Past … Present … Future …
As has been said, “Music is the language of the soul.” Ronald Lebeau has taken this concept to heart throughout his professional career in the music and film industries. This singer with his array of Caribbean Afro-pop konpa sounds regards music as therapeutic on any occasion.
Born in the Haitian town of Anse-à-Veau, Ronald Lebeau entered his musical career at age 16, auditioning with some of the top American and Haitian musicians and groups of that era, among them Michael Bolton, Joel Theodore, Georges Michael and the Caribbean Sextet.
In 1996, he joined the gospel-oriented group Sunshine and went with them on successful tours of the French West Indies. After emigrating to the United States, he experimented with various konpa groups, including Degré, B-Nice, B-Zig and M.V.P.
In January 2010, a huge earthquake hit Haiti, and three of his musicians perished in the Audiotek studio in Port-au-Prince. This was a real blow for the singer, and the blues became his artistic escape hatch.
Music later brought the smile back to Ronald’s face. He returned to the podium in 2019 with the video-clip Careless Whisper, an interpretation of a song by Georges Michael that would be included in his album Renaissance.
Ronald won the Syli de Bronze at the 14th Syli d’Or of World Music as well as the Afropop-Syli d’Or award, at the Club Balattou in Montréal.With his new group, Kwaliti, Ronald is offering an original concept blending an Afro-Haitian beat with pop in the Afro-Caribbean tradition. This apostle of the konpa Afrobeat says music is the greatest therapy on Planet Earth.