Rio Le Château, real name Mario Gilbert, is a Martinican photographer and artist known for creating a distinct visual universe.

His work explores Caribbean legends and critiques society with a blend of humor, causticity, and emotional depth. Influenced by figures like Salvador Dali, Rio uses his art to challenge norms and push the boundaries of artistic expression. In addition to his photography, he also serves as an art director and communication consultant, working with various advertising agencies.

MARTINIQUE

Richès Karayib Introduces Yoni Alpha, Better Known by His Artist Name “Paille” – The Man “Paille”

Paille, a masterful singer-songwriter of Reggae-Dancehall from Martinique, has made a significant mark over the past 20 years with his compelling musical narratives and vibrant performances. His career showcases a notable evolution in musical style and thematic depth. With each album and song, he brings thoughtful production and lyrical maturity, consistently addressing complex subjects with a unique artistic voice.

Throughout his illustrious career, Paille has collaborated with a broad spectrum of Caribbean talents, including legends like Kassav and contemporary stars such as Etana, Konshens, Anthony B, Meryl, Straïka D, and the notably talented DJ Avalanche. These collaborations have not only enhanced his musical repertoire but also expanded his influence across Caribbean cultures, solidifying his status as a Caribbean artist.

Join us as we delve deeper into the life and music of The Man “Paille,” who intriguingly hides behind his straw hat. Discover the significant impact he continues to have across the Caribbean music landscape and look forward to exploring his latest musical ventures in the sections that follow.

WHO I AM

I am called PAILLE since ’97, it’s a nickname that basically has nothing to do with music, it came from the expression “Boulé An Pay” (which means drunk in creole) and as I had some experiences with alcohol during my youth the nickname remained and became PAILLE, my artist name.

We laugh about it now but at the time it was not fun.

I sing more Dancehall, Raggae, Hip Hop, but honestly I like writing, no matter the kind of music, no matter what the tempo is.

I like the storytelling logic and rap, Dancehall do it well.

There are lighter music, which will be interesting for their musical qualities like zouk, but which are also necessary at times, it depends of the mood, period … and lots of things.

MY BEGINNINGS

I believe I’ve always been someone who hums and mutters lyrics I wrote myself. Even back in school, I’d find myself on stage, belting out the few lines I had penned.

Then, around 2000-2001, I ended up in Byronn’s studio quite by chance, and we tried out a ‘little something’. I wasn’t pleased with the outcome because I really struggled to express what I had in my head through the microphone.

I wanted to get better, so I started going to the studio more and more, until soon it was all I did…

And then, things took off.

First Song

“PA SA PALÉ BAY,” but not in the form it’s known today.

The Ones I Prefer

Once they’re released, the songs aren’t mine anymore. You have to be passionate about what you’re doing as you’re doing it.

That said, some songs are more enjoyable to write because the ideas flow better or the perspective on the issue seems more intriguing.

However, I’m naturally more motivated by the ones yet to come, as I’ll be listening, revising, searching for the right word, the right way to pronounce, rather than those that are already completed.

PAILLE'S LONG AWAITING ALBUM RELEASE

“Le Crépuscule des Lions”

A Fusion of Genres and Emotions

“Le Crépuscule des Lions” offers a vibrant mix of musical styles, combining dancehall, zouk, soca, and reggae. Each track serves as a narrative chapter that provides listeners with a profound emotional and thematic journey. From the introspective “Le Monstre” to the energetic “Ruff On Di Road,” and the reflective “Friendzone,” Paille uses his distinctive lyrical approach to explore complex themes.

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Friendzone”: Navigating Unspoken Love

“Friendzone” captures the all-too-familiar whirlwind of unspoken love. Paille masterfully weaves this tale with poetic lyrics and melodious Zouk rhythms, painting a vivid picture of the emotions that linger just beneath the surface. Each verse delicately explores the depths of love that remains unreciprocated, resonating with anyone who’s found themselves yearning for someone just out of reach. This track not only touches the heart but also evokes a tender familiarity, making it a poignant anthem for the loves we’ve silently held close.

