Tag Archives: Richie

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.

Dec 3 2011

ROUZIER: IF RICHIE LEAVES, BAD FOR ZENGLEN

ZENGLEN: one of the best Konpa bands

See, this is why I love this guy Fabrice Rouzier. Every single time he opens his mouth to make a statement, he always speaks my kind of language -telling it like it is.

To the question what will the future hold for ZENGLEN if RICHIE leaves, he answered: “If he leaves, Zenglen will have a tough road ahead […] He has been such a dominant figure in that band that it’s hard to imagine Zenglen without him. In conclusion, VERY BAD for Zenglen if he leaves but again maybe RITCHIE feels like he can do better elsewhere. The guys are not getting any younger.”

ZENGLEN will not just have a tough time, it will disappear in no more than 2 years. It is not that RICHIE feels like he can do better elsewhere, he will do better elsewhere.

ZENGLEN’s problem is not RICHIE; it is, rather, the band’s frontman not having what the band needs to make the expected impact in the business. As I had argued before (in many instances, by the way), no one band in this league is playing better than them, yet it seems as though they are struggling; something heavier than anyone could possibly imagine is pulling them.

The band has its own identity meticulously crafted by the one and only GRACIA DELVA, one of the top two entertainers in the business. You are not going to tell me you are going to lose GRACIA and replace him with KENNY DESMANGLES, who cannot come close to being compared to the former ZENGLEN -in terms of stage presence, dominance and charisma -and expect the outcomes to be the same.

Don’t get me wrong, though… KENNY is, like PIPO, one of the top vocalists in the business, but does not have what it takes to be the kind of stage performer ZENGLEN needs. It would not be that big of a problem if KENNY would cooperate and leave. Noooo… he is letting his pride and ego take the best of him. He said recently on KOMPAMAGAZINE that, according to his tenure in the band, he cannot be kicked out; he can only leave on his own terms, and he is not up to that right now. So ZENGLEN is basically screwed with him.

Like Fabrice said, which I wholeheartedly agree with, RICHIE is not getting any younger, meaning if, like I argued in my article entitled Dissip: Richie’s Golden Opportunity, he has 10 more years left to spend in this music business, he ought to make sure that he rakes in the money that would guarantee him a successful, peaceful and financially stable retirement. It does not make any sense to be contributing so much to a business and ending up counting pennies after your retirement because you were being loyal to a company on the verge of living its life expectancy.

My advice to RICHIE is this: If KENNY refuses to leave to bring in a stage actor in the caliber of GAZZMAN, leave the band for him. No one will hold you accountable for ZENGLEN’s demise and unfortunate ending. You are not the one holding the band hostage; rather, it is KENNY DESMANGLES. Talents can be put to good use anywhere they are being effectively used, meaning the same things you were able to do with/in ZENGLEN can be very well done anywhere so long as you are given the proper space and resources to make them happen.

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.