Mach-Hommy, a Haitian producer and hip-hop artist, remains to be one of the scenes most elusive contributors. Mach-Hommy released his album, Haitian Body Odor (HBO), as the first album part of his tetralogy through record sales at 300 USD a piece. The album features numerous sly underpinnings and double entendres which is typical for Machs discography. While Mach-Hommy refuses to provide lyrics or direct meanings behind any of his work, HBO seems to portray his continuous message of the Haitian Diaspora and the corruption of the Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier era of Haiti. The album cover is an acrylic painting on canvas created by Mach himself, portraying former First Lady Michèle Bennett on her wedding day. Bennett’s wedding dress and headpiece were designed by Hubert De Givenchy as part of his haute couture collection, specifically made for the wedding. The album cover and tracklist itself alludes to the stark juxtaposition of wealth and poverty seen during Baby Dock presidency, in which Jean-Claude and Michèle frequently flaunted their wealth to the starving nation.
Many of the themes of the album resonate with the dystopian reality many of us currently live in. With a surge in the cost of living and the never-ending pressure to perform and improve, the juxtaposition of wealth and poverty adds to the growing worldview we all experience. Furthermore, the themes of diaspora underpinning numerous tracks is a shared experience, in which we constantly try to find those with similar roots and upbringing as ourselves, yet we are forced to compromise our own cultural values.
