On their continuing and enchanting musical journey, which Alpacas Collective presents with their forthcoming second album ‘Big Words’, they take a rather unusual stop in the Caribbean. On the beautiful and musically talented island Martinique to be more precise. But like many lush tropical islands, also this pearl has dark sides. Creole hiphop originator with his crew Hip hop Bokay, radio-presentator and cultural figure, Nèg Madnick, got inspired by Alpacas instrumental track originally called ‘The Sorcerer’. He wanted to contribute and wrote political lyrics that gave the tune a new sound and vibe as well as a new name, Movéfèzè, ‘wrongdoers’ or ‘vilains’ in Creole.
On the song ‘Movéfèzè’ rapper Nèg Madnick denounces the rich plantation owners who have poisoned his beautiful Caribbean island Martinique with toxic pesticides; These descendants of colonial rule – who got rich via forced labor of enslaved people and production of sugar, and still largely control the islands’ economy - used a specific DDT-style pesticide called ‘chlordecone’ for the big plantations producing bananas for exports. While this pesticide was banned in the US since the late 60ies and the WHO called it carcinogenic in 1979, ‘the banana-cartel’ kept using it’s stocks well into the 90’ies, knowing very well that they were putting people and ecosystems at risk. The widespread use of chlordecone in these French Caribbean islands poisoned the soil and water and been linked to unusually high rates of prostate cancer.
After a decade of campaigning and protesting by action groups like ‘Zéro chlordécone, zéro poison’, it was only in 2018 that French head of state Macron agreed that France was responsible for what the President himself called "an environmental scandal". But the victims are still awaiting any compensation or justice: after slavery and colonialism, the Martinique and Guadeloupe people know since two decades they have been victims of unjust power structures again.
“Who are these wizards blowing on our heads?”, rapper Nèg Madnick, a versatile artist mixing rap and roots, reggae in many different projects, asks at the start of the tune. To then play around with the official values of the French Republic: “Ready to cut them off under the pretext of equality. Fraternity poisons and isolates us. Justice goes haywire on holiday. Criminals use their potion and impose their unconditional rule on us “. Somehow Nèg Madnick heard in the Alpacas Collective tune (The Sorcerer) a perfect carrier for his lyrical comment on this chlordecone scandal. If one listens well somehow the track ‘Movéfèzè transmits dormant emotions of anger and rebellion, a revolt that could emerge from the luscious bush at any moment: Maroon jazzfunk!
Members of the Alpacas Collective are very proud and happy to lend their music to political messaging, as the title of their new album ‘Big Words’ also suggests. And as on their first album where an Ethiopian singer contributed to the track Mehal Sefari in Amharic, the Alpacas Collective still thrive on new sounds, musical styles, unknown instruments and foreign languages they do not understand but feel. It’s not some form of ‘exotism’ but a passion for new sounds and authenticity as well as working in collective spirit. As long as it clicks with their musical style, for Alpacas Collective, anything can go!
For more information about the Chlordecone Justice struggle: www.workers.org/2020/09/50995/