- published: 15 Nov 2012
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Zouk beton or simply zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and popularized by the group Kassav in the 1980s. The inspiration for the Zouk style of rhythmic music comes from cadence-lypso - music of Dominica popularized by Grammacks and Exile One. Actually as featured, the zouk is the French Antilles compas. In Africa, it is popular in francophone and lusophone countries. In Europe, it is particularly popular in France, and in North America in the Canadian province of Quebec.
The word Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the mazurka, that was introduced to the French Caribbean in the 19th Century. The Creole word "soukwe", "souke", "zouke" from the French verb "secouer" meaning "shake repeatedly" was popularized by Haitian artists who for years have toured these islands with their kompa.