***You can listen to the original French version of this story here.
Haitians in the Heartland is the result of six months of close collaboration between the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO and a group of Springfield residents from Haiti who had been involved in an internet radio station in Springfield called New Diaspora Live.
Kompa music
Gerly Philidor has over 20 years of experience as a DJ in Haiti and the United States. He is an expert in Kompa music, a genre that originated in Haiti in the 1950s and blends African rhythms, European ballroom dance music, and Haitian traditional music. For this episode, Philidor will share some of his favorite Kompa music and discuss how the genre has evolved over the past seventy years.
Haitians in the Heartland is produced for the ear and designed to be heard, not read. We strongly encourage you to listen to the audio by clicking on the blue "LISTEN" button above, which includes emotion and emphasis not on the page.
The following transcript is lightly edited for length and clarity.
Gerly Philidor: For nearly 70 years, Kompa has been the heartbeat of Haitian music.
Created in 1955 by Neumours Jean-Baptiste, it blends merengue, quadrille, jazz, and Cuban rhythm.
Kompa quickly became Haiti's signature sound, and by the 1970s, bands like Tabou Combo and Skah-Shah modernized the genre with funk and Caribbean influences, expanding its reach worldwide.
The 1980s brought complex arrangements to Kompa with groups like System Band and Zenglen.
Then, bands like Carimi and Harmonique fused Kompa with R&B and Pop in the early 2000s.
Since 2015, artists like Joé Dwèt Filé and Kenny Haiti and bands like Enposib have introduced Afrobeat and trap elements to the genre.
Today, Kompa continues to evolve, inspiring new generations while staying true to its roots.
Haitians in the Heartland is produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.
