Miami-based hip-hop artist and activist MECCA aka GRIMO was featured on Coming Home Haiti, Revolt TV’s documentary on Creole-language rap that appeared on the network recently. This marks one of several times that mainstream, international media has taken note of that musical genre. Mecca aka Grimo discussed being part of the doc, and what he has been up to lately.

Kreyolicious: How did you get involved with Coming Home Haiti?

Who’s Crazy Film Academy was asked to continue their film series and their next stop was Haiti. They already traveled to Cuba and Peru and Revolt Tv really liked their vision. So, as they were preparing to make arrangements for their trip, DJ Efn and Michael Garcia, who are two good friends of mine from the hip-hop scene in Miami. They invited me to roll with them since they knew that I am heavily involved in the Hip Hop Kreyòl scene and the Haitian Community. They both felt like I would be a helpful asset on the trip assisting in translating and introducing them to Haitian hip-hop artists that I’ve worked with on prior projects.

Kreyolicious: Was the fact that it was a Revolt TV production a major factor in your agreeing to be a part of it all?

Not at all. I would’ve been down to explore and bring light to the influence of hip-hop in Haiti—even if Revolt TV wasn’t involved. We are all thankful that Revolt TV embraced this series because it’s important to know how certain types of music styles integrated into different cultures, and how it affects the progression of the culture. Also, I was very delighted to be able to go back to Haiti and meet up with fellow artists, friends and family that I haven’t seen awhile.

Above: MECCA aka GRIMO poses with other members of Miami’s artistic community at a screening of Coming Home Haiti.

Kreyolicious: Why do you think the movement warrants so much attention?

The movement warrants this attention because Haiti has been through a lot of adversity. When a nation has gone through the struggle that Haiti has gone through you have to ask yourself what is keeping them inspired and alive. Hip-hop feeds the soul. It energizes the spirit. The youth in Haiti find hope in hip-hop. It’s a way for them to express themselves, and feel good about what they are accomplishing. We all feel the same when we say music crosses language barriers. So, no matter what language we speak, music operates on frequencies that drives us all. The movement also promotes social and political change. Through music, we are all messengers of the art form. So, we keep it alive in its truest form by talking about what is real to us.

Kreyolicious: What is the current state of Miami’s Creole rap scene?

There’s a few of us spread out through out Miami’s hip-hop Kreyòl scene, but the heavy hitters are in Haiti for sure. We are all influenced and driven by the beautiful country of Ayiti. We all want to do so much more. At the very least, our contribution is to preserve the language and culture so those that come after us have something to feel proud about. More artists of Haitian decent are coming out [of] the woodwork and making an effort to connect with the culture these days…which means that we are becoming more proud of who we are as a people when we are able to reflect our culture through our every expression.

Kreyolicious: What projects are you working on currently?​

I’m currently working on my book titled Haiti was Born in Me, which includes a cultural guide towards the rear of the book after the poems and readings. The book will be out in April for National Poetry Month. I’m also working on a project called “We Dem Zoes”, which is our musical expression and perspective being of Haitian descent living in America. Spearheaded by 103.5’s The Beat, DJ Epps, the project includes other artist such as Grimass, Stichiz—who is also an on air personality for 103.5 The Beat, myself MECCA aka GRIMO and the producer of the project, Magnificent Beats. Look for our first single and video “Test of Strength” to come out soon. On the last Friday of every month, I host a poetry venue called “Poetic Lakay”, which allows artists from the community to come and share their work of expression. Our 501(c)3 non-profit organization Children’s Hope Chest of Dreams reaches out to the underprivileged youth and teaches conflict resolution and anger management and resolution skills. The organization also offers cultural-based programs and mentors youth who have entered the juvenile system.

Be sure to keep up with Mecca aka Grimo…

MECCA AKA GRIMO ON INSTAGRAM | MECCA AKA GRIMO ON TWITTER | MECCA AKA GRIMO’S ORGANIZATION CHILDREN HOPE CHEST OF DREAMS | MECCA AKA GRIMO ON SOUNDCLOUD

On 12 March, the French forces attempted to gain control of the fort but failed; Jean Boudet’s French forces suffered losses of 480, and Dessalines’s forces suffered losses of 200-300. Another attempt was made on 22 March which led to 300 French deaths. On 24 March, Dessalines’s forces abandoned the fort in the night due to heavy losses, and the French gained control of it. Despite gaining control of the fort, the French had suffered major losses, including the death of General Charles Dugua. Alexandre Pétion, a mixed-race French general, played an important role in the capture of the fort when he managed to deploy his cannon on a hill overlooking the Haitian position.
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12 Mas, twoup franse yo te eseye tounen jwenn kontwòl fò a, men yo echwe; Fòs franse Jean Boudet te pèdi 480 moun, epi fòs Dessalines yo pèdi 200-300 moun. Yon lòt tantativ te fèt le 22 mas ki te mennen a 300 lanmò solda franse. 24 Mas, fòs Desalin la te abandone fò a nan mitan lannwit akòz yo te pèdi anpil moun, e franse yo te pran kontwòl sou li. Malgre Franse te kontwole fò a, yo pèdi Jeneral Charles Dugua. Alexandre Pétion, yon jeneral franse milàt, te jwe yon wòl enpòtan nan kaptire fò a lè li te rive deplwaye kanon li sou yon mòn ki te bay nan direksyon pozisyon ayisyen yo. Source:Wikipedia
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#haiti #ayiti #haiti1804 #1804 #istwa1804 #battle #stmarc #latibonit #artibonite #french #haitians #soldiers #haitianrevolution #revolt #dessalines #rebels #leclerc #generalleclerc #charlesleclerc

The Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot was a major battle of the Haitian Revolution. The battle took place at the Crête-à-Pierrot fort , east of Saint-Marc on the valley of the Artibonite River. It took place from March 4 to March 24 1802
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Batay nan Lakrèt-a-Pyewo te yon gwo batay nan Revolisyon Ayisyen an ap pran plas depi 4 mas jiska 24 mas 1802. Batay la te fèt nan fò Lakrèt-a-Pyewo, bò kote lès Saint Marc sou la vale larivyè Latibonit.
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#haiti #ayiti #haiti1804 #1804 #istwa1804 #battle #stmarc #latibonit #artibonite #french #haitians #soldiers #haitianrevolution #revolt #dessalines #rebels #leclerc #charlesleclerc #ayiti #hayti #hispaniola #saintdomingue

President Pierre Jean-Louis “Race Relations Act 1845”

President Jean-Louis Pierrot introduced this act due to a series
of revolts in the South and split between the ranks of the mulatto class and dissatisfaction from the black masses.The color factor had been a major factor in Haitian politics since the colonial days. In order to manage the situation, he introduced the Race Relation Act.
Source: Thomas Madiou .
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#race #relation #mulatto #black #blacks #races #haiti #haitian #haitians #ayiti #hayti #haitien #1804 #istwa #istwa1804 #politic #color #colour #races #equality #colorism #mass #thomasmadiou #madiou #pierrot #revolt #south

As President of Haiti, he was intended to be a figurehead for the mulatto ruling class. Pierrot’s most pressing duty as the new president was to check the incursions of the Dominicans, who were harassing the Haitian troops along the borders. Dominican boats were also making depredations on Haiti’s coasts. President Pierrot decided to open a campaign against the Dominicans, whom he considered merely as insurgents. Haitians, however, were not inclined to go to war with their neighbors, and were unwilling to support the President’s views.
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Furthermore, Pierrot had displeased the army by conferring military rank on the leaders of the peasants of the Sud department and on many of their followers. In addition, the inhabitants of the towns of this department felt uneasy regarding the tendencies of Pierrot, who had appointed Jean-Jacques Acaau, the former terrorist of Cayes, as Commandant of the Anse-à-Veau Arrondissement. Fearing a peasant revolt, the townsmen decided to divest Pierrot of his office.
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#haiti #hayti #ayiti #president #mulatto #mulattoclass #pierrot #dominicans #haitians #haitian #borders #acaau #military #cayes #commandant #commander #anseaveau #revolt #office #istwa1804 #istwa #1804

The intention behind the Ogé Revolt was to force the french colonists to allow voting rights for free men of colors. Those involved with Ogé, such as Jean-Baptiste Chavannes were of wealthy families. It is important to mention that their intention were not to free the slaves, people such as Etienne Dejoly, Julien Raimond owned slaves in the French colony and had no desire to weaken slavery system. .
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#oge #rebellion #revolt #1790 #vote #right #rights #menofcolor #men #color #duttyboukman #1791 #saintdomingue #santodomingo #french #freedom #facts #haiti #ayiti #istwa #1804

An affranchis delegate in France and leader of a mulatto revolt. He had been educated in Paris and was the son of a wealthy butcher or coffee plantation owner in Le Cap. He led a revolt against the white colonial authorities in Saint-Domingue that lasted from October to November 1790 in the vicinity of Le Cap, Ogé’s revolt of 1790, many sectors of Saint-Domingue society were ready to take up arms to put an end to the French cruelties.
As a member of the Friends of the Negro (Amis des Noirs), Ogé had been frustrated by the Assembly’s refusal to extend the Rights of Man to mulattoes and decided to take matters into his own hands after his efforts in France such as the 1789 motion to the Assembly of Colonists in Paris did not lead to greater freedom for the affranchis in the colony. Revolutionary France seemed unwilling to extent the ideals of the French Revolution to all sectors of it’s colonial empire.
“While residing in Paris he made the acquaintance and enjoyed the familiar friendship of Brissot, Robespierre, Lafayette, and other revolutionists connected with the society Amis des Noirs. From these men he learned his lessons of freedom. (Langston)

From Grande Rivière, his camp in the Department of the North, Ogé sent a letter to the President of the Assembly of that department to voice is opinion against the prejudice done to all freemen (including Blacks and Mulattoes).
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#haiti #ayiti #istwa1804 #1804 #saintdomingue #santodomingo #oge #granderiviere #lecap #caphaitien #mulatto #blacks #freemen #noir #robespierre #fenchrevolution #french #revolution #haitianrevolution #haitian #haitien #rightsofman #affranchis #revolt #revolution #paris #1790 #1791 #execution #plantation #lafayette

Charles-Victor-Emmanuel Leclerc, was a French general, brother-in-law of Napoleon, who attempted to suppress the Haitian revolt led by the former slave Toussaint Louverture.
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Leclerc joined the army in 1792 and distinguished himself at the siege of Toulon. It was in this campaign that he met Napoleon Bonaparte, who developed a great affection for him; Leclerc would serve Napoleon faithfully for the rest of his life. Leclerc was promoted to general after duty in Napoleon’s Italian campaign. The relationship was further strengthened by Leclerc’s marriage (1797) to Napoleon’s sister Pauline Bonaparte. In 1799 Leclerc played a decisive role in the coup that brought Napoleon to power.
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After proving his abilities as a general both in the Egyptian campaign and in Germany (1800), Leclerc was sent by Napoleon to subdue the rebellion in Haiti, at that time known as Saint-Domingue.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
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#general #generalleclerc #french #frenchgeneral #napoleon #napoleonbonaparte #haitian #revolt #slave #haiti #ayiti #brotherinlaw #france #1804 #istwa1804 #history #herstory #mystory #colony #colonie #yellow #fever