Michael Brun: The Message

For a special Haitian Flag Day episode of The Message, Ebro sat down with New York City-based DJ and producer Michael Brun, a man whose life’s work is centred in uplifting Haiti and the island’s numerous cultural contributions. “Haiti is—to me—one of the most important places in this part of the world in the Western hemisphere,” Brun says. “And historically, what it’s done in so many different lanes from music, the impact it’s had on blues and jazz in the US, the impact it’s had on Caribbean culture as a whole, in culture with the revolution in 1804 and what that did for the rest of the world and abolishing slavery around the world—it has all of these really impactful, incredible stories that, unfortunately, most of the time get shrouded in the situation currently in the country. But that’s my job. That’s what I’m here for—to uplift it, do everything I can.” Brun’s The Message playlist features a few of his favourite personal collaborations (“Positivo” with J Balvin, “Liki Tiki” with Kes and J.Perry), along with selections from Haitian heroes new and old (Wyclef Jean, Mach-Hommy, Tabou Combo), all of which help illustrate what Haiti has already given and continues to give the world. “I tried to go from the classic songs of the ’60s and ’70s into what’s happening modern, and not only within Haiti, but also in the diaspora,” he says. “And I think that seeing that diversity in sound is really important for people to get a better picture of what the country’s about.”