By Derrius Edwards – @rawcommnc
Hailing from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, arises one of the most promising change agents in hip-hop today. Receiving high praises from musical phenom Wyclef Jean and working with the masterful Des Gray, the story of Haitian Fresh is unlike no other. Possessing the candid ability to influence masses and transcend cultures comes with much accountability. Nobility, a characteristic not too many are fond of in the music industry, especially while in pursuit of clout, is exemplified so effortlessly from this true Haitian.
Highlighting the importance of economic infrastructure and advocacy on behalf of a country is a challenge not many adhere to, and is somewhat unheard of for a musician, but Fresh is much more than that. While on pursuit of change, Fresh has endured his fair share of ups and downs. Words cannot attest to what Haitian Fresh means to Haiti or what Haiti means to Haitian Fresh.
Teaming up with Zoey Dollaz to deliver the mesmerizing track entitled “Sanzave” has left his fans with a desire for visuals.
Their prayers have finally been answered.
In this over-the-phone in depth interview, we caught up with Haiti’s heartbeat, Haitian Fresh.
Where are you originally from?
A: I was born in Haiti man, Port-au-Prince and I lived in West Palm Beach FL, Miami, Daytona, ya know what I’m saying; like Florida basically but I was born in Haiti, Port-au-Prince. A true Haitian.
How did you get started with music?
A: Music is something that I always loved, being a fan of music. From Garth Brooks, to McGraw, to rap, I just like anything that sounds good, because music can change the soul. When I was in college I had 3 friends that were rappers and I saw the potential in them and I wanted to help em’ out. So, we would go to the studio and I would pay for the sessions. They would smoke, smoke and smoke like almost half-a-pound of weed just for one verse. I’m thinking “man it’s taking them 10 hours to complete a verse” and one day they didn’t show up, so I stepped in the booth to see what it was like. I always wanted to know what it would feel like to rap. I’m not gone lie, after a year or so I thought about giving it up and leaving that rap stuff to the Drake’s or Lil Wayne’s, then I decided to rap; but to rap my country. That’s when my hits started to come along. I did it so that I could have a voice for the Haitians, a voice for the youth. It’s okay to rap, don’t get me wrong. But, have that back up plan also, like me, I have my degree.
And what is your degree in, if you don’t mind me asking?
A: It’s in marketing and business. That’s why it took me a long time. It took me 6-7 years by myself, I didn’t have no label, I had myself. I spent over 1.2 million my first 8 years out, because I’m the type of person where losing is not an option. So, if it takes 8 years for me to make it to BET, to 106, to whatever for the world to know me, then that’s what it is and that’s what happened. At the end of the day, I got what I wanted and I still got a long way to go. I got the first step that I needed, which is getting them to know you. And if they know you, that’s like having a hit song. When they know who you are, whatever you do after that they’re are going to respect it, because they know who you are.
What inspired the name Haitian Fresh?
A: I wanted a name at that time that people didn’t respect. I wanted to rep something that wasn’t easy, I wanted a challenge. Haitian’s were scared to say they were Haitian, so I wanted to be the one to make em’ say they were Haitian proudly, with a smile. I’m Haitian and I’m fresh. Ya know, back in the day people use to say Haitian’s can’t dress, they’re ugly, they stank and all that. And I was like nah, I’m Haitian and I’m fresh, so it’s a billion Haitians that’re fresh and I wanted to take that connotation and be the voice. We have Wyclef. I wanted to be the person under him to speak for Haiti. He did a lot for me.
Can you describe your relationship with Wyclef?
A: Wyclef is a genius, a brother, somebody that I just watched. From the Fugees‘ days, I was young; coming out of Haiti, and it was like Wyclef, that’s all you heard. And coming up, my dream was just to meet him, so it was crazy because one time he came to Daytona Beach at Spring Bling, and he walked right by me. I was 17 at the time. I had the cover of a magazine that I was on and he signed it for me. He was like “keep going brotha” and embraced me. After he signed that, I decided that I would go hard and it’s like ever since that moment, everywhere he went he said that he would hear my name. He even said it. Because when people put in that work, you can’t deny it. He actually called my phone and I hung up on him because I didn’t think it was him. He was like “I want you in New York on Monday”, and it was a Sunday when he called, so once we talked for about 10 mins, I still didn’t believe it, until I checked my email and seen the ticket. I went to New York and saw him at Platinum Sound Studio, a week later I was front row at the BET Awards, sitting beside Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Fabolous, LL Cool J, everybody bro. It was like surreal. So, I thank him, because it was a lot of things in the game that I’ve learned and seen because of him. That’s always gone be my big bro no matter what.
What makes you stand out from the other Haitian artists?
