"Long before I had the language to decipher the music I liked and the music I couldn't stand, kompa ballads were already swirling in my head and commanding the rooms I walked into-banquet halls full of oscillating hips and outstretched arms and collared shirts drenched in sweat."
"On "Little Haiti," B0YG1RL, the Miami-based singer-producer duo, take the genre's gooey percussive sway and kitschy electronica and push the gain into the stratosphere. Kompa has never sounded this distorted or ethereal. Vocalist June Vinette's trancelike call and response summons all the life-or-death romanticism of a classic Haitian love song."
""Ou c'est sèl bagay m bezwen," he sings. "Cherie lanmou mwen, mwen bezwen viv bò kote m." ("You are the only thing I need/My darling, I need you to live by my side.")"
"In one fell swoop, I'm transported back to late-night soirees watching my parents rock back and forth together, only this time I won't need any convincing to join them on the dancefloor."
Kompa ballads circulate through Haitian life from early childhood, often learned by attending dances with family. The music’s shuffling rhythms, click-clacking percussion, twangy basslines, and bright synth sounds become more compelling over time. “Little Haiti” by B0YG1RL amplifies kompa’s percussive sway and kitschy electronica by pushing the production gain into extreme levels. The result makes kompa sound distorted and ethereal. June Vinette’s trance-like call and response vocals evoke the intensity of classic Haitian love songs. The lyrics express exclusive need and devotion, transporting listeners to late-night family soirees and inviting them to dance without hesitation.
Read at Pitchfork
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