Is Djakout Mizik the quintessential konpa band?
By
Rene Devis, Heritagekonpa Magazine
It
is no secret that the group Djakout Mizik has been the hottest craze in konpa
music in the past three year. It's almost impossible to argue with their success;
Djakout has been very consistent, producing a string of hit albums, fun, and enjoyable
music for their fans base. Whether it is in New York, Miami, Boston or Canada,
Djakout headlines all major festivals and concerts.
Today
we live in era where successful Haitian performers, not jut konpa artists or bands,
are few and scarce. Djakout is one of the few exceptions, one stage they display
utmost chemistry and complete command of their craft. If "Live music,"
as many people proclaim it to be in the industry, is the very essence of konpa
music, then Djakout might be the quintessential band at the moment." On
stage they are consummate professionals and well discipline musicians. Djakout
is not just one of the hottest sensations on the Haitian dancing circuit; their
popular sound dominates the streets.
Djakout's
last album, "Moneygueta," (particularly the song "Biznis Pam) hit
Number One on nearly every Haitian internet sites and radio station in its first
week in stores, with more than 30,000 copies sold, according to industry insiders
( there's no official data or record keeping of music sales in the Haitian music
industry). Two years later, the album continues to peak at the top of Heritagekonpa's
music chart and many other Haitian sites and radio stations.
Since
the release of their first hit song "Encore Encore", Djakout Mizik continues
to post number-one konpa hits from 1987 to the present. In New York and Miami
the group's popularity is still soaring. Djakout's live performances continue
to sell out arenas in parts of Europe and Eastern United States.
On
Friday June 16, 2005, Djakout Mizik and Sweet Micky performed at SOBS in New
York,
attracting a diversity audience. Djakout Mizik showed up late without their lead
singer. Despite all the dilemma, Djakout Mizk managed to capture the audience
with their dynamic live sound.
Shabba,
Djakout's charismatic conga player and background vocalist, engaged the audience
with a stunning vocal performance. He is not as polished as Pouchon, but he demonstrated
a similar dynamic flexibility (with a less powerful voice and fluidity). At times
he seemed a little uncomfortable with his new position; for he kept saying "Mwen
Oblige". However, he had the heart and confidence to fill the void left by
his band-mate Pouchon, who did not show for some unknown reasons.
"The
crowd loved it," said Muller Noel of Heritagekonpa.com, when kino and Micky
took the stage. "At first the crowd appeared to be a little restless (this
had potential to be a disaster), but they were very respectful and cheering Shabba
on." King kino, Move Move's and Phantoms' charismatic singer, had the crowd
going. He helped to save the night. Any time the volume dropped, the crowd could
be heard singing verbatim to hook-filled materials that have made the band so
popular.
As
the evening wore on, Djakout's musical explosion continued with Shabba leading
the way on vocal. From time to time Shabba was accompanied by Sweet Micky and
King Kino. Once again Sweet Micky has shown that he is a great sport and a team
player. Whether or not you like his antics on stage, one cannot help it but expresses
admiration for the guy as entertainer. Micky was hanging out on stage with Djakout
all night. He was very supportive of the group; most importantly Micky recognized
the need to help out his fellow musicians. Micky did his thing with Djakout; he
was the cheerleader, background vocalist, and a fan.
Finally
at 3:04 am Sweet Micky took the stage and proceeded to deliver music from new
album" GNB", which features a number of great songs including "
Frero" , "GNB", and many more. Micky always has a commanding presence
on stage. As usual his life sound was dramatically high, slow, and grinding. The
crowd was lively and vocal throughout showing their support for the president
of Konpa music.
A
bit overstated, but each of the two groups proved engaging in their own way: They
all aim to please the fans in attendance. Not a bad way to spend Friday night
in New York.
Note
from the desk of John "Papa Jube" Altino/ Director @ SOBS
First
and foremost, SOBS would like to thank all of our supporters for making the Haitian
Fridays such success over the past few years.
If
the Caribbean had a heart, Haiti would be one of the countries in the basin contending
for it. The warmth of its people, the sun, the landscape and the music all combine
to make Haiti a legendary place. And SOBS is proud to be a part of that link in
the continued efforts to promote Haiti and its culture throughout the world.
SOBS
remains committed to promote and expose Haitian music to the world, and with your
continued support, we are achieving that goal.
Well,
for those of you who were here last Friday, we would like to apologize for Djakout
Mizik unprofessional and irresponsible attitude towards their loving fans that
paid their money to attend their show this past Friday night at SOBS.
The
entire Djakout Mizik band showed up late for the show with the poor excuse of
missing their flights, and in addition, their lead singer "Pouchon"
decided not to show up due to a previous argument between him and the band, and
he wanted to show the band how important he is, so for that reason, he did'nt
show up at SOBS this past Friday.
Fortunately,
the band was tight enough to pull the show through without Pouchon, and since
King Kino who "Pouchon" clearly imitates and emulate on stage was present
at SOBS, and he was kind enough to jump on stage and rock the crowd and gave them
the real deal...so, at the end of the day, the crowd forgot about Pouchon, as
Djakout rocked the crowd with the help of King Kino and Sweet Micky who also lent
a hand...
Well,
I have always heard about Djakout Mizik's unprofessional behavior from other promoters,
but I never thought that it has reached this magnitude...In SOBS 22 years of promoting
Konpa Music, Djakout Mizik is the first band that pulled some stunt like this
at SOBS, so we regret this unfortunate situation which hopefully won't affect
our relationship with the band, but I hope at some point that Djakout Mizik recognized
that without the fans, they are totally worthless...so, they need to show love
and respect to their fans that kept them strong over the past years.
