“Sounds like Haiti”: Haiti as Muse in Canadian Popular Music

ABSTRACT

This article examines three uses made of Haiti in Canadian popular music in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake: K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” remade into a charity single, a documentary on hip-hop workshops held in Haiti by Nomadic Massive (Montreal), and the release of Arcade Fire’s Reflektor. In each case, the earthquake is addressed, transnational affiliation is expressed, and value is assigned to Haiti. Through these examples, I unpack the discursive construction of Haiti in Canadian popular music. The three examples explored in this article variously generate discourses of solidarity with Haiti and of Haiti’s alterity, sometimes concurrently.

KEYWORDS:

• Canada
• Haiti
• hip hop
• popular music
• transnationalism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alexandra Boutros

Alexandra Boutros is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada. Her research is generally concerned with the intersection of media, technology, and identity within the context of religious, social and cultural movements. Recent research and publications have focused on the intersection of diasporic Haitian Vodou, new media and technology; Vodou in popular culture; and hip hop as a vehicle for diasporic solidarity.