Paul Beaubrun grew up immersed in music; his family formed Boukman Eksperyans, a mizik rasin band from Port-au-Prince. The band name is derived from Dutty Boukman, who is credited as the starting point for the Haitian Revolution in 1791, and from the English word ‘Experience’, which is a direct reference to Jimi Hendrix. The family was forever tied to the political upheaval in Haiti, and though they were forced in exile and subsequently returned to Haiti, they ultimately evolved to find a non-partisan stance that reflected the people, rather than a political ideology or leader.
As a teen, Paul was playing ball in Port-au-Prince and heard his mother on the radio, calling out to warn him of danger at their door. With the help of a friend he fled and made his way to New York. Here he honed his craft, but most importantly he carried his Haitian perspective forward – eager to learn, fascinated by the city swirling around him, Paul stepped forward with positive energy and embraced all things.
The movement of Africans to the western hemisphere was forced, and the music was often removed from the people. But the spirit was never lost, and soon the music was advancing the path – from Haiti to New Orleans, from New Orleans to Chicago and New York, from the US to London – African influences spread and mixed with local culture to create new forms and genres. Over time the power of this force revealed itself in new ways as these genres circled back to the islands and again formed new styles: Reggae and Mizik Rasin. Like Reggae, mizik rasin is old culture blended with new, imported sound. As the blues hit Haiti in the form of Rock music, Boukman Eksperyans advanced this new, blended sound. And now, Paul Beaubrun brings his perspective and carries the music back out to the world with ease – collaborating at every turn to learn new things, but also to connect through love and music. His positive view of humanity as a shining light is infectious, we all know it to be true despite the pain of history. We all need to believe, and Paul is a great ambassador of our hopes and dreams.
And so the music moves from the source to the people – the music is the language of natural human condition channeled to those who have a distorted view, to save them from their misconceptions. The greatest messengers know that they are simply messengers – unlike western idolization of talent – they realize the source is within them and without, and they seek the source and cast their particular style to translate the message for the masses.
Paul Beaubrun knows these things – he seeks to conquer the world with gentleness, with music. There is little need to dissect the message or the music – it is simple and it is indisputable. This is a human carrying the message of peace and beauty. The best way to describe this wondrous process is with the word Blessings – which is naturally the title of Paul’s album – Ayibobo, which is out May 11th via Ropeadope.
Today Glide is delighted to premiere the new video for “Why Don’t You Love Me”, one of the standout tracks on the album. While on first listen the song may seem like a reggae track, there is a far more dynamic melange of sounds at play. The song is true mizik rasin in the way it uses reggae as the backdrop while Beaubrun adds in a harder rock edge and a touch of R&B. With this song Beaubrun locks into a deep groove and asks the big questions we all want to know.
Reflecting on the origins of the song, Beaubrun has this to say:
“I wrote this song in the first year I moved to NY. It is about someone who I became close with in that time. Unfortunately, they didn’t respect me, and they used to bully me constantly; but in a passive aggressive way. The only questions that ran through my head at the time were: why don’t you accept me for who I am? It bothered me for such a long time, yet I grew to learn how to let it go and I channeled it through this song. When I look at the world, I feel like all of us at some point will ask this question, or will maybe always ask it in one form or another. It may be about love, friends, parents, colleagues or even government. Its a universal feeling and if we were to recognize the humanity in that pain, our collective struggle – that empathy would make us closer, more forgiving, more caring and in turn, pass on more blessings for one another.”
WATCH:
Paul Beaubrun releases Ayibobo on May 11th. For more music and info visit paulbeaubrun.com.