Though Guadeloupe and Martinique are most frequently known only for the internationally renowned zouk style, the islands have also produced popular musicians in various updated styles of traditional biguine, chouval bwa and gwo ka. The world-famous zouk band
Kassav' remains easily the most famous performers from the island, while the Guadeloupan Carnival band
Akiyo has become the only group in that style to record commercially. From Haiti the mini-jazz formula replicated in the French Antilles in the 1970s.
Cadence-lypso The most influential figure in the promotion of Cadence-lypso was the Dominican group
Exile One (based on the island of
Guadeloupe) that featured mostly the
cadence rampa of Haiti and
calypso music from the English speaking caribbean. It was pushed in the 1970s by groups from Dominica, and was the first style of Dominican music to find international acclaim. Dominica cadence music has evolved under the influence of Dominican and Caribbean/
Latin rhythms, as well as
rock and roll,
soul, and
funk music from the United States. By the end of the 1970s,
Gordon Henderson defined Cadence-lypso as "a
synthesis of Caribbean and African musical patterns fusing the traditional with the contemporary". Aside from Exile One, other bands included the
Grammacks,
Black Roots,
Black Machine,
Naked Feet,
Belles Combo, Mantra,
Black Affairs,
Liquid Ice,
Wafrikai,
Midnighte Groovers and Milestone, while the most famous singers included Bill Thomas,
Chubby Marc, Gordon Henderson,
Linford John,
Janet Azouz,
Sinky Rabess,
Tony Valmond,
Jeff Joseph,
Mike Moreau,
Anthony Gussie and
Ophelia Marie.
Zouk The inspiration for Zouk's style of rhythmic music comes from the Haitian
compas, as well as music called
cadence-lypso - Dominica cadence popularized by
Grammacks and
Exile One. Elements of
gwo ka, tambour, ti bwa and biguine vidé are prominent in zouk. Though there are many diverse styles of zouk, some commonalities exist. The
French Creole tongue of Martinique and Guadeloupe is an important element, and are a distinctive part of the music. Generally, zouk is based around star singers, with little attention given to instrumentalists, and is based almost entirely around studio recordings. Music authors
Charles De Ledesma and
Gene Scaramuzzo trace zouk's development to the Guadeloupean gwo ka and Martinican
bèlè (
tambour and
ti bwa) folk traditions. Ethnomusicologist
Jocelyne Guilbault, however, describes zouk as a synthesis of Caribbean popular styles, especially
Dominica cadence-lypso, Haitian
cadence, Guadeloupean
biguine. Zouk arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s, using elements of previous styles of Antillean music, as well as imported genres.
Zouk-love Zouk Love is the French Antilles cadence or
compas, characterized by a slow, soft and sexual rhythm. The lyrics of the songs often speak of love and sentimental problems. The music
kizomba from Angola and
cabo-love from Cape Verde are also derivatives of this French Antillean compas style, which sounds basically the same, although there are notable differences once you become more familiar with these genres. A main exponent of this subgenre is
Ophelia Marie. Other Zouk Love artists come from the French West Indies, the Netherlands, and Africa. Popular artists include French West Indian artists
Edith Lefel and Nichols, or like Netherlands based
Suzanna Lubrano and
Gil Semedo, the African artist
Kaysha.
Gwo ka moderne A more modernized version of gwo ka is
gwo ka moderne, which adds new instruments ranging from
conga or
djembe drums and
chimes to electric
bass guitar. At root, however, these styles all use the same fundamental seven rhythms as folk gwo ka. Zouk legends Kassav' played an important role in the modernization of gwo ka, giving urban credibility to a style that was seen as backward and unsophisticated; they initially played in a gro ka format, using songs from the gwo ka Carnival tradition of
mas a St. Jean and even placing an homage to traditionalist drumming legend
Velo on their earlier albums. The jump up had its heyday from the 90s with songs such as Met Veye WCK, but remained stamped background music or carnival. Over the years, thanks to inter-trade with the Dominicans and the mass participation of Guadeloupe at the
World Creole Music Festival, the flagship group as Triple kay and MFR band began to democratize and local artists were inducted including the remix Allo Triple kay with Daly and "Big Ting Poppin 'Daly alone. A popular offshoot within the bouyon gwada is called
bouyon hardcore, a style characterized by its lewd and violent lyrics. Popular Bouyon gwada musicians include, Wee Low, Suppa, Doc J, Yellow gaza, etc.
French Antilles hip hop The French Antilles hip hop is a style of
hip hop music originating from the French departments of
Guadeloupe and
Martinique in the Caribbean. Usually in French and
Antillean creole, the
French Antilles hip hop is most popular in the French Antilles and
France.'
Sidney Duteil (born Patrick Duteil in 1955 in
Argenteuil,
Val-d'Oise), better known as Sidney, is a French musician, rapper, DJ, television and radio host, and occasional actor of
Guadeloupean origin. He is well known in France for his connection with the beginnings of the
French hip hop scene. ==See also==