Rasin - History

History

The mizik rasin movement in Haïti began not long after the exile of dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1987. Under the regimes of Jean-Claude and his father, François Duvalier, the government appropriated for itself the authority of the vodou religious traditions and made extensive use of religious leaders and traditions to assert its brutal authority and impose order. When Jean-Claude Duvalier fled the country, a widespread dechoukaj uprooted the most oppressive elements of the former regime and liberated the vodou religion from its entanglements with the government. Unable to do so under the Duvaliers, musicians were eager to adopt traditional vodou folk music rhythms, lyrics, and instrumentation into a new sound that incorporated elements of rock and roll, punk music, and American pop music. The movement also attracted Haïtian-American artists and members of the Haïtian diaspora who returned to the country following the downfall of the Duvaliers.

Rasin bands often write and perform songs that contained political messages. "Ke'm Pa Sote" by Boukman Eksperyans, whose song title translates to "I Am Not Afraid" in English, was the most popular song at the 1990 Carnival in Port-au-Prince and was widely understood to be a criticism of the corrupt military government of General Prosper Avril. First performed during the 1992 Carnival in Port-au-Prince, just months after the presidency of Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown by a military coup d'etat, RAM began regularly playing a song entitled "Fèy", the Kreyòl word for "leaf". The song lyrics were of folkloric vodou origins. Despite no overt references to the political situation, it was widely played on the radio and immediately taken up throughout the country as an unofficial anthem of support for Aristide. By the summer of 1992, playing or singing the song was banned under military authority, and Morse was subjected to death threats from the regime.