"Pale Mal" sounds cheery and effervescent, thanks to Montreal producer Poirier's guitar-led production, but behind the beat is a story about brushing off the haters. Fwonte, a Haiti-born rapper who moved to Montreal six years ago, tells a story of people who chat behind your back and cast an evil eye your way. "Pale Mal" means 'bad talk,' Poirier tells us over email. But watch the video, premiering today on the The FADER, and you'll see that Fwonte is nonplussed: he's back on Haitian soil, chatting with people on the streets, liming by the beach, arms stretched to the sky.
The track comes from Poirier's latest album, Migration, which was released in March on Nice Up! Records. And here's how the video came about:
"When I was brainstorming a concept for this video, shooting the whole video in Haïti was the best idea. Fwonte is from Port-au-Prince and moved to Montréal six years ago. I've been to Haïti once in 2008. So with our video director/editor Mat Rich (who also did the video for "Jump" featuring Red Fox) we all took the plane to Port-au-Prince and spent a week there. We were feeling the vibe and going with the flow, shooting in the streets of Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, and Kabic. Also, along the way, two gigs happened with top-notch DJ/producer Gardy Girault who makes a cameo in the video. It was such a great experience to shoot and DJ in Haïti. I hope to go back again soon to DJ."
