KLASS UNAUTHORIZED BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Written by Jason Accime
OUT OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: THE UNDISPUTED AND MASTER OF HARDCORE KONPA DIREK.
Globally, Haiti has yet to make a name for its people in the music industry as a whole. Whereas for over (60) sixty years a genre of music called KONPA DIREK was invented in a tiny Caribbean island called “ La Perle Des Antilles” or Haiti, approximately 681 miles by air to the coast of Florida, USA. The man who invented that music was Nemours Jean Baptiste. And because of his creation, Nemours Jean Baptiste was called a genius and a hero to whom KLASS is so grateful and thankful.
The creation for that type of music was simply a need for Haitian people to dance at local clubs as opposed to going and enjoying imported music of other cultures. Indeed, Nemours Jean Baptiste dreams were made possible for others to explore and also exploit because of lack of structure or total absence of a structural process of Copyrights and Intellectual Rights.
There was a well-known Haitian Artist in the name of Ti Manno who once said in a song of DP Express” Ansam Ansam” that:” All musicians are from same family tree no matter their nationality, they only differ by inspiration” and KLASS DNA is coded in that same gene as Beethoven and the late Ansy Derose.
KLASS AND THE HAITIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY aka (HMI)?
In the entertainment industry, especially music, groups are formed and disbanded afterward for different reasons and that’s how KLASS got into the game on April 18, 2012 with their members as follows:
• Maestro & drummer, Jean Herard Richard aka Richie aka Hitmaker/Superstar maker.
• Lead vocal: Edersse Stanis: aka Pipo, The prophet/The voice.
• Lead guitar: Romny Floristal aka El Pozo the Assassin.
• Bass guitar: Nixon Mesidor aka Sexy Nicky.
• Rhythm Guitar: Kevin Gaippe aka BelKod.
• Percussions: Wid Pierre aka Carlo Cheveux.
• Keyboard: Jean Pierre Francisque aka JP.
• Congas: Sorel Sanon aka Soso Brezo.
• Saxophone: Abdel LaFrance aka Taxman
• Trumpet: Nathan Seth Merlin
• Sound engineer: Lavaud Georges
• Logistic: Serge Enel Jean-Louis aka Sergo.
• Manager: Herve Bastien aka Manager the Best
Today, before KLASS became the envy of the HMI due to their sudden success, Jean Herard Richard the proud founder of the band along with Romny Floristal, Nixon Mesidor Herve Bastien then later on Edersse Stanis, went through stages in his musical career. Jean Herard Richard was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in October that makes him a Libra. He grew up in the North of Haiti, Cap Haitian where he attended school. He went from bands to bands like Power-X, 2nd Fashion then made his way to the United States in 1992 where he attended college at BCC in Miami, Florida. Then, he joined Tah-Pajj until 1996. Richie left that group to join Zenglen from 1997 to 2011. At that point, he realized that stability is essential in order to secure a viable future in this shaky industry for himself and his band mates. That’s how the magical group KLASS was born in the HMI on April 18, 2012.
At first, when KLASS released their first single “Bagay Neuf” in early 2012 with a different lead singer, the song was a very hot song but not good enough to create the buzz that the Hitmaker, the superstar maker is known for. So sensibly, Richie closed shop and went back to the studio for months with other Klassmates to create new hit songs like “Priorite, You don’t want me” etc. None of this would have been possible without the Prophet, Pipo, the commanding voice of Konpa Direk of today. Note that Pipo wasn’t part of the group initially. He later joined KLASS after his departure from another reputable group known to most in the HMI. The rest is history in the making since the release of their first CD in 2013. That album sets the bar so high that Klass becomes without any doubt the number one band in the industry and to this date they are still packing clubs wherever they are performing.
From this point forward, they traveled the world: France, Canada, Caicos Island, St Martin, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica, and the Dominican Republic. Next stop Africa, Japan, Switzerland etc.
The beauty of this sudden legendary group is that they practice what they preach. Their goal is to never let go this music genre called Konpa Direk that other bands before them like Frères Dejean, System Band, Skahshah, Tabou Combo, Scorpio, DP Express, Magnum Band and Bossa Combo had cherished so much to this day.
To truly appreciate KLASS one has to be present at one of their live performances then you will know that they are for real. They are a spiritual bunch and always punctual. The success of KLASS is within the unity of the band members and it shows on stage in their performance and professionalism. KLASS motto is: “L’Union Fait la force” as described in the Haitian flag based on the Haitian revolution against slavery for Haiti’s independence in 1804 as the first free black Republic. Translation: “United we stand divided we fall.”
KLASSS doesn’t mind a constructive criticism as long as the criticism is objective and substantive. KLASS believes that if one is not scrutinized or criticized, therefore, one is not relevant simply because a constructive criticism will improve one status by correcting prior or current mistakes.
Being number one in this small cutthroat Haitian Music Industry (HMI) is no different than any other music industry. The hardest part is to stay on top and like they say: “You are as hot as your last album” and to do just that, KLASS has been in session for the past year to bring a new CD with new materials that will surpass their first album which is scheduled to be released in early 2016, titled: “Fel ak Tout Kew”. With the release of their two songs prior to the official album release “Map Marye and “Ranje Chitaw” the buzz already hits the street. The album is comprised of 11 songs and the official release date is April 1st 2016 then a tour will follow to promote the CD.
Stay tuned and you will not be disappointed. KLASS it is Baby!
