Racket – Rodrigue Milien et son Coumbite Créole, 1980

👶💍🇭🇹🎸🚤 It must have been quite a scene when Rodrigue Milien was born in the middle of his parents’ wedding ceremony in Port-Au-Prince in 1946. After this fanfare start, the young Rodrigue quickly fell in love with music, so much so that he soon gave up his studies to devote himself to it. In 1974, he founded Coumbite Créole with his accomplice Toto Nécessité. In 1980, Toto Nécessité was no longer around (hence the first title, Toto En Allé), but the group was still touring and produced Racket with the exceptional participation of Elysée Pironneau, who had been poached from Tabou Combo for the occasion. Milien spins his acoustic compas in troubadour mode, in the vein of Coupé Cloué. The brass is sometimes present, always very Latin, including Anderson Cameau’s trombone, rather rare in these formations. Rodrigue Milien uses music to get messages across, and Racket, the title track, spans some twelve minutes to raise awareness of the plight of boat people, as the cover illustrates. Released by Gayrleen Records, the album is one of the best-selling Haitian compas, Creole folk version.