Comme Papa”: A Journey into Sensuality and Emotion

“Comme Papa” by Paille is a masterclass in the art of seduction, blending poetic lyrics with sensual vibes to explore the nuances of love and allure. Directed by Vianney Sotès, the accompanying music video pushes artistic boundaries. This track is an anthem to love’s power, promising an unforgettable auditory experience where Caribbean rhythms meet urban pop, captivating a diverse audience.

Collaboration with DJ Avalanche

A major release is “Born n’ Raised,” crafted in collaboration with DJ Avalanche. This track has resonated strongly within the Soca community for its powerful message of unity and celebration of Caribbean identity. With its compelling lyrics and anthem-like quality, it is poised to become a staple in caribbean playlists.

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A Rich Tapestry of Musical Exploration

Discover here the album

THE STAGE, MY PLAYGROUND

I’ve performed at the Bacchanal Block in Saint-Lucia, the UBERSOCA Cruise, twice at Bercy, the ‘Nuit de l’Outre-Mer’ and at the Olympia with E.sy Kennega.

My music has taken me to festivals across the globe in Morocco, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Switzerland, and Reunion.

Interestingly, it all began quite modestly. When Byronn and I first made music together in Sainte-Luce, it was simply about expressing ourselves through song in our hometown.

PAILLE'S PLAYLIST

Playlist

9 Videos

PAILLE feat. MERYL - San'w

Run di town

Paille feat Def J - MARTINIQUAIS

LALALAND

PAILLE feat. ETANA - Loverboy

Paille feat Konshens - Assez

Paille feat. Anthony B - La Crise

#CoucouFreestyle - Tetris Riddim 2015

Paille /Dj TUG & Dj GLAD - Ki Moun Ki Mandew Sa

AND THE CARIBBEAN...

Traveling to Dominica and Saint Lucia revealed how English-speaking Caribbean islands share knowledge and news among themselves, as seen in Saint Lucia’s news coverage of nearby islands like Saint Vincent and Barbados.

In contrast, French Caribbean islands display a notable lack of awareness about each other’s histories, suggesting that building a unified Caribbean identity requires better mutual understanding.

True closeness comes from understanding, which involves education, explanation, and exchange—ideally taught in schools at a young age.

Asking adults, who have already formed their beliefs and certainties, to challenge these or to construct a new Caribbean identity is nearly impossible. It’s more effective and necessary when minds are still open and eager to learn.

Yet, given today’s fast-paced world, it’s unlikely we’ll find the time to truly understand each other, though it would go a long way in breaking down prejudices.

Richès Karayib meets the glass sculptor Robert Manscour.

We had the pleasure of discovering his workshop located in Trinité in Martinique.

This place is full of art works, some as impressive as the others, each having its own uniqueness.

Robert, tells us about his story, his love for glass that he wants to share and exhibit beyond the borders of Martinique in Guadeloupe or in Puerto Rico.

Let’s discover together the artist and his artworks.

About

Robert…

Robi

The subtitles are available in French and Spanish!

PORTFOLIO

The ROBI

PORTFOLIO

The STANI

PORTFOLIO

The MASKS

PORTFOLIO

The workshop – exhibition

THE COURSE OF THE EVENT

Dear correspondents, participants and all those who wished to participate, but could not because of technical or other reasons, in the virtual meeting of Wednesday, October 13, 2021:

“ART AND CULTURE: CATALYSTS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CARIBBEAN…..”

Event organized by Sabrina Ajax, (Richès Karayib / ASIS WI) and OMDAC, with the technical support of the Municipality of Lamentin (Mediatheque) which experimented its new material of videoconference with our operation.

We had the pleasure to send you initially the event presentation which specified the panel breakdown identified by the photos. The 4 panels were planned in the following way with a time dedicated to exchanges after each panel. :

-Institutions
– Cultural organisations
– Artists
– Experts Culture

OUR EXCUSES

First of all, we would like to apologize to all those who had difficulties with the registration, then we had an incomprehensible bug with the application, which led to a significant delay, but especially deprived our participants to access the conference and to have the simultaneous translation initially planned with a professional.

We had also planned a live broadcast on Facebook and Youtube which for the same reasons could not take place.

Afterwards, we encountered some technical difficulties and a sometimes unstable connection, but these did not impact the quality of the speeches and exchanges.

