Kreyol La

Born In/Current Location :	Haiti
Occupation(s) :	Band
Genres :	Konpa

Kreyol La made its first appearance officially in March 2005, composed of young and talented musicians, armed with 6 years of previous experience. Kreyol La was on its way to conquer the musical soul of the youth under the spell of the singer Joseph Zenny Jr. and his fellow bandmates.

Joseph Zenny, also known as TiJoe, the lead singer of the band, evolved within Konpa Kreyol before creating Kreyol La. Music aficionado, TiJoe is an exceptional composer, drawing inspiration anywhere and everywhere. No subject is taboo, nor escapes his wit. Well, rounded artist, TiJoe is a talented and acclaimed actor, demonstrating his aptitudes in several Haitian movies. Singer, composer, musical arranger, lyricist, he is an entertainer and the backbone of the band.
Hantz Fred Mercier Jr, also known as Ti Ansyto, keyboardist, evolved within his own band Top Digital, before becoming part of Kreyol La. Son of the legendary Hantz Mercier, he is determined to leave his mark in the music world. Hip-hop passionate, he calls himself “The Maestro” and collaborates in different projects as a “beat maker”.

John Stanley Herisse playing the Bass Guitar, is the worthy heir of his father Jean Robert Herisse, aka Porky emblematic icon of Les Difficile de Petion-Ville et DP Express. Stanley joined the band, following his Konpa Kreyol experience.
Theophile Jadotte aka Theo, an experienced guitarist was part of several musical groups namely Phantoms, Lakol and Konpa Kreyol, before joining Kreyol La. It’s important to note that he’s a truly versatile musician as, at a point, he also played the role of drummer within Kreyol La. From now on, he will lead the role of second bass guitar while the band is transitioning to a full format.

Lhomann Jean is the first guitar and has also been part of several young bands such as Kristal, Dega and Konpa Kreyol before joining Kreyol La.
Vladimir Alexis, a drummer is the baby of the band, joining the band right out of high school. He made a quick pit stop with Phantoms before joining Kreyol La under the recommendation of Theo.

Hantz Mercier, called Ansyto father goes without introduction. He is the most experienced of the group with an outstanding and lengthy resume. He is an essential part of Haitian music evolution and was a key player in bands such as DP Express, Digital Express, Gemini All Stars de Ti Manno, Super Stars Music Machine and the infamous Sweet Micky before joining his son and the Kreyol La crew.
Kreyol La surprised more than one after their launch in March of 2005. They were immediately invited to participate in the prestigious Haitian Compas Festival in Miami. Using that achievement as a springboard, they release their first single “Korem” that becomes an instant hit. Following the same momentum, they participated in the Labor Day Parade in New York City in September of 2005. That appearance definitely awarded them a spot within the big leagues.

In 2006, they had the opportunity to demonstrate their new maturity with two exceptional performances at the Carnival in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and again in the Labor Day Parade, where the Haitian press unanimously declared them outstanding. They proved that they were a heavy competitor for the leading bands of the Haitian Music Industry.

Since then, the requests continued to pour. Evolving mainly in Haiti and the North America, the band released a continuation of successful hits: Viktwa, Vagabon 4 Life, Piyay among others. The release of their album, still in 2006, only reaffirmed their professionalism, experience and success that continuously astonished many. In the 2007 Haitian Carnival, they once more proved that they were a force to be reckoned with as they imposed themselves in the big leagues, competing with names such as Djakout Mizik and T-Vice. The press once more applauded their effort and did not hesitate to crown them amongst the best carnival bands of 2007.

Always improving their showmen skills, they wowed and forever captured the heart of the Haitian public after their performance in the 1st Festival Kompa held on July 27, 2007 in Haiti to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of Kompa and Nemours Jean-Baptiste. Finally the French public had the opportunity to witness their performance in their January 2007 tour, from the 10 to the 12th. After three exceptional performances, the band headed back to Haiti to participate in the 2008 Carnival. Following the carnival, the band, always looking to improve itself, decided to give up the MPC and started a musicians’ search to become a full band format.

Antonio Guillaume, called Ti Blanc started playing the conga at the tender age of 14 in St Charles Church in Carrefour, Haiti. His musical feats were quickly discovered and he joined the All Stars Music Machine. Subsequently, he joined Fasad Full Power and then Brothers Posse. CaRiMi realized his talents and he became their conga player while touring in Haiti.
Edler Saint Cyr, known as Clif, also started his career at a very young age and joins the group Banboch as gong player. He then became part of Back up Family, moved to Caprice where he played the drums, continued to Take off where he played several roles namely composer, musical arranger, gong player and drummer. As Theo, he is quite a versatile musician.

It is important to indicate that since its inception, the band’s management was entrusted to one of the most dynamic promoters of “Show business” in Haiti, Mr. Joubert Charles under the Nouvel Jenerasyon label. Mr. Charles is a well known producer within the industry whether it is in Haiti, North America, the Caribbean and Europe as he produced more 180 Cds among which the wildly known Tabou Combo, Skah-Shah, Magnum Band, etc.

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