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Cadence-lypso: the first Dominican sound to travel

Before bouyon, Dominica had already invented a genre that travelled across the whole Caribbean: cadence-lypso. It is the other parent of bouyon, and the proof that the island is a land of musical invention.

Exile One, the Grammacks and the 1970s

In the 1970s, Dominican groups like Exile One and the Grammacks become the stars of cadence-lypso: an aggressive rhythm guitar, lyrics in Creole that comment on social life, a groove that makes the whole region dance. It is the first style of Dominican music to become popular in the Caribbean.

From cadence to bouyon

In 1988, WCK takes up the heritage of cadence-lypso and fuses it with jing ping, replacing part of the orchestra with keyboards and drum machines. Bouyon is born from this passing of the torch between Dominican generations. For what comes next, read the history of bouyon.

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