A: It’s a lot of Haitian artist out there doing their thing, don’t get me wrong. But what makes me different, well first; it’s the name, what I went through and how I did it. They got to see the ups and downs. Even at the award shows, they got to see me reppin’ the flag and it ain’t too many people reppin’ the flag like that. No matter what I was doing, whether it was big or small, I kept my flag. I think the consistency and love for it is what’s going to distinguish me from another Haitian artist.
Describe your music in 3 words
A: Underdog, passionate, zoed-up
Talk to me about your single “Sanzave”
A: Savage, someone that everybody hates, a thug. You not going to be anything in life. I’m that guy that’s been knocking everybody out but just hasn’t gotten that Mayweather fight. At the end of the day you can’t question how God is gonna do it, or when he’s gonna do it. I’m at the perfect spot. Like now, where I’m working at, and shout out to my team, shout out to Des Gray whose working on the video. One of the greatest, if not the greatest. She’s also Haitian and she sees the vision. I wouldn’t want nobody else to do my video other than her. She knows how important this video is. Once we drop the “Senzave” video, it’s gonna be like “Unforgettable” by French Montana, because I’m showing people the beautiful side of Haiti that no one is talking about.
Describe your relationship with Des Gray
A: It’s a blessing to meet her. It’s like when two people meet and there’s an instant connection. The way she feels about my country, Haiti, is way bigger than words. And I feel the same way, so when we met, that love and passion was exchanged through the phone. I did that “Senzave” track last year, people called me to do the video and I never did it. I never did it, because…I just never moved on it. Then I met Chris, which is TK Kravitz father, like me and TK did a couple of songs together, and that’s like my little bro. He’s killing it right now, with his single “Ocean” and that’s how I met Chris, he came in the studio. We exchanged numbers and have been learning from one another. One day he called with Des Gray on the phone and it’s so crazy, because when she said “yeah, I want to work with you”, and this is something that an artist should never do, do your research on someone before you speak, don’t make assumptions. And I was like “yeah I’m gonna get someone that’s big to do the video and you can take b-rolls”. She was like, “Fresh, I’m that big person that you’re talking about.” I learned my lesson, and I’ll never do something like that again. I have so much love for her, and she’s Haitian too. I apologized to her and let her know how much I appreciate her and now we’re about to make history together, I guarantee that.
Do you feel like there has been a shift in awareness on Haiti relief efforts after your interview with CNN?
A: Not really, because Haiti is a spur of the moment thing. Haiti is something that you will see on CNN when something bad is going on. You’re not going to see CNN post our beautiful beach and then post Haitians eating together in a nice house.
My whole point of doing that interview was to try and speak out, and bring people together, but this is an on-going fight. We want Americans to want to come to Haiti and for those that left, the Haitians, to come back to Haiti. Haiti is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but we have to wake up and come back to fix our country and not wait on other people to do it. I did a video where I challenged everybody to clean up their own neighborhood in Haiti. It went viral, but I didn’t have a bunch of people cleaning up. So, it’s a lot of people that want Haiti to be clean but are they willing to do what it takes to get Haiti clean. Once people see everybody doing something, they’re gonna do it. God gave us Haiti, one of the most beautiful countries in the world, so we got to keep it clean.
What are your future plans outside of music?
A: Education is everything, and that was one of the things my mother gave me when I was younger was an education. I went to private school when I was young; 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grade, I went to a private school, so I got the best education. So, I know that if we can start with the schools, the hospitals, because our hospitals need help, and we need more teachers. If we can empower the kids in Haiti, that’s going to create the next generation of future leaders. I want to build schools in Haiti. I want to help the young kids, the kids in America. Like the young girls. Celebrities, people that have influence, need to get together and start telling these girls that they don’t have to show their body for men to like them. And these kids, they don’t have to shoot nobody, they can be educated. I mean, it’s so many things on my mind man, once I get that voice, I may even be a preacher somewhere down the road. You never know. One thing about it, none of us get a pass, we all have an expiration date. So, the question is, how do you want to be remembered. The whole motive of life and people tryna be like God, and I don’t go to church much or anything, but we supposed to help each other and help other people. My goal is to get to a certain point and start helping people, no matter what it is. It’s bigger than music. I know my time is coming, I just don’t know when. I had a thousand reasons to give up, like you could literally write “no” a million times on a paper. The bottom line is, I appreciate the whole journey, because it’s about the destination. You never know, I might be the president of Haiti 6 years from now. And make sure you put this in quotation marks too,
“Everything that I have envisioned doing, I’ve done. It’s only one more thing that I’m waiting on”
– Haitian Fresh
Photo creds- quincy_houston, Dieu Nalio Chery
