Haitian hip-hop

Rap Kreyòl started in Haiti in the early 1980s by Master Dji, who witnessed how American hip hop gave birth to French hip hop while living in France. Hence, he moved back to Haiti and started the hip hop movement that took Haiti by storm. Consequently, many of those kids which hip hop spoke to in their special language for the first time continue to rap in Haitian Creole even after being in the United States the most part of their lives. Artists like Oz'mosis and Bennchoumy still rap in Haitian Creole today. Haitian hip-hop was popularized through its unique blend of American hip-hop musical structures, Haitian Creole language, Caribbean rhythmic influences, and an incorporation of Haitian cultural, political, and spiritual traditions. To many notable artists, Rap Kreyòl functions as a platform for political protest, the expression of Haiti's cultural identity, a tool for mobilizing the youth, and a medium of post-disaster healing.