Haitian music playlists! What time is it? It’s time for yet another Kreyolicious playlist…in which I…in which I do a countdown of music in Haitian Creole and by Haitian artists with a particular theme!

Summer is almost here. The thing about all these things is that they’re perennial. You can use them to dance your way through summer…or if you want to get crunk during fall season. Let’s begin!

1. Artist/Band: Wyclef ft. Sweet Micky
Song: MVP Konpa
Summer Party Aspect: Lawd, where was this song hiding? So Wyclef made a song with the Sweet Micky dude? I really like the part where Wyclef is doing his little stutter-rap. The playful lyrics makes you think of frolicking on the beach, and building sandcastles on a beach in Fort Lauderdale or Miami somewhere.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG

2. Artist/Band: Wyclef, ft. Buju Banton and T-Vice
Song: Party by the Sea
Summer Party Aspect: Wyclef again? Yup! Just from the title, you are easily ushered into the party spirit!

CLICK HERE TO BUY WYCLEF’S MUSIC| CLICK HERE TO BUY MUSIC FROM T-VICE

3. Artist/Band: Shabba
Song: Jou a La
Summer Party Aspect: This song could also double as a workout song, but for the purpose of this countdown, it’s the groove you need to get your bones aligned correctly after having gone through the laziness of spring.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC FROM THIS ARTIST

4. Artist/Band: J-Perry
Song: Enjoy
Summer Party Aspect: Yes, enjoy. Life is short, and what’s more, summer is short. So, yeah. It’s the perfect time to enjoy oneself…perhaps a vacation to Haiti? 🙂

CLICK HERE TO BUY MUSIC FROM THIS ARTIST

5. Artist/Band: T-Micky
Song: Vakans
Summer Party Aspect: A song about vacation…of course it should be on this countdown. But it’s more than that! It’s the carefree lyrics, the percolating beats…the infectious chorus.

CLICK HERE TO BUY MUSIC FROM THIS ARTIST

6. Artist/Band:Krezi Beatz
Song: Kite’m Vibe
Summer Party Aspect: Summer is all about vibing!

7. Artist/Band: Zatrap
Song: Kraze Le 8
Summer Party Aspect: From the native instruments to the overall musical ambiance, this song truly delivers the summer spirit.

CLICK HERE TO BUY MUSIC FROM THIS BAND

8. Artist/Band: Zin
Song: Kwe le kweke
Summer Party Aspect: What’s Kwe le kweke? God only knows. Is that even Creole? A leftover word from our West African ancestors, perhaps? No matter! This song has all the liveliness that one would associate with summer. With every beat, you can hear water splashing, you can see bright oranges of two-piece bikinis, and sand sprinkling everywhere!

CLICK HERE TO BUY MUSIC FROM THIS GROUP

9. Artist/Band: Marie-Michele
Song: Kokoye
Summer Party Aspect: This song is all about coconuts, and with good reason. Besides palm trees, is there another tree that we associate more with summer? Or the yellow birch if you live in Connecticut, but if you live in a beach-heavy city….Anyway, this woman’s operatic voice does it for me. Hello…summer!

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG| CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS ARTIST’S SONG ON AMAZON

10. Artist/Band: Harmonik
Song: Bel Ti Moman
Summer Party Aspect: Summer starts out with a bang, but in the end, it’s all about the memories created—hence the inclusion of this song.

CLICK HERE TO BUY MUSIC FROM THIS GROUP

There you have it folks…the ultimate Haitian music playlist of songs to help herald your summer, courtesy of your favorite Haitian-American Kreyolicious! Tune in next time.

CLICK HERE to check out my previous playlists!

It’s your fave chick Kreyolicious again…this time counting down the best breakup songs.

But wait! Why a countdown like this? We should celebrate love, and not the rupture of love, no? Well, kreyolicious cheries, for one thing…pain is a part of human life (Thanks for nothing, Adam and Eve). For another, when you think about it…the most popular songs on the planet are about love, and breaking up probably comes in second as a topic. So, let’s stop debating and get started with this little countdown! Yay!

In order of most depressing…most heart-wrenching….

