Tag Archives: Gazzman

Feb 23 2015

Kenny Desmangles Should Join Disip

Some people may have assumed, unrightfully so, that I have an issue with Kenny F. Desmangles, especially after they had read my commentaries on his decision to leave Zenglen.

Not at all and absolutely not. I do not have an issue with the artist. The thing is, though, I admire his talent too much to be able to tell him what others won’t –maybe for the sake of complacency, or they want to tell him what he wants to hear [even when what he wants to hear is very destructive for his music career].

Like me or not, I have one obligation, and that is to tell you the honest truth. Now, what you choose to do with it, after I put it out raw to you, is your business.

It has been noise that the artist’s next move beyond Zenglen could be his solo career, especially after he had dropped this banging solo album entitled Full Sèvis [I highly recommend it; it’s very good].

Well, I object to such idea for the simple fact that going solo in Konpa is recipe for career suicide. He needs to be in a band. Otherwise, he can kiss his music career goodbye.

Before all you Konpa analysts refute my objection, I want you to tell me one Konpa solo artist who made it in the business. Well, for the sake of being optimistic, maybe Kenny will be the first to defy the norm; you never know.

Another chatter out there has it that he will reassemble 509. If this is, indeed, his plan going forward, he needs to be very honest with himself and his supporters to see if this is the best and most advantageous move for him. If I were to advise him, I would tell him not to let his short-sightedness and foolish ambitions guide him to embark on this dead-end journey.

Okay, Emann Joasil, you don’t think going solo or reconstructing 509 is the best decision for him, we understand that. But what in your opinion he should do?

Good question! As I briefly stated earlier, he needs to be in a band. There is absolutely no question about that. But which one of them, though? That is exactly the million-dollar question we need to tackle.

In my opinion, Disip is the perfect fit for him. What makes you think so, Emann Joasil?

Okay, let me explain. In Disip he will be next to Gazzman Couleur, a career vocalist, a superstar, someone having nothing to prove anymore in the business and with whom he will not have to worry about finding himself in competition for stardom and influence. Any of these other bands he would integrate, he will find himself caught up in futile, childish, and stupid competition with this other vocalist he will be standing next to, which will have negative drawbacks on the band’s upward progression and forward mobility. That’s a sad reality we cannot overlook if we want to be accurate in our analysis.

Also, in Disip these two guys will establish a complementary relationship –exactly like it was in Nu Look with Gazzman and Arly –which will make it possible for the two of them to shine together. He complements Gazzman just like Gazzman complements him. Gazzman is a stage animal, he is not quite. Yet, he is a great producer, arranger and composer; Gazzman is not quite. He can handle the Konpa Love tunes better than Gazzman can [I presume]; Gazzman can handle the uptempo tunes way better than he can [I presume]. That is what is called a complementary relationship.

Kenny Desmangles will have to come out some time soon to tell us what his next move will be. I am hoping he makes the best move for himself. In the meantime, I am calling on Gazzman to meet up with him for lunch to talk business. Gazzman needs to make him a juicy or sweet offer he cannot refuse, and it must be on paper.

We have to conserve and protect the artist. It will hurt me to see such a talent vanishing in the firmament like so many talented artists before him because of “bad” decisions. I have nothing to gain in his success or lose in his failure. As a concerned observer and lover of Konpa, I was only brainstorming on a situation that pertains to a young artist of my generation. That’s all. Well, what do I know?

Dec 26 2011

NICOLINA FLORENTINO: A WOMAN OF CHARACTER

Nicolina Florentino

Nicolina Florentino, the lady who plays the saxophone in ZENGLEN, is a woman of character. Her reason to stick with ZENGLEN in spite of her great admiration for RICHIE, who is leaving the band, should be a great lesson of altruism for all these Haitian Konpa artists. She has chosen to stay in ZENGLEN only to allow her bandmates to continue to have a job and a paycheck to get by.

