Boukman Eksperyans () is a mizik rasin band from the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Grammy nominated for their debut album Vodou Adjae. The band derives its name from Dutty Boukman, a vodou priest who led a religious ceremony in 1791 that is widely considered the start of the Haitian Revolution. The other half of the band's name, "Eksperyans", is the Haitian Creole word for "experience", and was inspired by the band's appreciation of the music of Jimi Hendrix. The band was at the height of its popularity in 1991 when the presidency of Jean Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a military coup d'etat. Like many other artists and performers, Boukman Eksperyans fled the country to live in exile. During their time abroad, the band performed and spoke out against the military dictatorship of Raoul Cédras. In 1994, after Aristide was restored to power, the band returned to Haiti, where they continued to play concerts, record albums, and perform at the Carnival celebrations.
History
Boukman Eksperyans was founded in 1978 The name was a tribute to the Jamaican slave leader Boukman Dutty, who launched the Haitian slave rebellion in August 1791. "Eksperyans" was chosen in honor of Jimi Hendrix and his band the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Boukman Eksperyans first became famous in 1990 when they presented their song "Ké-M Pa Sote" at the Carnival celebration in Port-au-Prince. The song included the refrain "My heart doesn't leap, you don't scare me".
Just before the second coup d'état against Aristide in 2004, Lolo joined with many others in protesting the abuses at the very least condoned by the President. In the years following, Boukman Eksperyans was not associated with any political party. Their songs depicted the reality of Haiti as they saw it.
In 2022, Boukman Eksperyans went on a US/Europe arena tour in support of Arcade Fire.
Discography
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Album
!Label
!Notes
|-
| 1991
|Vodou Adjae
|Mango Records
|First album
|-
| 1992
|Kalfou Danjere
|Balenjo Music
|
|-
| 2011
|Live at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
|MunckMix
|2012 NAACP Image Award Nominee - Outstanding World Music Album
|
|-
| 2018
|Isit e Kounyea La
|Balenjo Music
|
|-
|}
<small>Sources:</small>
References
<!--
;Cited References
-->
<!--This section uses the Cite.php citation mechanism. If you would like more information on how to add references to this article, please see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php -->
<!--
;General References
- Shacochis, Bob (1999). The Immaculate Invasion. New York, New York: Penguin Publishing. ISBN 0-14-024895-1.
-->
External links
<!-- -->
- MySpace page
- Boukman Eksperyans auf culturebase.net