink. Sounds like a field in the land of familiarity? This is what is essentially the gist of “Maji” (Magic), in which the narrator asks a woman with a questionable reputation if she thinks he’s a wizard. In other words, it would take a wizard to obliterate her bad reputation. “Vakabone”, he repeats over and over. “Vakabone”, of course, is the Creole equivalent of tramp. Couldn’t help but note some low-key misogyny on this track. The guy calls himself a “vakabon” in the later verses—er, vakabon being the equivalent of a promiscuous man. But he utters this in a playful, almost self-jeering tone. She’s the one with the “past”, and he’s not? Throughout “Maji”, the narrator mocks the young lady. She thinks she’s going to be wifed up, he jeers, but he’s only there for a good time.
2. Watch how you treat others
The Golden Rule it’s called…do you follow it? On the song “Mete May”, the narrator sings about being played for a sucker. “Cheri ou pase’m nan tenten/Bae you done made a fool outta me.” You can feel the hurt in his tone. The next two lines are the best ones ever: “Gen jou chasè tounen jibye/Gen jou dife boule ponpye”—There’s going to be a time when the hunter becomes the prey/Some days even firemen get burned. Ooh, talk about shade. So, yes, let’s try not to do others wrong. The tables just might flip.
3. You might care deeply for someone, but the two of you may not be on the same page emotionally.
One of the most painful revelations about life, and as presented by Enposib is that sometimes the discrepancy in the maturity level of two people in a romantic relationship. The guy may be ready to settle down, but the woman may not be. The woman may be ready to make him her “one and only”, but he may not see things that way. This is the ideology presented in the song “Chay”, whose title translated to the word “Burden”. A couple are at constantly at odds with one another. Every other day is drama provoked by differing communication styles.
4. Some friendships will never go past the platonic level.
Bom Sou De Bò (Kiss Me On Both Cheeks) delineates a likely story. Boy loves girl, but girl sees things another way. She’s oblivious to his feelings. He wants a kiss on the lips, but she’d rather not. This song has really great production. And every lyrical line sounds like a tongue-twister. Great job on the part of the lead singer. So, yeah, some feelings can be one-sided. At times, it’s a good idea to just back out. What is meant to be, will be. Aggressive behavior will only indicate major desperation and alienate the subject of one’s affection.
5. There’s no replacing the love of your life.
Some people will always be irreplaceable as expressed on the track “Mwen Avè’w” (Me and You). There are feelings that you have for someone that you will never, ever feel for anybody—even if you move the heavens and the earth, and the entire galaxy. A sample of the lyrics: “Nou pa byen lè nou pa men nan men/Mwen pa kwè gen tankou’w (Things don’t feel right when we’re not together/You’re one of a kind)).
So, there you have it folks…Enposib Chay album.
Every other song on Chay is about pursuing pleasures of the flesh. Lust, lust, lust. Do some men think of anything else? Apparently not. How can we get them to read more books? How we can get them to leaf through the Book of Ephesians? I dunno.
I like how on songs like “Domino” and “Bom Sou De Bò”, the songwriters play with metaphors with things like the game of domino and traditional Haitian kissing to make their point. The arrangements on “Mwen Avè’w” are stellar, and I liked the unpredictability of “Maji”, though I’m still miffed about some of the things that are insinuated on that track. “Mete’w May” has these really contagious harmonies. Chay is a debut album, so it’ll be interesting to see how this band grows from here. Goodness knows, there’s already set on the right track.
Let’s do our best to support Haitian music! Support Haitian artists by purchasing their music, and by leaving ahem, positive reviews on platforms like Amazon, iTunes, and CDBaby to help others discover their work. Hooray! This has been another episode of Kreyolicious Music brought to you by your fave chick Kreyolicious. Until next time!
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE ENPOSIB CHAY ALBUM ON AMAZON| CLICK HERE TO BUY THE ENPOSIB CHAY ON iTUNES|