Asked by Haitianbeatz if she would leave ZENGLEN to join RICHIE in the new band it is said that he and GAZZMAN will put together, she said: “I love Richie, I love his talent, and I love working with him, I would love to follow him anywhere he goes, but however, I cannot see myself doing that to the other guys, if me leaving Zenglen will create an instability to the band, I would not do that…what will the other guys do is Zenglen breaks, this is their livelihood, Brutus and the others live of that music, they don’t have other jobs…I would not jeopardize the life of many just for one guy. Richie is very talented, he will survive, he can produce, he can join any band he wants and he can create a successful band by himself, but not the other guys in Zenglen, they rely on each other…so therefore, I will stick with the band even if down deep inside I love Richie and would love to work with him…”

How could you not love this lady? I wonder how many of these mercenaries in this Konpa business would put aside their selfish needs and interests to stick with a band only to allow their fellow bandmates to continue to earn a living. Well, Nicolina is teaching them a moral lesson of altruism I had never seen taught in this business before. You know what? I am going to see if this woman is not going to be recognized and awarded this coming year in any award ceremony where Konpa artists are being recognized and awarded for their contributions to the advancement of our music. You go, Nicolina! That was a great call on your part. You are, indeed, a great woman, a woman of unseen character.

Nov 24 2011

DISIP: RICHIE’S GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

Maestro Richie

MAESTRO RICHIE: GAZZMAN has given you *in public* the guarantee that you need to make the transition to DISIP -to come work alongside him to take over this KONPA business.

In an interview with Gilles Freslet out of Haiti, GAZZMAN is reported on Kompamagazine stating if RICHIE were to join DISIP, “li tap tre kontan […] e Richie pa tap vin kom yon simple muzisyen, li tap gen tout dwa menm jan avel nan Djaz la pou sa maestro a reprezante nan muzik la.”

MAESTRO RICHIE, what else do you need to hear from the man I call the MARADONA OF KONPA? For your age, you probably have roughly 10 more years to spend in KONPA; after that, you will be out of the game. If I were you, I would not be playing the loyalty game and, as a result, getting stuck with a band on the verge of living its life expectancy. You do that, you are running the risk of counting pennies upon your retirement. Make these 10 years the years of money raking for you. Quit playing!!!

If you are coming to DISIP, you are going to have to demand that the band’s leadership team be reconstructed. Some of these guys have no business to be in there. You are not leaving ZENGLEN for DISIP to fail. And the success of the band lies in part in the hands of these people in the leadership team with the responsibility to manage, market and promote the band successfully. For that to happen, you have got to have in that team knowledgeable and intelligent folks, not a bunch of charlatans not having a clue as to how a business is run, marketed and promoted.

I understand you might be reluctant to jump on this offer, but keep in mind that some opportunities only come around once in a lifetime. These opportunities are called “golden” for a reason; they are rare to come around.

GAZZMAN has the delivery skills to score big and get you to win this championship. You still have a shot at it. Now that you have heard it from the big man himself, the ball is in your court to decide.

Aug 8 2011

THE SILLY ARGUMENT WE HEAR IN KONPA

Last night on my radio talk show BRIKOURI on RADYO KONTAK FM 87.9 or http://www.radyokontak.com broadcast out of New Jersey every Sunday night at 10, some of my callers were making the most ridiculous argument I have ever heard in my life.

They were arguing that GAZZMAN COULEUR of DISIP does not know how to sing. When I asked them when does someone know how to sing, they could not answer in a way to make sense to me.

I have been hearing for years this silly and despicable argument from many of our Konpa music fans; last night I decided to take a bold stand to challenge it.

If GAZZMAN did not know how to sing, do you really think a man as picky as MAESTRO ARLY would have kept him around for over a decade in NU LOOK? And with him in the lineup, that band had dominated our Konpa music for years. If he did not know how to sing, do you possibly think a man as demanding and selective as MAESTRO RICHIE of ZENGLEN would have had him sing the songs “Ou Se” and “Adrienne?” If he did not know how to sing, do you think SHEDLEY ABRAHAM, one of the best drummers and producers we have in our Konpa music, would have had him sing the hit song “Sexy Love” on his latest Djaz La album? Of course, that would have not happened.

