Rasin

Rasin emerges from Haiti’s Vodou ceremonial music and street-procession traditions (especially rara), where layered drum patterns, vaksin bamboo trumpets, ogan bells, and responsorial singing carry spiritual and communal functions. Through the 20th century, these traditions interacted with popular styles like compas and with imported rock and reggae.

In the late 1980s—amid political tumult and the crumbling of the Duvalier dictatorship—bands began amplifying Vodou and rara frameworks with electric instruments and stage presentation. This new wave, self-identified as mizik rasin ("roots music"), positioned cultural memory and spirituality as a form of resistance and identity affirmation.

The 1990s saw rasin reach international festivals while remaining deeply political at home. Groups like Boukman Eksperyans, RAM, Boukan Ginen, and Koudjay released anthems that combined ceremonial rhythms (Rada, Petwo, Nago, Kongo) with rock/reggae backlines, addressing social justice, heritage, and state violence. Performances often blurred lines between concert, ritual, and street procession.

Into the 2000s and 2010s, veterans and newer ensembles (e.g., Racine Mapou de Azor, Lakou Mizik) broadened the palette, collaborating with global jazz, roots, and electronic scenes. Carnival and rara inflections fed newer urban styles; the processional energy and drumming language of rasin helped pave the way for the high-energy, beat-driven rabòday.

Rasin is now a cornerstone of modern Haitian identity: a living bridge between sacred ceremony, popular entertainment, and political voice. Its aesthetics—polyrhythm, chant, vaksins, and amplified grooves—continue to inform Haitian stagecraft, festival culture, and global perceptions of Haitian music.