Lo Rwa Kaf

Gérose Barivoitse, best known by his pseudonym Lo Rwa Kaf ("the king of the cafres" in Creole, cafre referring to the enslaved black populations), was born on November 18, 1921 in Saint-Suzanne on Reunion Island. The only boy in his family, Lo Rwa Kaf was introduced to traditional rhythms and sounds by his grandmother. Introduced to maloya in his youth, a musical style born in the days of slavery on Reunion Island, Lo Rwa Kaf performed in concert, both on the island and on the mainland, as in Angoulême in 1984 and at the Olympia in 1992. It was only later that a first cassette of ten recordings was officially released, later published as a CD, entitled Somin Galisé. In pure maloya style, with its characteristic use of the roulèr, a typical instrument of the genre, Lo Rwa Kaf keeps the tradition of these songs of resistance alive, alongside the likes of Danyèl Waro and Granmou Lélé. His second album, Tradition Maloya, was released in 1997, and led him to popularize his vision of music. After performing and exporting, Lo Rwa Kaf died on July 26, 2004 in Sainte-Suzanne at the age of 83.