John " Papa Jube" Altino, The man behind the music.

MadonnaJohn "Papa Jube" Altino has become one of the most prolific producer in the Haitian music industry. In a short span of seven years in the music industry, he has built a solid reputation with his peers. Jube created a name for himself in the music industry through producing, engineering, and mixing countless albums for artists such as Mazi Priest, Tonto David (France), Kaysha, 3 Canal (Trinidad), Edith Lefel, Orlane, and Dadou Pasquet to name a few.Papa Jube has collaborated closely with some of the best Caribbean artists. He has performed bass with legendary artists Sister Carol, and Yellow Man. Larry Goldman, owner of S.O.B's (New York City famous nightclub) took note of Jube's accomplishments and recently appointed him the director and producers of S.O.B's Records. S.O.B's, Sound of Brazil, is home to World and Caribbean renowned artists.

Click on title to listen some selections producers by Jube

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courtesy of Parallel& Black Pearl Music

Music has always been part of Papa Jube's life. He was born in Croix-des-bouquet, Haiti and raised in the United States for part of his adolescent life. Having both parents as preachers, he said, introduced him early to different genres of music and instruments.

He started playing bass when he was very young and rose to prominence in the 90's as a solo artist. His debut album "Jubilation" featured 14 tracks and some of Haitian music's premier talents such as Markarios Cesaire, Jephte Guillaume (Tet Kale), Frederick Lasfargeas, Peck Almon, et cetera. With this group of talented musicians, Papa Jube embarked on a world tour with Peter Gabriel.

He eventually established his own studio and record label "Black Pearl Music" in 1994. Jube signed a variety of artists to the label: Eddy Francois and Haitian Diva Emeline Michel to name a few. Working together with Markarios Cesaire, Jube produced an excellent demo for Emeline Michel, which later earned them a record deal with Rouffhouse Records, a sub-division of Sony. Unfortunately, as indicated by Jube, due to the discontinuation Rouffhouse Records, the Emeline English Project was never released.

Shortly thereafter, Papa Jube married Emeline Michel. Their marriage did not endure and the couple was divorced seven months after their union.

Nearly a decade later, Papa Jube has not only managed to remain in the music industry; he has produced a string of successful albums for French and zouk artists: Kaysha (World wide Chico), Tania St. Val, Jean Michel Rotin, Jane Fostin, Zouk Machine, Doc Gyneco, Roland Voultzy, Reelkila, and French Reggae super star "TonTon David" of Virgin Record/France (which sold over 700,000 in Europe). Papa Jube maintains a low profile, preferring to spend his time in the studio making new sounds.

Papa Jube capped off the year 2002 with "Trinity", the debut album by one of Trinidad's biggest groups, 3 Canal. The record created several No. 1 hits including Oye com ova (the remix). Now, as the director and producer of S.O.B's Records (Sound Of Brazil), Papa Jube is in charge of recruiting new Haitian and Caribbean talent for the new label. He is also working to put together live performance recording at S.O.B's by artists such as Erica Badu, Common, Mos Def, Dead Prez, and Flowetry among others.

At a time when the Haitian music industry is in desperate need of reform, intelligent business practices, a new breed of talent; and musical experts to steer it in the right direction, Papa Jube and a new variety of talented upcoming producers (Fabrice Rouzier and Wyclef Jean) offer a glimmer of hope to a destitute industry. In a recent conversation with Heritagekonpa, Papa Jube expresses his concerns with Haitian producers, promoters, label owner, and artists' unwillingness to come together to establish effective progressive chapters for the betterment of the music industry. "I think there's a great need for re-education of Haitian artists, producers, promoters, and Haitian consumers. There's no infrastructure in place to promote Haitian music, and not having a major distribution company to market the music hurts our chances to make it to the next level. I also think that Haitian artists seem to be looking at the music business from a short-term perspective. The average Haitian group seems very satisfied signing a contract between $10, 000 to $40, 0000, and give up all royalties and rights to a producer. Haitian artists often leave themselves open to exploitations by not having control of their products."

Papa Jube echoed the sentiment that Heritagekonpa Magazine has been preaching for years: structural changes in the Haitian music industry, and unity among Haitian artists, producers, and boutique label owners. In the age of technology, it is a travesty that most producers and boutique label owners continue to conduct business in isolation like their predecessors. Can you believe that in this new milellium the average Haitian band is still unable to sell 30,000 units, while the Haitian population worldwide is estimated to be over seven million? Some people would argue that the Haitian market is very small and that Haitian consumers are reluctant to buy a compact disc for $15 or that Creole is the barrier preventing Haitian music from crossing over to the mainstream.

 

 

 


While there might be some truth (or validity) associated with the fore mentioned arguments, however, most Haitian producers, promoters, and boutique label owners are not organized. They often do not have a marketing plan as to how they would promote music throughout the Haitian market. Language can be a factor that contributes to a lack of popularity of Haitian music within the international community, but it certainly has not impeded the industry progress. For example, let's look at Latin music. More than 70 percent of lyrics are in Spanish, yet this has not stopped Latin artists from being heard all over the U.S airwaves. The growth in the Hispanic music market is extraordinary; the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group that represents U.S record companies, has reported that in 1997 there were 44.1 million (list value of $490.6 million) units of Latin music sold in the United Stated alone.

It is important to note that Haitian music has commercial value to market channels - Arthur Lyman, a classical American artist, in 1967 rearranged a famous Haitian folklore "Yellow Bird" or "Ti Soiso" as the feature song on his album. Yellow Bird was later featured on Time Life's greatest American classic, which sold millions of units in the United Stated. Yet no credit and/or monetary compensation were ever given to the original Haitian who wrote "Yellow Bird". During the 2003 Super Bowl pre-game show, Carlos Santana gave an energetic performance with one of Tabou Combo's hit songs, Mabaoua. This was a tremendous moment in the history of Haitian music, to see Haitian music being embraced by the American public and a great artist like Carlos Santana (felicitation au gars du Tabou Combo). To that end, Carlos Santana's latest CD "Super Natural" features Tabou Combo's hit song, Mabaoua. If you think Haitian music has no commercial value think again.


Papa Jube encourages all Afro- Caribbean artists with talent to send their demo to:
S.O.B. Records
200 Varick St,
New York, N.Y 10014
Attention Papa Jube