Kassav’

music group

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July 20, 2026

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Kassav' is a music group that was formed in 1979 by Pierre-Edouard Décimus and Jacob Desvarieux. They are credited with integrating diverse styles of Caribbean music, infusing them with a contemporary urban sound, and marketing this new genre as zouk. Zouk is a popular dance music originating from the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, blending African rhythms, reggae, calypso, and electronic dance music. The term "zouk" originally referred to nightlong dance parties in Guadeloupe and Martinique. Kassav's commercial success, particularly with their 1984 song "Zouk-la sé sèl mémékan nou ni," firmly established zouk as a viable Caribbean dance music genre.12

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zouk
…and guitarist Jacob Desvarieux formed Kassav’, the group that integrated the diverse styles of mizik zouk, injected the mixture with a contemporary urban, studio-produced sound, and marketed the new music as zouk. With the overwhelming commercial success in 1984 of the group’s song “Zouk-la sé sèl médikaman nou ni” (“Zouk…
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…and guitarist Jacob Desvarieux formed Kassav’, the group that integrated the diverse styles of mizik zouk, injected the mixture with a contemporary urban, studio-produced sound, and marketed the new music as zouk. With the overwhelming commercial success in 1984 of the group’s song “Zouk-la sé sèl médikaman nou ni” (“Zouk…
Read More