Martinique is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. A part of the French West Indies (Antilles), Martinique is an overseas department and region and a single territorial collectivity of the French Republic. It is also part of the European Union as an Outermost Region within the special territories of members of the European Economic Area, but is not part of the Schengen Area or the European Union Customs Union. The currency in use is the euro.
The music of Martinique has a heritage which is intertwined with that of its sister island, Guadeloupe. Despite their small size, the islands have created a large popular music industry, which gained in international renown after the success of zouk music in the later 20th century. Zouk's popularity was particularly intense in France, where the genre became an important symbol of identity for Martinique and Guadeloupe. Zouk's origins are in the folk music of Martinique and Guadeloupe, especially Martinican chouval bwa, and Guadeloupan gwo ka. There's also notable influence of the pan-Caribbean calypso tradition and Haitian kompa.
The music of Guadeloupe encompasses a large popular music industry, which gained in international renown after the success of zouk music in the later 20th century. Zouk's popularity was particularly intense in France, where the genre became an important symbol of identity for Guadeloupe and Martinique. Zouk's origins are in the folk music of Guadeloupe and Martinique, especially Guadeloupan gwo ka and Martinican chouval bwa, and the pan-Caribbean calypso tradition.
The music of Dominica includes a variety of genres including all the popular genres of the world. Popular music is widespread, with a number of native Dominican performers gaining national fame in imported genres such as calypso, reggae, soca, kompa, zouk and rock and roll. Dominica's own popular music industry has created a form called bouyon, which combines elements from several styles and has achieved a wide fanbase in Dominica. Groups include WCK, Native musicians in various forms, such as reggae, kadans (Ophelia Marie, and calypso, have also become stars at home and abroad.
Cayenne is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "fert aurum industria", which means "work brings wealth". Cayenne is the largest Francophone city of the South American continent.
Kassav' is a French Caribbean band formed in Guadeloupe in 1979. The core members of the band are Jacob Desvarieux, Jocelyne Béroard, Jean-Philippe Marthély, Patrick Saint-Éloi, Jean-Claude Naimro, Claude Vamur, and Georges Décimus. Kassav' have issued over 20 albums, with a further 12 solo albums by band members.
Biguine is a rhythm-centric style of music that originated from Saint Pierre, Martinique in the 19th century. It fuses Bèlè and 19th-century French ballroom dance steps with African rhythms.
Cadence-lypso is a fusion of cadence rampa from Haiti and calypso from Trinidad and Tobago that has also spread to other English speaking countries of the Caribbean. Originated in the 1970s by the Dominican band Exile One, it spread and became popular in the dance clubs around the Creole world and Africa as well as the French Antilles.
Edith Lefel was a French singer.
The flag of Martinique consists of a red triangle at the hoist, with two horizontal bands, the upper green and the lower black. It was adopted on 2 February 2023. The flag of France, its parent country, is also flown with official standing due to Martinique's status as a French overseas department/region. The assembly of Martinique flies a flag with the collectivity's logo on it to represent the government.
Jocelyne Béroard is a Martinican singer and songwriter. She is one of the lead singers of the Zouk and Compas band Kassav'. As a solo artist, she helped create zoukBeton, a music genre originated by the seminal Martinican Creole band Kassav' from Paris, the main members of which are from Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Sabine Quindou is a French journalist and presenter, born 1970 in Fort de France, Martinique. Quindou is known for co-hosting the popular science TV show, C'est pas sorcier with Jamy Gourmaud and Frédéric Courant, produced by France 3. She presented 188 episodes of C'est pas sorcier from 1999 to 2013.
The Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde is an annual award given to the best literary work in French or French Creole from the Caribbean and the Americas.
Jeanne Louise Galice, better known by her stage name Jain, is a French singer-songwriter and musician. Jain began her career in 2013 when she met Mr. Flash, who introduced her to musical programming. She then published her demo tracks on MySpace, where she was noticed by Dready, who remained her longtime manager. Yodelice was interested in her so he invited her to Paris. Her debut album, Zanaka, was released on 6 November 2015. Her second album, titled Souldier, was released on 24 August 2018.
Angèle Van Laeken is a Belgian singer and songwriter. She was one of 2018's biggest breakout acts in French and Belgian pop music, breaking Stromae's record for weeks at the top of the Belgian singles charts with her 2018 single "Tout oublier" which features her brother, Roméo Elvis.
Claire Pommet, known professionally as Pomme, is a French singer, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised near Lyon, she learned to play several instruments at a young age. Her debut studio album, À peu près (2017), received critical acclaim for its mixture of pop and folk music and entered the French album charts at number 91. Pomme followed with her second studio album, Les failles (2019), which became her first project to reach the top 10 in her home country. The record was later reissued as Les failles cachées (2020) and re-entered record charts in two countries. Her third studio album, Consolation, was released on 26 August 2022.
Monique Desroches is a Canadian ethnomusicologist from Quebec who specializes in the music of the West Indies and the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean.
Gaël Octavia (29 December 1977 in Fort-de-France, is a French writer and playwright. She is also a film director and painter.
Sabine Andrivon-Milton, is a French historian specialising in the military history of Martinique, a teacher, author and board game designer.
Marie-Thérèse Julien Lung-Fou was the first female sculptor in Martinique, a storyteller and poet.
