Music of Haiti

The music of Haiti combines a wide range of influences drawn from the many people who have settled on this Caribbean island. It reflects French, African rhythms, Spanish elements and others who have inhabited the island of Hispaniola and minor native Taino influences. Styles of music unique to the nation of Haiti include music derived from Vodou ceremonial traditions, rara parading music, twoubadou ballads, mini-jazz rock bands, rasin movement, hip hop Kreyòl, the wildly popular compas, and Méringue as its basic rhythm. Haiti hadn't had a recorded music until 1937 when Jazz Guignard was recorded non-commercially. One of the most popular Haitian artists is Wyclef Jean. His music is somewhat hip-hop mixed with world music. Haitian music is influenced mostly by European colonial ties and African migration (through slavery). In the case of European colonization, musical influence has derived primarily from the French.

One unique form of Haitian music is compas (spelled as konpa in Creole), a complex, ever-changing music that fuses African rhythms and European ballroom dancing, mixed with Haiti's bourgeois culture. In Spanish the word compás means "beat" or "pulse." One of the most distinctive characteristics of compas music is the consistent, pulsing drum beat, which makes it easy to dance to.