Genres
The traditions that make up Haitian music — tap any genre to browse its lyrics.
Kompa
Haiti's signature dance music, developed by saxophonist Nemours Jean-Baptiste in the mid-1950s from the méringue tradition. Built on a steady, hip-swaying beat, it moved from big-band horns to guitar- and synth-driven lineups and remains the heartbeat of Haitian dancefloors worldwide.
Browse Kompa songs →Rara
Processional street music tied to Lent and Easter and deeply rooted in Vodou. Bands parade through neighborhoods powered by vaksin (bamboo trumpets), drums, horns, and call-and-response singing — as much a communal ritual and social commentary as a musical form.
Browse Rara songs →Twoubadou
Acoustic, guitar-led storytelling music rooted in the Cuban son that Haitian laborers carried home in the early 20th century. Warm and intimate, it leans on guitar, accordion, tanbou, and marimbula to tell tales of love, hardship, and everyday life — often with wit and double meaning.
Browse Twoubadou songs →Rabòday
A fast, hard-hitting modern street sound built on drum machines and heavy percussion. Born from Haiti's carnival and youth culture, it's raw, danceable, and constantly evolving — the pulse of contemporary Haitian street parties.
Browse Rabòday songs →Mini Jazz
The guitar-band movement that swept Haiti in the 1960s and '70s, when small combos influenced by rock and yé-yé replaced the older big bands. Groups like Tabou Combo emerged from this scene, reshaping Kompa for a younger generation.
Browse Mini Jazz songs →Zouk
An uptempo, romantic dance style that rose in the 1980s across the French Caribbean and became hugely popular in Haiti — known for its lush, electronic production and the slow, sensual 'zouk-love' ballads that followed.
Browse Zouk songs →Vodou Jazz
A mid-20th-century fusion that arranged Vodou ceremonial rhythms and folkloric melodies for jazz orchestras. Pioneered by ensembles like Jazz des Jeunes, it celebrated Haiti’s African roots on the concert stage and laid groundwork for the country’s later dance-band sound.
Browse Vodou Jazz songs →Méringue
Haiti's stately national dance and one of the oldest Creole music forms, dating to the 19th century. Elegant and melodic in its ballroom form yet earthy in its rural styles, the méringue (mereng) is the direct ancestor of Kompa.
Browse Méringue songs →Gospel Kreyòl
Haitian Creole worship music that sets Christian praise to local rhythms and harmonies. Ranging from choir-driven hymns to contemporary praise bands, it is a cornerstone of church life in Haiti and across the diaspora.
Browse Gospel Kreyòl songs →Hip-Hop Kreyòl
Haitian hip-hop rapped in Creole, which took hold from the late 1990s onward. Blending rap and reggae influences with Haitian slang and social commentary, it gives a bold voice to a new urban generation both on the island and abroad.
Browse Hip-Hop Kreyòl songs →