1. Band/Artist: Master Dji
Song: Wale Kite’m
Kreyolicious Breakup-Category: She goes, and you’ve lost your reason to live, and you have lost your identity! You fall into manic depression.
Kreyolicious Notes: This singer’s voice is so laden with pain, it almost felt as if he were mourning the death of several relationships, as opposed to just one. This song nearly drove me to tears. No joke. I would not listen to it on an empty stomach (Let’s face it, Kreyolicious timouns, when you’re already hungry, and you put on a sad song or a sad movie, the likelihood of you weeping and sobbing increases). This kreyolicious song captures the harrowing pain we feel in our hearts when the person we thought we were so totally in love with, and was in turn in love with us, leaves with no explanation…which in turns leaves us with feelings of anger, inadequacy and obsession. These type of breakups are hard to recover from, apparently.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THIS SONG ANDOTHER MUSIC BY THIS ARTIST

2. Band/Artist: Yanick Etienne
Break-Up Song: Miste Damou
Kreyolicious Break-up category: A break-up, but one that has a glint of silver lining…a reconciliation may be in progress.
Kreyolicious Notes: Not sure when this song was recorded. Early 90s perhaps? Early 2000s? But goodness, this lady sure has a lovely voice. Silent treatments, a tendency to forget all the great moments, lending a deaf ear to heartfelt apologies, and allowing personal pride to get into the way of reconciliation—are among some of the aspects of a breakup touched upon on this gorgeous ballad.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC BY THIS ARTIST

3. Band/Artist: Joe Jack
Song: Fèm Dous
Kreyolicious Break-up category: The period during the breakup and the rebound girl hunting.
Kreyolicious Notes: Dude is looking for some “Ti doudou” (uptown sweetie) to make him “dous” (er…sexual favors no doubt), so that he can “bliye” (forget) all the “imilasyon” (mortification) he’s undergone at the hands of the previous women he’s been with. Oh, heck no. This means this guy is not looking for a new love. He’s looking for a temporary fill-in to soothe his ego. Oh! It’s all about him. But you’ve got to admit that this song treats the rebound syndrome—a major aspect of the stages of a breakup. The melody is salsaish…very ballroomesque.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC BY THIS ARTIST

Kreyolicious Notes: Not sure when this song was recorded. Early 90s perhaps? Early 2000s? But goodness, this lady sure has a lovely voice. Silent treatments, a tendency to forget all the great moments, lending a deaf ear to apologies, and allowing personal pride to get into the way of reconciliation—are among some of the aspects of a breakup touched upon on this gorgeous ballad.

4. Artist/Band: Harmonik
Haitian breakup song: Mwen Bouke
Kreyolicious Break-Up: This is the breakup in the on-again, off-again relationship.
Kreyolicious Notes: We have quite a narrative in this song. He cheated. She found out somehow. They more or less made up, and have agreed to let bygones be bygones. But wait! Her heart is still tearing from his infidelity. He’s apologized over and over…’til he doesn’t know what to say anymore. He feels like she’s using his infidelity to torture him needlessly—taking “plezi” (sick pleasure) in making him . There’s a spoken monologue at the end of the song…she decided to break-up with him again, while he thought they were under good terms again. And she got with another man…Now this song, again, is about a reconciliation that should never have materialized in the first place. The
CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC FORM THIS BAND!

5. Band/Artist: K-Zino
Haitian Breakup Song: Kè Mwen Kontan
Kreyolicious Break-up category: Denial, followed by an actual reconciliation.
Kreyolicious Notes: Aw, he’s begging for another chance. He can’t handle life without her. He’s waiting on that phone call. And out of nowhere, there’s a knock at the door…it’s her! One wonders what will happen the next time there’s some sort of separation again? And something tells me there will be another separation…and the narrator won’t be able to handle it.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC BY THIS BAND!

6. Band/Artist: Daan Junior
Haitian Breakup Song: Kite’m Ale
Kreyolicious Break-up category: The breakup that occurs when one party is fed up, and wants to jump ship before things totally deteriorate.
Kreyolicious Notes: A voluntary departure is what this song’s about. The narrator is tired of being stifled in this relationship, the emotional pressures, and the verbal abuse, and disrespect. Lawd, it’s too much to be borne. So…Out, he goes!

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC BY THIS ARTIST

7. Band/Artist: K-Dans
Haitian Breakup Song: Touman
Kreyolicious Break-up category: Break-up resulting from death.
Kreyolicious Notes: I clicked on this song out of curiosity. And it turns out, it’s just what my countdown needed. This song sounds less depressing than it should. Some great vocal work by the lead singer of this group. When a breakup happens because one of the parties departs in death, it’s emotionally devastating. One can say it’s probably the worst type of breakup. But as the singer points out in the lyrics, a love that dies lives on forever. Only thing is, the next woman will have to deal with a dead rival. And we all know how we tend to deify the dead sometimes. We forget about all their flaws, and remember only the good about them.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC FROM THIS GROUP

