Words by Jesse Serwer—
As many Haitians who’ve grown up in the United States will tell you, there was life BTF and ATF—before the Fugees and after the Fugees. Prior to The Score and Wyclef dropping Kreyol into his rhymes and showing up at award shows draped in the Haitian flag (and way before he was being accused of looting his Haitian relief charity for personal expenses), being Haitian was something rappers rarely advertised. These days, rappers who aren’t Haitian claim to be, others are rumored to be, and ones who clearly are not Haitian claim to have zoes ready to go to war for them. While many of the biggest contributions by Haitians to hip-hop have been behind the scenes (see producer/execs like Hurby “Luvbug” Azor, Sha Money XL and Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis), here’s a few more MCs in the broader rap world (shout out to the Kreyol Rap crew!) whose Haïtien credentials are verified.