#streamcaribbean - "Melody" by Gihane (May 2024)
In the 7th myth called "West Indian artists have fleeting success" in my #streamcaribbean podcast series about the myths surrounding Caribbean artists, I said that a new generation of artists from Guadeloupe in their twenties will start to arrive. Gihane will surely be one of the leaders.
I had first heard her on "Sentimentaal", a collaboration with rapper Nerka on YSN's "La Pli Season" album. Personal opinion, I already thought it should have been the project's title track just like “Nouvo Mood” by Matieu White. The "Melody" EP convinced me even more. It's a successful business card with tracks that are made for electrifying live performances.
I hesitated to include this album in my 2024 selection because “Melody” is sung in French and responds to the codes of French urban R&B pop without using Caribbean sounds. Perhaps this is precisely what would make her branding and storytelling stand out. Since 2021, female singers have regained the upper hand after a decade spent in industry limbo. Just look at the Usher tribute at the BET Awards 2024 and the wave of female singers from Africa. Even in France, the success of Wejdene has brought back the trend for young female pop singers. Talents like Mademoiselle Lou, Maheva or Candice Vernet (Star Academy) are emerging. So Gihane debuted at just the right time. And it was this realization that made me understand that Gihane herself is the Karukerament element.
Like "Imparfaite" [Imperfect], each song is an introspection in which Gihane tells the point of view of a Guadeloupean woman in her early twenties on relationships. Although you can hear the innocence in the lyrics dealing with sexuality, in which she prefers to let the other lead the way, her songs highlight the inconsistencies, doubts and mistakes involved in learning to love oneself and to love others. It's a beautiful musical time capsule of our youth's relationship with love. And for once, when a local artist highlights the difficulties of the transition from teenagehood to adulthood with sensitivity and vulnerability, I can only encourage her.
My Karukerament tracks
"Imparfaite" - a perfect timeless introduction to show the complexity of womanhood in the 21st century. She'll still be able to sing it when she's 60.
"Discrete" - this is the first time I've heard a Guadeloupean female singer talk about a dysfunctional relationship with the father figure. This ain’t the rebel spirit a la Teairra Mari in “No Daddy”. It's all the more poignant because Gihane gives voice directly to the man who makes it clear that he won't replace her father. The song lasts just 2 minutes 19, but such maturity portrayed with simplicity and sensitivity... That’s very promising.