Haitian Music Jam, “Jenès”, by Kiko Tru Rasta

You all know how I feel about the song “Mwen Bezwen Lanmou”, but for those of you who don’t, thou shall soon find out. The latest song from Kiko Tru Rasta, the artist behind the aforementioned song is “Jenès”, an ode to the street urchins of Haiti is set to a reggae beat with hip-hop inflections. It certainly could be an anthem for underprivileged kids in Haiti. They are robbed of the innocence and joy of a decent childhood, some being pulled out of school to go work in the streets to survive, while others do not attend school at all. The song explores child issues, as related to Haiti: child slavery, juvenile delinquency (“Men yo pa jwenn lanmou/Ki fè yo fristre”) and society’s apathy.

Now statistics about the population in Haiti has indicated that more than 45% of the population are under the age of 21, and in the video for the song we see a young boy who looks like he’s about 13, peddling snacks in the streets, while in another smiley-faced little girls are walking in their plaid uniforms, and still yet another scene where children are cavorting on a stage jovially, signally that there is hope.

You can view the Haze Sylvester-directed video below, as well as the lyrics written by Marc-Andrew Viard (Kiko Tru Rasta’s government name). The song, however brief, makes a lasting impression on the mind. We’ve done an English translation.

Jenès la bezwen travay pou’l ka manje
Anpil timoun yo nan lari lavi yo an danje
Laplu pa de pitit malere tout domestike
Men yo paka jwenn lanmou ki fè yo santi yo fristre

Our young people need work to feed themselves
All those kids in the street, their lives are at risk
Majority of low-class kids working as child slaves
They don’t get any love, making them pretty frustrated

Adopte pou’n ede yo,
Timoun yo pa la pou y’ap passe twal mouye yo,
Yo pa la pou ap laver passe
Si se yo ki demain fon fè imaginatyon yo marche(yo)
Adopter poun ede yo

Adopt them to rescue them
Kids weren’t made to be waxing anybody’s floor
They weren’t made to wash and iron
These are the same ones that can do big things tomorrow
Adopt them to help them

Ke chak jou nap mache ak zam pou nou tuye yo
Everyday we’re destroying them

They’re the children of my country stop mistreat stop beat them as if it was time of Slavery mi sing [no need for a translation for this one!].

Pwoteje si’n vle sove yo
Timoun tankou odinateu tout sa yo wè pwograme nan sèvo yo
E timoun ki sèvo? paka janm atenn nivo’l
A koz li pran nan yon pi gwo komplo (woy).

We have to protect them if we want to rescue them
Children are like computers, everything they absorb gets programmed in their brains
Children slaves will never reach their full potential
Since they’re taking in by destructive things

Pwoteje si’n vle sove yo
Protect them if you want to rescue them
Rasta children andan bel-air rive jus basin-zing (yo)
Kenbe firm to the religion
Because it was written

Fire brimstone burn up all them heathens yo

Bayo libete yo
Voye yo lekol pou yo manyè eduke yo.
Nou bezwen yon bagay poun leve chay diplom nan menn,
Men pa gen travay a la mise mwen gen lakay(YO)
Bayo libete yo
Chak jou se pa de timoun k’ap trepase yo
Nou bezwen yon pi bon garanti
A yon pi bon avni pou demen pitit nou ka gen yon pi bon lavi. (YO)

Free them
Send them off to school to get educated
We need a plan to get diplomas in their hands
But there’s no jobs, gosh there’s a lot of problems at home
We need a better way
We need a better future so our children can lead better lives

Image via HaitiXchange

What do you think of this song? Be sure to share your thoughts, kreyolicious ones.

And of course, support our Haitian artists. Connect with Kiko Tru Rasta on Facebook.

Check out his channel on SoundCloud.