Born in suburban Port-au-Prince, (Haiti) songwriter Ralph Chevry, now a resident of New York City, embraces his heritage the most unique way an electronic music fan could, through dancehall infused electronic songs
and remixes focusing attention on the tumultuous upheaval that Haitians
have endured throughout their history.
Since 2000, Chevry has released an album, an EP and four singles, each
of which showcases his unique juxtaposition of upbeat; dancehall rhythms
with stimulating politically laced lyrics. Musically, Chevry has stepped
away from the typical musical export of Haiti, Kompa, which The Beat
magazine took note of saying in a recent review: after a decade of Haitian dancehall acts trying to sound Jamaican, some folks are starting to get it right and these guys seem to be pulling it off with their own flavor and style.
While Ralph is always a driven musician and spokesman, he found a musical kinship with DJ/Producer Will Taylor while working on his new album, which allowed him to partially hand over the reigns of the production and delve further into his soul for the sentiment behind the new album. He makes the beats, sets up the instruments and lays down the drum tracks while I arrange and do the vocals, explains Chevry.
While Ralph’s music is upbeat and the many remixes of his singles find
themselves safely at home on dance floors across the U.S., his lyrics
are those of his political passion and are sung in both the English and
Kreyol languages. Kreyol is the native tongue of Haiti and a cousin to the
more familiar Louisiana Creole. By using Kreyol and English in his music,
Chevry is making an important distinction between his new brand of Haitian music and what has come before as well as expressing support for his ancestral brothers and sisters by singing in the indigenous language, which he takes quite seriously.
Ask Chevry about his take on the crisis that faces the people of Haiti and you will get a condensed, albeit fervent, lesson in the countries political landscape and what life holds for many of the nations Black African majority. He details the class struggle, the corruption that runs rampant throughout the government and military and the interference
from foreign interests as all playing a part in the sad state most
Haitian families find themselves today. While Ralph had written some of the music to the new album in 2005, he was stymied by the lyrical content. I couldnt write anything to it so I just moved on to creating other tracks.
January 2006 things changed. Watching BBC news and being aware of the ouster of Haiti’s former president, I knew that an election was coming. Election time in Haiti means, chaos, death and controversy. I was just taking in all this info passively. But, something sparked in me that made me want to write something about and for Haiti, I never did that before. Everything projected about Haiti was negative so I wanted to do something about that. Its that fervor peppered with his love for his homeland that thematically ties his forthcoming record together and showcases Ralph’s overriding concern for birthplace. My music is a movement. I want my music to entertain & educate, to help change the perception of Haitians about Haitians and the rest of the Caribbean and International communities. Haiti has a noble and heroic, but painful, past. My music is the therapy needed.
Moving forward, Chevry’s new single Ayiti Cheri, Kreyol for Haiti, My
Love has been released to record pools and dance clubs throughout North
American and will be followed by another single soon as the build up to his new album begins. Targeted specifically to the Haitian and Caribbean communities, Ayiti Cheri is part call to arms and part love song for Haiti which perfectly summarizes Ralph’s unique approach to focusing attention on Haiti and their shaky future.
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