8. Band/Artist: Zenglen
Haitian Breakup Song: Sincerely Yours
Kreyolicious Break-up category: Extreme denial post-breakup breakup
Kreyolicious Notes: Wow, dude is so obsessed, he’s literally playing for his girl’s new man to have cold feet. He’s hopeful, in a loving way, not thoroughly stalker-scary. Just a sincere-hearted man who realizes that he messed up when things were good, and that he’s not ready (nor will he ever be) to see his woman in another man’s arms.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC FROM THIS GROUP

9. Band/Artist: Nu Look
Haitian Breakup Song: It Wasn’t Meant to Be
Kreyolicious Break-up category: The reflective break-up.
Kreyolicious Notes: In retrospect, this relationship should never have come into existence, the narrator contends in the lyrics. He isn’t bitter. Nor does he want to try again. Had she ever loved him, he muses. But he wants to make it clear that the lawn isn’t closely-cut or greener on the other side for the ex. Or, so he hopes.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC FROM THIS GROUP

10. Band/Artist: Carimi
Haitian Breakup Song: Kita Nago
Kreyolicious Break-up category: The one-sided breakup!
Kreyolicious Notes: This song is really frightening. The playfulness of the production practically masks the sinister aspect of the lyrics. This is about a man who’s obsessed with a former flame. He promises to chases her in all corners of the earth to track her down. You guys, this is Witness…er Ex-Girlfriend Protection Program matter! Restraining order!

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS SONG AND OTHER MUSIC FROM THIS GROUP

This has been yet another Kreyolicious Playlist. Goodness knows, I just might have a Part II for this countdown. Do you have a favorite from this list? Or is your favorite not on this list? Sound off!

Epilogue: There’s nothing like a targeted Haitian music playlist to get your mind going….

The only upside about misfortunes and tragedies is that they gear your mind into a state of self-reflection. These days, it’s Hurricane Matthew and its aftermath in Haiti that’s lingering on many minds. Next week, it may be something else.

What’s important is that we use moments like these to do serious self-reflection. No finger pointing, no wagging of the fingers at outside forces. Look inward, not outward, as the self-help gurus command.

So, get your mind in the right frame, and take a listen at these songs, curated by your fave chick Kreyolicious.

[Note: the complete title for this playlist was actually: The Playlist For The Haitian/Haitian-American Who’s Disheartened By What’s Happening In Haiti And Wants to Do Some Serious Self-Reflection, While Remaining Grateful and Hopeful…but that’s quite, ahem, a mouthful…and considering I’m trying to simplify things…]

1. Ada, “Viv”
About this Song: Live! Don’t be so absorbed by your problems and personal issues that you forget to, well, viv—live. Viv!
Best Line(s): Viv! Nothing more needs to be said. Ever seen that quote about how some of us are alive, and yet we’re not living…ever read that?

CLICK HERE to purchase Viv by Ada!

2. Kreyol La, “Fòk ou Kwè”
About the Song: This Kreyol La track encourages one to keep pounding the pavement, and maintain a clear conscience while at it.
Best Line(s): “Gen de bagay ki rive’w/Wap mande ki jan ou pral soti ladann/Fòk ou k/Ba gen miray ki pap kraze/Nap soti/Ti pa/Ti pa.”…There’s some situations you find yourself in/You ask yourself how will you find your way out of it/But you’ve gotta believe/There’s no wall that you can’t unravel/We’re gonna get out somehow/Little by little.

CLICK HERE to purchase “Fòk ou Kwè” by Kreyol La!

3. Emeline Michel, “Mèsi Lavi”
About the Song: “Mèsi Lavi”…A simple expression of gratitude! Yes, there are problems going on. Yes, so many lives have been lost, and crops, and tangible property have been swept away. But so many are still alive, and can rebuild, and hopefully rebuild stronger.
Best Line(s): “Mwen di mèsi pou de grenn je’m/Pou kè’m ki nan mitan kò’m”—I’m thankful for my two eyes/I thank God for that heart that’s centered in my body.
Notes: Thanking God for one’s two eyes, and one’s heart! Simple, it seems doesn’t it? But when you start to ponder on those lines…you realize that a whole hall of library books of thoughts are conveyed. We rely on our eyes for so much. Heck, I’m typing this little sentence here…how would I manage had it not been for my eyes! Goodness, gracious. We really have to be thankful for everything we have! Everything, including our vital organs. The song also mentions our hearts, which needless to say, is the core of our being and our soul. Our hearts allow us to feel compassion, and allow us to feel empathy for others, not to mention give and receive love. Alright, Emeline, girl.

4. Zin, “Kouraj”
About the Song: Kouraj…that’s like courage, and goodness knows people going through hard times need a potent dose of that.
Best Line: “Yon jou konsa farinaj bonè gen pou li anvayi kè’w”—A day like this happiness finna come at your heart like rainfall/Stay strong/You hear?