OUT OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: THE UNDISPUTED AND MASTER OF HARDCORE KONPA DIREK.
Globally, Haiti has yet to make a name for its people in the music industry as a whole. Whereas for over (60) sixty years a genre of music called KONPA DIREK was invented in a tiny Caribbean island called “ La Perle Des Antilles” or Haiti, approximately 681 miles by air to the coast of Florida, USA. The man who invented that music was Nemours Jean Baptiste. And because of his creation, Nemours Jean Baptiste was called a genius and a hero to whom KLASS is so grateful and thankful.
The creation for that type of music was simply a need for Haitian people to dance at local clubs as opposed to going and enjoying imported music of other cultures. Indeed, Nemours Jean Baptiste dreams were made possible for others to explore and also exploit because of lack of structure or total absence of a structural process of Copyrights and Intellectual Rights.
There was a well-known Haitian Artist in the name of Ti Manno who once said in a song of DP Express” Ansam Ansam” that:” All musicians are from same family tree no matter their nationality, they only differ by inspiration” and KLASS DNA is coded in that same gene as Beethoven and the late Ansy Derose.
KLASS AND THE HAITIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY aka (HMI)?
In the entertainment industry, especially music, groups are formed and disbanded afterward for different reasons and that’s how KLASS got into the game on April 18, 2012 with their members as follows:
• Maestro & drummer, Jean Herard Richard aka Richie aka Hitmaker/Superstar maker.
• Lead vocal: Edersse Stanis: aka Pipo, The prophet/The voice.
• Lead guitar: Romny Floristal aka El Pozo the Assassin.
• Bass guitar: Nixon Mesidor aka Sexy Nicky.
• Rhythm Guitar: Kevin Gaippe aka BelKod.
• Percussions: Wid Pierre aka Carlo Cheveux.
• Keyboard: Jean Pierre Francisque aka JP.
• Congas: Sorel Sanon aka Soso Brezo.
• Saxophone: Abdel LaFrance aka Taxman
• Trumpet: Nathan Seth Merlin
• Sound engineer: Lavaud Georges
• Logistic: Serge Enel Jean-Louis aka Sergo.
• Manager: Herve Bastien aka Manager the Best
Today, before KLASS became the envy of the HMI due to their sudden success, Jean Herard Richard the proud founder of the band along with Romny Floristal, Nixon Mesidor Herve Bastien then later on Edersse Stanis, went through stages in his musical career. Jean Herard Richard was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in October that makes him a Libra. He grew up in the North of Haiti, Cap Haitian where he attended school. He went from bands to bands like Power-X, 2nd Fashion then made his way to the United States in 1992 where he attended college at BCC in Miami, Florida. Then, he joined Tah-Pajj until 1996. Richie left that group to join Zenglen from 1997 to 2011. At that point, he realized that stability is essential in order to secure a viable future in this shaky industry for himself and his band mates. That’s how the magical group KLASS was born in the HMI on April 18, 2012.
At first, when KLASS released their first single “Bagay Neuf” in early 2012 with a different lead singer, the song was a very hot song but not good enough to create the buzz that the Hitmaker, the superstar maker is known for. So sensibly, Richie closed shop and went back to the studio for months with other Klassmates to create new hit songs like “Priorite, You don’t want me” etc. None of this would have been possible without the Prophet, Pipo, the commanding voice of Konpa Direk of today. Note that Pipo wasn’t part of the group initially. He later joined KLASS after his departure from another reputable group known to most in the HMI. The rest is history in the making since the release of their first CD in 2013. That album sets the bar so high that Klass becomes without any doubt the number one band in the industry and to this date they are still packing clubs wherever they are performing.
From this point forward, they traveled the world: France, Canada, Caicos Island, St Martin, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica, and the Dominican Republic. Next stop Africa, Japan, Switzerland etc.
The beauty of this sudden legendary group is that they practice what they preach. Their goal is to never let go this music genre called Konpa Direk that other bands before them like Frères Dejean, System Band, Skahshah, Tabou Combo, Scorpio, DP Express, Magnum Band and Bossa Combo had cherished so much to this day.
To truly appreciate KLASS one has to be present at one of their live performances then you will know that they are for real. They are a spiritual bunch and always punctual. The success of KLASS is within the unity of the band members and it shows on stage in their performance and professionalism. KLASS motto is: “L’Union Fait la force” as described in the Haitian flag based on the Haitian revolution against slavery for Haiti’s independence in 1804 as the first free black Republic. Translation: “United we stand divided we fall.”
KLASSS doesn’t mind a constructive criticism as long as the criticism is objective and substantive. KLASS believes that if one is not scrutinized or criticized, therefore, one is not relevant simply because a constructive criticism will improve one status by correcting prior or current mistakes.
Being number one in this small cutthroat Haitian Music Industry (HMI) is no different than any other music industry. The hardest part is to stay on top and like they say: “You are as hot as your last album” and to do just that, KLASS has been in session for the past year to bring a new CD with new materials that will surpass their first album which is scheduled to be released in early 2016, titled: “Fel ak Tout Kew”. With the release of their two songs prior to the official album release “Map Marye and “Ranje Chitaw” the buzz already hits the street. The album is comprised of 11 songs and the official release date is April 1st 2016 then a tour will follow to promote the CD.
Stay tuned and you will not be disappointed. KLASS it is Baby!
- shah
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