BLACK PARENTS
Vini'm pale'w, cheri...

It's been a very dry Winter, literally and figuratively, but Spring came early, with fresh green leaves, singing birds, and warm nights. On Saturday, April 13, a warm Spring night, along with JCV Productions, brought Black Parents, a fresh and cool konpa band from Canada, to the Washington DC area Haitian community.

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In the world of konpa music, Black Parents is very young in both look and sound.. The band consist of la famillle Parent: Weseng (lead singer), Wesly Gee (lead singer), Mario (bass), John Clark (guitar), Julien (keyboard), and Beatrice (drums). This coming May, the group will celebrate its third anniversary, however, the group, is quickly building up an excellent reputation, with their smash hit, "sansuel (vini'm pale'w)", and "sonia," also two hit carnival songs, including "farinen." They are currently touring the United States promoting their latest album.

Saturday night was Black Parents' second visit to the Washington, DC, Haitian community. Two years ago, DJ Blast, a then local DJ and promoter, brought the group to the area for the DC Caribbean Carnival and also for a concert that same night. Due to promotional issues and the fact that the band was new to the community, the concert was not a success. However, they caught the eye of promoter Jean-Claude Vivens, who promised to bring them back for another try.

A few years later, and after several big hits in North America and Haiti, Black Parents came back to redeem themselves.

With the help of their recent hits, this time around the crowd was very eager to provide another listen, and the band did not waste the opportunity. The two lead singers commanded the stage and controlled the crowd's frenzy, while John Clark teased the crowd all night with the hook from "sansuel." Although not yet in the class of Ralph Conde of Tabou Combo, or Robert Martino of Top Vice, to name a few, John is certainly blessed with guitar skills. On "sansuel," he plays with a very laid back, steady style that makes the young the ladies scream in delight, and the men stare with admiration.

In all, whether or not the community was just thirsty for excitement, the band provided some relief. Black Parents played for more than four hours, and barely anyone left early. It was a very good beginning of what promises to be a good concert series in the DC, area this year.

© echodhaiti.com, April 2002