What a faith-strengthening message! The song preaches the need to keep going, and to go about one’s business—no matter what. Deliverance soon cometh, the song preaches!

CLICK HERE to buy “Kouraj” from Zin!

5. Zenglen, “Tout Bagay Posib”
About the song: The title’s translation: All things are possible. Ain’t that the truth! Tables flip, tables turn, tables reverse. It’s good to keep that in mind on a personal level. This song emphasizes the need to stay focused and the need to keep the faith, for you never know when things might change for you—for the better.
Best Line: “Men’m lè mwen pa wè anwo/Men’m lè pa wè anba/Li gen yon denye opsyon se lafwa/Tout bagay posib”—-Don’t know up from down/Can’t see nothing from up here/But there’s always that last option called faith/Everything’s possible.

CLICK HERE to buy “Tout Bagay Posib” by Zenglen.

6. Shabba Djakout, “Antann Nou”
About this Song: The title translates into something to the effect of—Let’s get along, let’s get our act together! Like several songs on this playlist, this song’s message is simple, but boy, does it pack a lot! Let’s try to get along with others—starting with our family, and carry that mentality in a wider sense…with our immediate neighbors, and with our extended neighbors. Harmony, harmony…HARMONY! I’m not into all this patriotic stuff and all that nationalistic stuff conveyed in the lyrics. Let’s be realistic. We may not be able to change others’ minds, or change the world, but at least we can attempt to change/adjust our individual minds.
Best Line: “Antann Nou”. I like the simplicity expressed in those two words. Let’s get along. It doesn’t necessarily pertain to a relationship with others…but a relationship with one’s self.

CLICK HERE to purchase Shabba Djakout’s “Antann Nou”.

7. Master Dji, “Tann pou Tann”
About this song: According to the user who uploaded this song, this track is from the 1980s, but it sends a timeless message. The concept of this song is something we should all swallow…don’t expect miraculous or overnight results in life.
Best Line: “Se tann pou tann”—you’ve got to wait. Of course that doesn’t mean sitting with your hands folded! Put some action behind your goals, and lots of work behind your vision.

CLICK HERE to purchase “Tann pou Tann” by Master Dji.

8. Disip, “J’ai Brulé Les Étapes”
About the Song: “J’ai Brulé Les Étapes” counsels everyone to stand firm in the face of overly critical people, personal shortcomings and overall downtrodden moments. The best is yet to come, bright lights are ahead! The song also makes it clear that trials and tribulations are a normal part of life, and are part of a character-building mission.
Best Line(s): “Soufri jodi a ak dignite/Pou demen ou ka souri ak fyète”–Endure with all your dignity intact today/So you can smile tomorrow with all your pride.

CLICK HERE to buy “J’ai Brulé Les Étapes” from Disip!

9. Abner G, “Lavi Pa Fini”
About the Song: It ain’t over, baby. Whether you’re being hit by personal obstacles that comes in the form of death, sickness, joblessness, heartbreak…well hang on! Don’t know where your next meal is coming from? No roof over your head? Well, don’t dezespere! That’s like…stay hopeful!
Best Line(s): Depi ou gen lavi/Ou gen lespwa/Pa sispann”—as long as you’re alive, there’s reason to remain hopeful.

10. Les Frères Parents, “Pa Dekouraje” [Don’t Give Up]
About the Song: This song encourages us all to
Best Line(s): Olye ou wè lavi ou ap avanse/Se rekile li rekile/…Ou konnen ou pa parese/Pouki lavi ou pa vle chanje/Vye frè fò ou pa dezespere”—Instead of moving forward/It’s like you’re taking steps back/You know you ain’t lazy/So how come your life ain’t going nowhere/But don’t you despair. Ain’t that the truth, folks? Every time you’re thinking you’re about to hit a milestone, the milestone becomes miles of stones. Hard stones too! Can I get a podyab?

Notes: I saw the song’s title on a sidebar and immediately wanted to listen to it, having judged it from its title. What I like about this song is how it encourages one to keep building stone by stone, and work towards the future, instead of expecting immediate results. And also, it hints that sometime you can be working hard not necessarily for the betterment of you personally, but of those who will come after you. Interesting perspective.

CLICK HERE to purchase music by the Les Frères Parents band!

So, there you have it folks…the ultimate Haitian music playlist for the Haitian/Haitian-American who’s awfully disheartened by what’s happened in Haiti (and elsewhere in the world), but wants to retain a spirit of gratitude, while at the same time doing some in-depth self-reflection—brought to you by your fave chick Kreyolicious.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE MUSIC PLAYLIST FROM YOUR FAVE CHICK KREYOLICIOUS!