We regretted however the absence of 5 announced speakers, Then, considering the time lost for the reasons indicated above, some presentations were unfortunately shortened and several videos of artists’ representations could not be shown. We reiterate our deepest apologies to them.

OVERVIEW

However, 35 people of 6 different nationalities, from their territory, or from Paris for example, were connected (prospective speakers, listeners), in addition to a delegation from the CTM, the local authority and participants from associations as well as a professional from the cultural sector who spoke from the Media Library of Lamentin.

Nevertheless, this meeting allowed the achievement of our schedule as planned and most of the participants, in the chat or live or by their post-visio messages expressed their satisfaction to have taken advantage of this opportunity to know the devices, to express themselves on their work, their expectations, and to have exchanged with Caribbean counterparts.

BACK TO THE INTERVENTIONS

PANEL 1

We had the pleasure to hear the presentation of concrete cultural experiences, as well as to know the institutional approaches.

The DAC (Department of Cultural Affairs), represented by Agnès BRETEL, presented, to the participants’ satisfaction, the tools and solutions that aim to support cultural operators and stakeholders. Among these are the measures that allow projects and artists to travel abroad (mobility fund, FEAC…)

The CTM (the Local Authority of Martinique), in charge of the development of the community, represented by Mrs. MONROSE and Mrs. TELLE, recalled that they will continue to support and value actions that contribute to the development of the international cooperation and culture. She underlined the main lines of her action to promote the sustainability of the cultural sector and the main directions of her cultural policy.

PANEL 2

The cultural organizations explained their actions and their willingness to collaborate with cultural stakeholders from the Caribbean.

CARIB’OPERA, represented by Joël GLOMBARD from MARTINIQUE.

He presented the concept of Ensemble Carib’Opera that gathers people with a common point: the lyrical song. This association develops lyrical art, live shows and the training of young West Indian artists.

Its goal is to promote the Caribbean culture through these actions. Its wish is to develop exchanges with similar organizations within the Caribbean.

The OMDAC, represented by Rodrigue TOUSSIES from MARTINIQUE.

He summarized, as a non-institutional structure, the actions of the association in Martinique and in the Caribbean zone for nearly 40 years. He specified its involvement in the Sustainable Development Goals from the cultural perspective.

KEK (KONMITE POU ETID KWEYOL), represented by Gregory RABESS from DOMINICA.

He spoke about how music and art have played an important role in building Dominica’s identity. Creole and all the events created around Creole have contributed greatly to the development of Dominican cooperation and cultural industry.

HAITI TCHAKA DANSE, represented by Brusma DAPHNIS.

For him, we cannot talk about tourism without talking about the cultural sector. The meetings and discussions are good starting points that must be materialized by actions and that will pass by collaborations with the stakeholders from other Caribbean countries to co-build training and cultural projects.

PANEL 3

We were able to discover talented artists such as:

Tanya OCTAVIUS – Artist painter and creator of jewels from MARTINIQUE who did us the honor to join the Media Library of Lamentin.

Activist artist, she tells her story, the one of Martinique through her artworks. She uses recycle material as much as possible because sustainable development is important to her. According to her, art has a primordial role to play at this level; in particular that of being a vehicle, a universal language.

Peterson LANDE – Singer-Dancer – HAITI

He wishes that the youth of the Caribbean be interconnected so that we can facilitate and develop cultural exchanges.

It is necessary to be able to share ideas and the concretization will pass by the highlighting of the young people.

Michele HENDERSON – Singer-songwriter – DOMINICA

According to her, we need to establish very solid links between music practitioners and supporting organizations in the region in order to move the cultural industry forward.

XONE – Singer-songwriter – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

For him, it was a very enjoyable and informative experience. When It comes to collaborating ideas to further Caribbean music and Culture in the world this kind of meeting are indeed a step in the right direction.

PANEL 4

We apologize to Damion Radcliffe, Adrien Augier and Eric Taylor who introduced themselves and were unable to express themselves further due to timing.

Eric TAYLOR – Caribbean Cultural Activist – “Pink Panther” Singer – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

He is the President and Founder of the Sangre Grande Development Foundation, one of TT’s premier civil society organizations.

He is also the Director of One Culture One Vibes Company Ltd., which is dedicated to the preservation and nurturing of oral traditions and arts peculiar to the Caribbean.

