Overview:
Konpa followers are in for a deal with on Dec. 27 when Carimi reunites at UBS Area in Elmont, New York, following their high-profile break up almost a decade in the past.
After an eight-year hiatus, Carimi‘s founding members – Richard Cavé, Mickael Guirand, and Carlo Vieux—are gearing up for his or her extremely anticipated reunion live performance on Dec. 27 at UBS Area in Elmont, New York. With a number of rehearsals every week, the band is proving that their chemistry stays as sturdy as ever, even after years aside.
“You’ll suppose that they by no means broke up,” Jermaine Magras, founding father of Jay Upscale Marketing & Promotions and of Konpa Kingdom, instructed The Haitian Occasions.
“The vitality is sweet. They’re very respectful to one another. They’re cracking jokes with one another. It’s like greatest associates coming again collectively.”
Fashioned in 2001 in New York Metropolis, Carimi rapidly turned a family title within the Haitian music trade (HMI), charming audiences with hits like “Ayiti Bang Bang.” Recognized for mixing socially aware lyrics with conventional Konpa rhythms, the band gained a loyal following throughout generations within the 2000s and 2010s. When Guirand left in 2016 as a consequence of inner conflicts, resulting in the band’s breakup, followers had been heartbroken.
In a music scene usually marked by divisions and disputes, Carimi’s reunion is being hailed as a uncommon instance of Haitian males setting variations apart to come back collectively for a shared objective. Whereas many followers had hoped this could mark a full comeback, the band has clarified that the reunion is solely for the Dec. 27 live performance.
“Nice issues can occur when variations are put apart and are available collectively for a objective like the blokes [Carimi] have,” Magras stated. “I’m really pleased with them for making that call.”
Rehearsals reveal the trio’s concord extends past music. In response to Magras and the band’s supervisor, Fabienne Alphonse-Reid, the members have been in sync, not simply whereas enjoying but additionally in decision-making, usually brainstorming concepts by way of Zoom.
“Once you hear Carlo exchanging with Mickael, exchanging with Richard, it’s like they by no means left,” Alphonse-Reid stated. “The concord and vitality are nonetheless there.”
Carimi beforehand tried a reunion in October 2022 at Accor Area in Paris, however the present ended abruptly when fellow artist Michael “Mikaben” Benjamin tragically died after immediately collapsing on stage.
This upcoming live performance marks a historic second for Haitian music, as Carimi will likely be one of many first Haitian bands to headline a U.S. enviornment. Tickets have been promoting quickly, with about 10,000 offered throughout the first 48 hours in October. As of now, roughly 14,800 tickets have been offered, with solely round 1,200 remaining, primarily for seats with restricted views.
Ticket costs vary from $206.40 to $340.50 and can be found at konpakingdomlive.com. Alphonse-Reid revealed that greater than $1 million has been invested within the live performance, with a good portion allotted to manufacturing.
She added that about 70 p.c of ticket holders are girls.
Followers relive the magic of Carimi
For a lot of Haitian-American girls of their 20s and 30s, Carimi was the Haitian equal of iconic American boy bands like Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. Followers passionately adopted their music, glued photos of the members to their notebooks, and sang alongside to their hits.
Though gifted, different Haitian bands within the HMI on the time had not garnered the identical degree of widespread intergenerational, worldwide attraction as Carimi.
Not even Guirand’s band now, Vayb, nor Cavé’s band, Kaï, brings that very same vitality Carimi left behind, some followers have claimed.
Tai Lucien, a millennial and group organizer from Elmont, is amongst 1000’s of girls who caught “Carimi fever” throughout their teenage years. For Lucien, the band’s upcoming efficiency is a long-awaited second, providing Haitian-American girls the possibility to relive the electrifying nostalgia of the 2000s and early 2010s.
“Quite a lot of us, genuine followers who grew up with them within the 2000s actually wished the possibility to expertise them once more as a bunch,” Lucien stated. “That was like our boy band.”
Regardless of her love for the band, Lucien by no means had the chance to see them carry out dwell throughout her teenage or school years. The Dec. 27 live performance at UBS Area will mark her first time experiencing Carimi in individual.
“Their breakup was heartbreaking,” she stated. “It felt like, ‘Oh no, not one other Haitian group disbanding.’ However seeing them reunite, embracing their brotherhood, and giving followers what we’ve been craving is such an incredible feeling.”
“You’ll suppose that they by no means broke up. The vitality is sweet. They’re very respectful to one another. They’re cracking jokes with one another. It’s like greatest associates coming again collectively.”
Jermaine Magras, founding father of Konpa Kingdom
For Diana Raymond, a Brooklyn-based social service employee, Carimi holds a particular place as the primary Haitian band she really fell in love with. Though their breakup didn’t shock her, given the divisions that usually come up amongst Haitian musicians, it was nonetheless devastating. When Benjamin handed away throughout their 2022 reunion present in Paris, Raymond assumed she’d by no means see the band collectively once more. She’s thrilled to have been confirmed fallacious.
“I’m so so so so excited for this live performance,” Raymond stated. “Rising up, I listened to something my dad and mom performed like chansonette française, however Carimi was a extra fashionable, hip sort of band from the way in which that they produced their music to the English they put of their songs.”
For Raymond and numerous different Haitian Individuals, Carimi bridged cultural gaps, making Haitian music really feel extra accessible by infusing it with parts of American hip-hop and pop.
The band’s attraction extends past the Haitian American group. In response to Alphonse-Reid, attendees will embody followers from Saint Lucia, Guadeloupe, and Martinique, showcasing Carimi’s widespread affect.
As one of many first Haitian bands to headline a significant U.S. enviornment, organizers hope the live performance will elevate Haitian music on the worldwide stage.
“The entire aim of Konpa Kingdom is to raise Haitian music and its individuals on the world stage, to provide Haitian, Caribbean music its rightful place,” producer Magras stated.
“Count on a present like none different. This received’t be just like the Carimi you’ve seen earlier than or Vayb or Kaï, it is going to be nothing such as you’ve seen earlier than.”