The musicians Clement Bélizaire and Rolls Lainé•©️ images archive
Port-au-Prince, July 23, 2025.-While the Compas blows its 70 candles this week, respected voices like Clement Bélizaire and Rolls Léné dit Roro, alarmed by the lack of international recognition of this emblematic rhythm of Haiti. In Panel Magik 9, they denounce a loss of landmarks, an oblivion of essentials, and call for a memorial, cultural and identity break. Back on a musical genre that, despite the crises, continues to make the Haitian soul dance.
Seven decades have passed since Nemours Jean-Baptiste offered the world the Compas Dirèk, this chaloupé, elegant rhythm, with Caribbean accents rooted in the Haitian soul. Yet, instead of a triumphal celebration on an international scale, it is time for bitterness, painful lucidity, shared melancholy.
During their visit noticed in the show Panel Magik, two pillars of the Haitian musical milieu, Clement Bélizaire and Rolls Léné dit Roro, did not chew their words. For Clément Bélizaire, one of the main reasons why the Compas does not resonate more strongly internationally lies in a toxic climate inside the HMI (Haitian Music Industry).
« Gen twòp atis ki ap chache kraze lòt parèy yo, olye yo mete tet ansanm pour vanse estil la »he deplores, regretting the rise of a frivolous spirit that disconnects music from its social and identity role.
He goes further, evoking a disturbing break between the young artists and the source of the Compas.
« Under there, Ayiti. Depi Ayiti malad, Konpa malad tou. »
It's a cry from the heart, a naked truth. For the Compas is not a simple rhythm: it is a collective vibration, a moving memory. When the country suffers, the Konpa coughs. When society crumbles, music loses its breath.
Rolls Léné, veteran of the Djakout #1 group, is in the same direction. As a direct witness to this glorious time, he still holds a symbol today:
« Mwen toujou kenbe mikwo Coupé Cloue a. Men mwen pa jwenn kote to remeet his merite. »
This micro, which has become almost relic, is the image of an abandoned heritage, of a memory that no museum protects, of a heritage that is allowed to be erased.
For his part, the star host of Canal Musical, Bregard Anderson, raises another crucial point: the absence of concrete initiatives to honour Nemours Jean-Baptiste, the founder of Konpa Direk.
« Nou jis site non li. Men pa gen anyen serye ki fet pour onore li. Gade Bob Marley, kay li tunen espas touristik. Nemours, lire te rete Matissant, jodi a zòn nan se te pa lwa. »
Words are poignant. The silence around Nemours, Sicot, Coupé Cloué, Ti Manno... is deafening. Yet, these giants laid the foundation for a musical art that crossed seas and borders.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the disappearance of Webert Sicot (1930–1985), the hour is also remembered. Founder of Cadence Rampa, mythical rival of Nemours Jean-Baptiste, Sicot was a virtuoso, a sharp mind that contributed to diversifying and enriching the Haitian musical landscape.
In the same vein, Jean Gesner Henry, alias Coupé Cloué (1925–1998), embodied a Compas popular, grivois, deeply rooted in the daily lives of the masses. With humour and biting, he danced words and crowds, conquering to African scenes, where he was crowned « Cut King Clouted ».
And how can we not mention Ti Manno, by his real name Antoine Rossini Jean Baptiste (1953–1985)? He was a derailed voice of social protest, poet of pain and hope, and sang injustice with an intensity that still burns hearts. Death young, but immortal by the power of his verb and the accuracy of his struggles.
Today, despite the obstacles, the Compas lives. In the streets, in the parties, in the hearts. It still allows to dance in the midst of chaos, as an act of joyful resistance to misery and fear.
But this music deserves better than survival. She deserves a future. The Compas doesn't ask the world for mercy. He demands the pride of his own people. »
It is time to build institutions, places of memory, music schools, festivals worthy of this name. It is time to make the Compas not only a cultural product, but a living, recognized and protected national symbol.
Because 70 is not an age to die.
It's an age for rebirth.
W.A.
