Tabou Combo and Shoubou

Updated December 29, 2012 11:08 PM

Most of us will never know the sacrifices that Roger "Shoubou" Eugene, has made in order to make us "baissez bas" nan "ryel" la. How do you give the fans what they paid for, night after night?

Shoubou and his band Tabou Combo de Petionville has established a blueprint for Konpa music that is recognized and copied throughout the world. Tabou Combo set the standard by which all bands that followed are measured. The band went places and reached plateaus that no other Haitian bands have come close to achieving. They broke through the barriers, as well as the borders of Haiti to attain international success, and, amazingly, maintained that success for many decades.

Arguably, there's no modern Haitian music without Tabou Combo. The influence of Shoubou can be heard in any Konpa singer's voice today. His stage presence is imitated by many. His influence can also be heard in Zouk, as many musicians from Martinique grew up listening to Tabou Combo and Shoubou. Like Konpa without a drum roll, Tabou Combo is incomplete without the voice of Shoubou. When he steps behind the microphone, all is right with the world.

Tabou Combo and Shoubou