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Oltanie is a Haitian American vocalist based in Indianapolis. Her music has been streamed over a million times online, attracting a dedicated fan base from across the globe.
Oltanie recently spoke with WFYI’s Kyle Long. They discussed the challenges of performing Caribbean music in the Midwest and the unique blend of sounds featured in her music.
This interview has been edited for style and clarity.
Kyle Long: Oltanie describes her music as Afro Caribbean. Her vocals mix English and Kreyòl lyrics with music inspired by West African genres, including Afrobeats.
Oltanie: So, I'm from Haiti originally. We do compound, but my sound is more like Afro with the Caribbean taste, but I do mix it a little bit.
Long: A large percentage of Oltanie’s audience lives outside of Indiana. I asked her if Indianapolis has been a good place to build her career in music.
Oltanie: It's been challenging. It's very challenging doing music in here, because this state is very different. But if you really want to grow, I think out of the states will be better, because most of my work is out of state. Because we don't really have, award shows, red carpets even — we don't really have those big events for us artists that's growing.
Long: Oltanie is part of a thriving Haitian American community in Indianapolis. The Haitian Association of Indiana estimates between 20,000 and 30,000 Haitians reside in Indianapolis, but the community's growth has been threatened by the Trump administration, whose policies and rhetoric have targeted Haitian Americans.
Oltanie: It's so sad just to see the reality of how we've been treated in the country, because when you think about it, our nation really don't deserve this treatment. Because we're not bad people. We come in here to work; we help in the country.
Just imagine America without Haitians, without immigrants, especially Haitians. Because I don't know what's happening with him [President Donald Trump] and Haitians? I really don't know, because for some reason he doesn't like us. With Haitians he's always got something to say about us. But what have we been doing? Work hard, and when he's talking about Make America Great Again, how he's gonna make it great without us?
Long: Despite the obstacles facing Haitian Americans, Oltanie's music remains positive and uplifting, as heard on her recent single “Kale Kow”.
Oltanie: So this track talks about women, women’s beauty, empowerment, uplifting. It's featuring another Haitian artist called Toby Anbakè. So it's just us telling the women how beautiful you are and how strong you are, no matter like how you look: if you look skinny, if you're oversized or whatever, if your skin is black, if your skin is light. You are beautiful, and you are welcome in this world.
So I just love that song and the impact this song has made in a lot of lives. I'm just so honored, because they really love that song. And when you listen to that song, if you really understand it, you'll be like, “Wow, this is my song. I need to hear this.”
This interview originally aired on WFYI’s Cultural Manifesto.
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