While the American Music Industry is looking at how commercial and “hot” an artist is, we Haitians are stuck on making the silliest argument of whether or not that person can sing. As a matter of fact, let’s go to Jamaica and take the Dancehall artist Elephant Man, for instance. I guess if he were a Konpa artist, some of us Haitians would have seen him as someone who does not “know how to sing.” I am literally laughing out loud and shaking my head in disbelief.

When I asked these callers when does someone know how to sing to them, they said it is when the person can reach the high notes. Huh!!! I asked them what would be said of someone with a soprano or alto vocal tune trying to do base vocals and cannot? Would they see that person as someone who does not know how to sing? They were rumbling. And when I realized that they were wasting my time, I hanged up the phone and picked up the next callers.

Let’s take JACOB DESVARIEUX of the Martinique-based Zouk band KASSAV, for instance. KASSAV has become what we know of it today mainly because of his contributions with the uniqueness of his unusual vocal tune. If that man were a Konpa artist, these Haitians in their silliness would have told you with a straight face that he does not know how to sing. This is so ridiculous to say the least. I am not trying to put my people down, but some of us have been making some of the most insane, silly and ludicrous arguments. Seriously, we need to stop.

Let me close by saying this: some of the myths and misconceptions we have in our circles must be eradicated. That’s the only way we can progress as a nation. I understand you can choose not to be a fan of a specific artist, but you must respect the person’s natural abilities and aptitudes.

Everybody can sing so long as they have a voice. That is why there are vocal coaches in the business to work with them. Can you believe a man as great as MICHAEL JACKSON, one of the greatest entertainers to have lived our world, had vocal coaches constantly around working with him until the last day of his musical journey? I guess some of us Haitians would say that “knowing how to sing” entails not needing anyone to coach you on how to take and keep a vocal note.

Someone’s vocal tune can be more liked or admired than others, but that does not give that person leverage over the rest of them in the league. So please quit this silly argument of knowing and not knowing how to sing. It is all a myth you would probably find only in Konpa.

Nov 24 2010

PIPO MUST SCORE BIG TO BE RELEVANT IN NU LOOK

Pipo left Beljazz, a band he helped put together from scratch with Ralph Menelas, his business partner, to integrate Nu Look -a band which was on the verge of total disintegration, following the unexpected and sudden resignation of the lead vocalist, Gazzman Couleur, almost a year ago.

The Pipo card sought by Maestro Arly Lariviere is by most people’s accounts, including mine, a well thought out or an astute move on the part of the maestro; I personally applaud him for that.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Pipo, with his pristine vocal pitch, has the credence to meet Maestro Lariviere’s expectations and get the job done. He is one of the top lead vocalists in the business, and the league he is in has very few people of his caliber. He can navigate on any track given to him –Konpa love or up-tempo.

We all must agree, however, that there can never be another Gazzman Couleur to replace Gazzman in Nu Look. So Arly is going to have to capitalize on Pipo’s unique attributes to score big with the next album should he want him (Pipo) to be and stay relevant in the band in the years to come.

Pipo already has what is needed for him to deliver exactly what is expected of him. But that will not be enough. More is going to need to be done in terms of marketing strategy to get him to be accepted as a replacement of Gazzman Couleur in the band. It is feasible, though, but this is definitely not going to be a simple task.

While we are well aware of his strengths and attributes, we cannot overlook his flaws, which, in my opinion, cause a huge problem for him to fully assume his role of frontline superstar in the band.  

In terms of on-stage performance, it has been said that he has a connectivity issue, preventing him from connecting with his crowd (the fans). In fact, that is something he has been largely criticized for. He is not as big of a people person as Gazzman is. And that could be a major setback for him in terms of maintaining the band’s leadership position in the post-Gazzman era.

Most people who have been following him in the Konpa market would tell you that he is not a guy to fully count on; he is not someone who believes in business commitment and consistency. In other words, he does not have any sense of stability in him. Fairly so, they argue that he has a track record that could prove that to be true. He has moved around quite a bit in his career -from Passion of Montreal to D-zine; from D-zine to Hang Out; from Hangout to Beljazz, his own band; and from Beljazz to now Nu Look. So they express doubts that this marriage between him and Nu Look is going to last.

