Master Dji
George Lys Herard (May 30, 1961 – May 21, 1994), popularly known as Master Dji, was a Haitian rapper, and Hip-Hop artist. DJ of the group "Haiti Rap' N Ragga", Master Dji was the founder of Creole hip-hop.
Best known for his debut album "Master Dji", considered by many one of the greatest Creole Hip-Hop albums of all time. This album established Master Dji as one of Haiti ’s most profound lyricists, introducing his signature which is poetic.
Master Dji was also a radio host at Radio Métropole and Tropic FM. A pioneer in the Haitian Music Industry, he created a very subdued genre of music which was not previously thought of before. Due to his creation the New generation was able to form a connection between rara, rasin, kompa, rap and reggae. He pioneered a type of music that is a combination of all the music genres that most Young people listen to in Haiti. Master Dji knew how to get the attention of the young people, so throughout his music he would talk and also educate them.
Hip-Hop was not that Popular in Haiti , moreover, society had a bad perception of the music. However Master Dji managed to get his tracks played by certain radio stations. He was versatile; whether it was in English, French or Creole he always found a way to rip the mic. With all three languages he reached out to many different crowds. As a result, he was also known overseas. In fact, he's one of a few MCs to be played for more than twelve hours in radio stations in Africa.
"Tann pou tann" by Master Dji received the first prize from the annual African Haitian video awards which was held from April 27 to May 7, 1995, and organized by "Disques Hibiscus" with the participation of the televised music channel "MusiquePlus". The video was Directed by Master Dji himself and Jean-Pierre Grasset. The award jury and Ralph Boney decided to name the annual video award show after "Master Dji" in honor of the Haitian rapper, visionary, father of kreyol hip-hop, and pioneer of music videos in the Caribbean since 1985.
The first rap song in Creole was a track called Vakans by Master Dji in 1982. A few years later (late 1980s) he released his first album entitled Master Dji.
His second album entitled Politik Pam was released in 1990 under bwa patat records; his third album was with his group "Haiti Rap' N Ragga" entitled Match La Red; it was released under Declic Communication in France.
His fourth album, with his group, entitled Maximum Respect was released under Cross over records in Florida. Maximum Respect was Master Dji's last project before dying.
From May 20 to May 22, 2005, Rapforum organized a summit called Master Dji to honor the late rapper. Master Dji was not only known in Haiti, but also throughout the whole Caribbean as the founder of kreyol hip-hop. The event took place at "Place Jérémie", where hundreds of teens had the chance to discover the different talents and life of the pioneer.
His legacy was not only that of a rapper, a singer, dj, but also a radio host, ever since he was 16 Several pictures, lyrics, and videos were put together by SOLDAT PRODUCTIONS. Those documents were provided by "Mme Sita Hérard, mother of Master Dji. Among the different people who attended the event, were: Eliacim Abollassen (Soldat Productions), Garry Saint-Germain (Rapforum), and James Berlus (Asrap).
Master Dji is widely considered one of the greatest Haitian MCs. He was a visionary. He created something new in a country where people did not even like hip-hop. The Haitian community had very little knowledge of what hip-hop was back then, and it was hard for them to accept it. Master Dji managed to mix reggae, kompa, and hip-hop to form a new sound; and the public embraced it. He was also very political, and his lyrics were deep and carried a message behind the songs. Master Dji’s work is often overlooked- with only true kreyol hip-hop fans, purists and kreyol hip-hop artists paying homage to the legend.