Adrian AUGIER – Activist for Caribbean culture – SAINTE-LUCIE

He is a development economist active in the public and private sectors.

He works as a creative consultant across several platforms: Carnival, Media, Marketing, Theater, Events.

He is also an writer of poetry, scripts, articles, essays, lyrics.

Damion RADCLIFFE – Artist and member of the Government of JAMAICA

He is an artistic visionary with a passion for creating theatre that is impactful.
Possessing zest and dexterity in producing, directing, set designing, performing, and script writing, he is destined for greatness in the world of theatre and film. At the heart of all of his artistic gifts is his desire to use the arts as a tool for empowerment, social change and education.
He is an active member of the country’s Cultural Development Commission.

ARTISTS and CULTURAL PLAYERS NOT BROADCAST

We also apologize to Akeem Chandler Prescod, Cyndi Marshall, Damien Lurel whose videos could not be shown. Nevertheless they will be broadcasted later on Richès Karayib platform.

Damien LUREL – Creator of the game “Fon Lespri Koko” – GUADELOUPE

He is the founder and president of Carré-tropical, which defends Caribbean culture through its game and its actions.

Cyndi Celest Marshall – BARBADOS

She is a spoken word poet, storyteller, and creative entrepreneur.

Arts activist and language advocate she use performance poetry and literature to encourage social discourse on issues of identity. She has represented Barbados on international stages such as the Women of the World Poetry Slam (2021) and the Vrystaat Arts Festival in South Africa (2019).

Akeem Prescod Chandler, known as StonedwithCupid – BARBADOS

He is a spoken word artist, photographer, song-writer, and creative director from Barbados. His work is an experimental blend of Hip-Hop, Soul, Story-Telling, and Theatre, woven together in a neatly stitched poetic product.

CONCLUSION

It is worth to remember that this event was the starting point of the platform’s activities that will continue to develop communication and networking, and even cooperation for productive actions within the Caribbean.

It was not our purpose to resolve in 2 hours all the problems of the sector, but to allow the mutual knowledge, to exchange information and to find out ways to approach the reasoned and productive development of the sector of arts and culture.
Thus, in the framework of the Riches Karayib platform, other more specific events will be scheduled on particular themes, taking into consideration the participants’ expectations and requests, with the goal of reaching operational solutions as much as possible.

YOUR CO-ORGANIZERS

Richès Karayib thanks the co-organizers of this event.

Yves-Marie Séraline, President of OMDAC, Vice President of CÉSECÉM and President of the culture, education and sports section.

The Municipality of Lamentin and its teams: Sophie TOULOUSE, Davy LERIBAG and Franck RIVOT.

Sabrina AJAX – Founder ASIS WI and creator Richès Karayib

WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION & YOUR POSITIVE FEEDBACKS.

This event is the first of a series of meetings and actions in favor of the Caribbean culture….

Join the RK community to follow our news.

“MAPIE”

Richès Karayib introduces you to Mapie, whose real name is Marie-Pierre Loiseau, she was born on March 3rd 1982 in Martinique.

She is a senior executive in an public administration and at the same time she is an author and artist which give her the pleasure of sharing her poetry on the SLAM stages of Martinique and on the world scene since 2009.

Mapie introduces us to her very first book:

“Au bout du petit matin… l’Émotion!” (At the end of the morning… The Emotion!)

The summary

“Au bout du petit matin… L’émotion !” (At the end of the morning… The Emotion!) is a sample of Mapie’s inspirations from 2009 to now. Her poetry almost always brings out emotion.

Thus, these are words of Love tranversing all the states of her heart during her life and those of others who have become hers by the magic of poetry:

Happy or unhappy love words,

Militant words shouting at the world’s lack of love,

Words of intimate moments,

Reverberating words by beloved artists,

Words of humanity from one heart on the way to meet another,

Words of hope for better tomorrows…

“Au bout du petit matin… l’Émotion!” (At the end of the morning… The Emotion!) Published in March 2020 (available in E.book and paper format)

I wrote this book in response to my audience request who regularly expressed the desire to reread my words at the end of my performances.

I have the utopia of believing that poetry can contribute to the construction of better tomorrows and my life experiences encourage me to cultivate this idea.