We all know that perception is reality. The perception most people have of him is that he is too stiff and snobbish to make it in the entertainment world. So he has work to do to change that perception of him; he needs to work on his public relations skills. For that, I would suggest that he hire the service of an expert in personality improvement to help him out. If he can get that heavy charge off his back, he will be insurmountable.

To the prognosis that the marriage will not last long, I would say this: however long he will stay carrying the colors of Nu Look will depend on how long Maestro Lariviere will want him to. Why do I say that?

Pipo is not the type who would allow anyone to exploit and take advantage of him. He knows how to count his money and defend his interests. His days in the band will be numbered if Maestro Lariviere is not taking good care of him like a lead vocalist of his stature deserves to be taken care of. So how long he is going to stay with Nu Look will depend on how well he is being treated by the man with all the power in his hands, and that’s the one and only Maestro Arly Lariviere.

Finally, Pipo in any band will cause wonders. That’s how great of a lead vocalist he is. I don’t know one band leader who would not feel lucky to have him in their squad. He is beyond talented. He has what it takes to get the job done. But like everybody else, he has flaws to be worked on. This is, indeed, a defining moment for him. He must score big with the band’s upcoming album. If he fails, as the pressure is mounted so high on him, that will be a major blow for him and the band.

Nov 10 2010

DISIP: BRING SASA BACK!!!!

What are these DISIP guys doing? Are you guys serious? Well, I hope you guys have a VALID reason for dismissing Samille Vanessa Jean-Pierre aka SASA of JP Relations, the young lady who was handling your public relations for you. I don’t really know her, but I can easily depict someone who takes pride in his/her work when I see one; I can easily recognize professionalism and savoir-faire from afar.

Before her in this Kompa business, I did not know any professional PR consultant working tirelessly to transform the business as usual mindset of this landscape. I used to be exposed to nothing but poorly written press releases, unprepared interviews, extrapolation to the max, etc…

I am wondering who else you guys are going to bring on board to replace her. I bet I will not be surprised to see you hiring some mediocre individual, hired on the basis of fanaticism and favoritism, who does not know anything whatsoever in what the duties of a professional PR specialist entail.

This is, indeed, a major setback for you guys. I don’t know what you guys are doing, but you better get your acts together. You need a high speed PR person in your staff to work on the correct ways for your business to relate to the public. You need that for Christ’s sake!!!! You don’t go to sleep and wake up being PR specialist. There is a place called college where these people are prepared to cater to the needs of any challenging and professional market environment.

See, here we go again… that’s why this Kompa business will never get anywhere. For the most part, professionals are not valued in this arena. If you are not an embodiment of ignorance and mediocrity, you have no place in there. Well, again, it is a Haitian thing, why expecting anything different?

GAZZMAN, with all due respect, I swear I thought you were smarter than that. Let me ask you a question, though: are you really serious about this DISIP movement, or is it a hype just to make a quick cash and bounce? Sometimes, for some strange reason, I keep on getting the vibe that you do not have a clear vision as to what you want this venture to be. I hope I am wrong.

Listen to me, whether I am a fan of yours or not is irrelevant for the purpose of this piece. I have no interest whatsoever in your success or failure. But I really want you to know that it will personally bother me seeing a talent of your caliber going wasted because of some misguided decisions.

I know what it feels like to be operating in a bubble where you seem to be out of touch with reality, and that all you have to rely on is your staff. At times, ironically, some of the people in your entourage may not have your best interest. That’s why it is always wise to turn to your fans for advice, for they love you unconditionally and would not wish to see you not making it. So because of this natural bond, they will never give you an advice which will not be for your best interest.

I was taught by my parents to always speak truth to power, so I am telling you boldly that the firing of Sasa is a STUPID decision. I hope it does not take you long to realize that. She is somebody you can consider as an asset to your business.

The majority of these guys you have roving around you acting like they are with you, they are there for their own interests. You are a hot commodity today, you see them around. But the day you are no longer relevant, you will not see them anymore. So don’t be naive and foolish. I do not think it can ever be too late to acknowledge the misstep, retract from it, and reach out to her. That’s the best and smartest thing to do. BRING THAT YOUNG LADY BACK!!!!