Francis Mercier, Michael Brun and Nitefreak.
Francis Mercier of Deep Root Records, Haitian artist Michael Brun and Zimbabwe-bred producer Nitefreak are making waves in the dance music scene as each one boasts their distinct style. The three artists are indeed bringing Black excellence to dance music.
Here, the three producers share what Black History Month means to them, what the future of Black music looks like, how the dance music industry can be more inclusive and more.
Lisa Kocay: Why is Black History Month important to you?
Francis Mercier: “It's a month where the light is on us and where we celebrate the greats that have paved the way for the African American community to have the life that we have today. It's a time to be aware of the struggles that the community has been through and the struggle that we're still going through on a daily basis. Personally, I think looking at Black History Month, it's not a time just solely to focus on just the African Americans that are based in the [United States], but it's a time to take a look at people of color on a global scale. It's a time to really think about Black History Month. Yes, we're celebrating the African Americans...but are all Black people actually around the world given the right opportunities? That's a question I frequently ask myself.”
Michael Brun: “I think being able to reflect on the accomplishments of both the African American community in the United States and the international wider Black community, whether that's from Africa, from the Caribbean, from different parts of the world. I think that there are a lot of amazing accomplishments that have come from them and from us. I think that it's also a beautiful moment to reflect on the differences and the things that bring us together. I think a lot of times the conversation ends up being that the African American community is separate from the Caribbean community or from the African community—from the continent. But in actuality, we have so much in common. That's what's really beautiful about the month: that we get to celebrate together and find out our shared history and be able to talk about those things. I think it’s how we continue to grow and continue to strengthen our community. There are definitely a lot of accomplishments that it can't all fit in one month.”
Nitefreak.
Nitefreak: “To be honest, I wish I could share the same sentiments as you guys. I think most of the accomplishments that you guys have had in the Americas…it's kind of different because we still face some of the things that you guys are celebrating here on a daily basis. So, to us, I feel like we really do celebrate individuals that have really shown a light, whether it may be music, acting or whatever Black people excel in, especially Africans. For example, the likes of Black Coffee. To us, that's what we would call Black excellence. We'll be celebrating that not as much as we celebrate Black History Month. But a few people know that, especially people that are really on the internet and stuff like that.
“But there are also people that don't have access to the internet and don't have access to this information, and they really don't know these things. There's always a silver lining to the cloud. I wish more people could have this information and see how other Africans are making it out there as it'll give hope to other Africans that are trying to get into the music industry. Then we can say, ‘Yeah man, we can really look forward to Black excellence or a month to celebrate it.’ But for now, I feel like as Africans, we have a lot to fix and achieve prior to us celebrating it, because not everyone in Africa has access to what I have access to.
“Not everyone has the information that we all get, and it's not everyone that's looking forward to celebrating it, because they don't really have much to celebrate in some parts of Africa. It's just a select few people. I feel like we are getting there as Africans and people have shown us there is something to look forward to, something to work toward. I hope we will get the opportunity to celebrate it as much as you guys celebrated that side.”
Kocay: What do you think the dance music industry can do to be more inclusive?
Francis Mercier.
Mercier: “I think the music industry could be more inclusive and to be more helpful…if they have to look beyond the Americans. You have to consider the Black community on a global scale.”
Brun: “We're seeing more opportunities for these different viewpoints and world views to exist, where artists from around the world have more opportunities to be heard. I think as an industry, going back to the point of Black History Month, it's absolutely celebrating the African American community and the global Black community around the world. But more than anything, it's actually for the rest of the communities that exist in the United States, as an example, to continue to be open-minded and to lift up what's coming from these places and from these communities and support. That's what the representation part is—the higher people in higher positions within the company.
“So then they have more of a decision-making, in terms of what gets seen and what gets reported…I've seen more and more of them happening. Even as slowly as it's happening, it’s still happening. I do think that in the next five or 10 years, we're going to continue to see more representation, and that's going to lead to more financial opportunities for the artists and more unique stories that exist, which I think that's the goal of the internet. You find your tribe, you find your community. That's how I started making music in the first place. I think that's how I even met Francis [Mercier].”
Kocay: What do you think people can do to be better allies, specifically white people?
Mercier: “I think being more open-minded. Generally being more welcoming, more supportive and trying to have a wider acceptance. It's a step-by-step [process]. I think we've made a lot of strides. A few years ago, you wouldn't see this much relevance from the Black community, but nowadays, there's presence. I think we've definitely made achievements. I, myself being in the electronic music scene for nearly 15 years, I was there when there were literally no artists of color on the main stages. No artists of color performing at big electronic music festivals—very little representation. Nowadays, there's an effort being made, and there's definitely an effort being there. We can see it.”
Nitefreak: “In Africa, from the shows that we host on the site, you get mixed crowds of people from different colors. Especially when you go to Kenya, it's a very accommodating environment whereby you get people from different races coming through. They all, for one thing, don't care what skin color you are. They’re there for the music—there to mingle, there to network. It's just a good space. I feel like we are there now. I think music has done the most in bringing people together more than anything else globally. I feel like music is one of the things that actually closes the gap between people.”
Michael Brun.
Brun: “I think knowing the history as much as possible is very important. If you look at the history of dance music in the [United States] and where it originated, it originated from African-American communities in the ‘70s and the ‘80s in Chicago and in New York.
“Knowing that house music started as an offshoot of disco, which was an offshoot of Jamaican sounds. If you understood the history more of where these genres and these artists came from, I think you would be way more open-minded about sounds because you would realize what I thought was something that started in London actually started in Jamaica, which was influenced by West Africa. I didn't even realize that. It's really beautiful to enjoy something without knowing the history. I think that's a great thing. But if you become intolerant while enjoying something and you don't understand the history, I think that's on the individual to really step up and learn.”
“You had also asked about what the white community can do overall. I think anybody who's not from these regions, I think it's listening, being open-minded and listening in a way where you might learn something in the process. I think a lot of these sounds have evolved and the communities of color are super open and open-minded because we have to be because of the things that are happening around us a lot of the time. I think in the same way, for any other person that might not necessarily have a heritage in these communities, being open-minded is going to be great because you'll probably learn the history in the process, but you'll also probably discover things that you didn't even know that you loved.”
Kocay: What do you think the future of Black music looks like?
Francis Mercier: “I think it looks bright. I think it's a time to be grateful. It's a time to be hopeful. I think a lot of people are pushing the sound, whether it be the hip-hop sound that's becoming insanely huge or the Caribbean sound that's gaining momentum with artists like Michael Brun making records. Artists like Nitefreak bringing Zimbabwe to the map. And with Afrohouse myself—trying to do a bit of everything. So it's a time to be proud, to be hopeful and to see that we're actually bringing our culture, bringing our influence, bringing our people to the forefront.”
Nitefreak: “I think the future is here now.”
