Sweet Micky
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Michel Martelly, better known as Sweet Micky, is a musician born in Port-au-Prince, Haïti, who has brought incredible energy, passion and sensitivity to the world of Kompa music. While his persona ignites great controversy throughout the Haïtian diaspora, it is overstated with a pulsating, infectious beat, accompanied by satire and sharp commentary. It can also be ever so softly understated with a lilting, dream-like cadence. The only thing which is predictable about Sweet Micky is that he is completely unpredictable.
Over the past decade, Martelly has won the hearts of the Haïtian people through his musical talent, irrepressible charm and charismatic persona. While he consistently shakes up the Haïtian music world with new interpretations of compass, roots, salsa, Caribbean soca and jazz-fusion, he is steadily positioning himself for international recognition and popularity. He has the unstoppable "can-do" attitude which Americans admire and pride themselves on, tempered by the suave sophistication of the French Caribbean. When Wyclef Jean of the Fugees needed someone to spark the flames for his The Carnival album, it was Martelly whom he called upon to record the title song. As Wyclef proclaims while the "Carnival" tempo rises tumultuously, "Surprise - it's Sweet Micky, y'all!"
[edit] Music
Sweet Micky has recorded fourteen studio albums and a number of live CDs over the past fourteen years, but his popularity began to ascend dramatically with the release of the I Don't Care album in 1994 which contained "I Don't Care," the rambunctious, defiant title song that rocked every compass dance floor from Haïti to New York City. Pa Manyen "Don't Touch", another burst of hard-hitting kompas rhythms whose title song became one of the most requested songs on radio and in dance halls everywhere followed this album later in 1994. While turning out hit after hit, Micky remains close to the pulse of his audience by doing incessant concert tours throughout the United States, Haïti, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.
The 1997 release of his album Aloufa, took the international music world completely by storm. It is full of rhythmical and lyrical surprises, which even the most hard-nosed "anti-Micky" proponents cannot resist. "Mon Colonel", which has also been released as a music video, was the clear front-runner when Haïtian music awards were handed out for compass. Micky's raw and rousing style is complimented by his romantic side in "Nous Deux" (We Two), a soft and somber love song. The pulsating push of "Mice's Rara" is a classic example of how Martelly reinvents the boundaries of Haïtian music by synchronizing roots with compass and reggae. In 1997, Michel Martelly showed the world that his musical talent is a continuous means toward a very positive end by donating his time to participate in "Knowledge is Power", an HIV educational music video with a powerful message about preventing the spread of HIV.
His 1998 album, 100,000 Volts soared up the charts and tore up dance floors everywhere with hits like, "Y'ap Danse". In 1999 Sweet Micky releases Denye Okasyon, in the midst of his "war" with rival band T-Vice. In 2001, Sweet Micky further pushes the envelope by releasing Sisisi, featuring a cover photo of Micky in full makeup and feminine head gear. The title song is a direct response to people running rumors regarding his sexuality, and Micky declares, once and for all, "nou minm nou rinmin fi" (we like girls).
In 2002, Micky and T-Vice reconcile, taken by the wave of fraternization brought about by the Twoubadou movement. This movement, organized by several prominent Haïtan musicians, most notably Fabrice Rouzier and Keke Belizaire, and counting Sweet Micky himself as one of its members, takes a fresh look at Haïtian music, and brings it to a wider audience. Micky is also working on projects with Wyclef Jean who is coming out with a Compass album, and creating his own recording label, Sakpase Records.
