Jean Michel St-Victor, better known as “Zouzoul” to legions of konpa fans who followed him for decades, has died from an illness. He was 78.
Best known as one of the lead singers of Skah Shah #1, St-Victor passed away the morning of Dec. 10 at his home in Florida. Mario de Volcy, a music insider and artist, said St-Victor’s longtime bandmates Jean Elie “Cubano” Telfort and Loubert Chancy confirmed the death. St-Victor had struggled with an illness, which was not disclosed.
Born in 1945, St-Victor became an iconic artist for his long list of achievements, primarily between the 1970s and early 1990s. Among them, his performances with konpa groups Shleu Shleu — which later became Skah Shah — Bazouka, Nu Shah, Miami All Stars and PNP.
St-Victor was part of the Frénétiques before joining the Shleu Shleu, and had participated in a choir. Shleu Shleu’s manager Hugues “Dada” Jackaman began to call him Zouzoul, and the name stuck with him forever.
Over his career, St-Victor composed, wrote, and played classical guitar, percussion and drums. He was also recognized for the mega hits “Caroline” and “Men niméwo a.”
He once described how meaningful it felt for him to return to Haiti, at a time when “Men niméwo a” was very popular.
“There were thousands of people at the airport,” St-Victor said. “This touched and surprised me enormously because I was touching the public’s admiration.”
Zouzoul also said that lack of discipline, women and money were at the heart of the conflicts within Skah Shah. “On several occasions, Skah-Shah lost almost $100,000 at dances because of the musicians’ indiscipline,” he once told Ayibopost in an interview.