The "Bèlè" of "Bel Air" (in French) is a Martinican musical genre in which a singer leads the music with a strong voice, while the dialogue develops between dancers and tambouyé (drummer).

It is the legacy of ancestors who lived in the "rues cases-Nègres" in the vicinity of the plantations in Martinique. The former Black slaves became free and wished to oppose the foundations of slave society (bonded and forced labor), to the joy of freedom. So many freedmen who had a small plot of land founded a new kind of society based on mutual aid. This new concept is ritualized through Bèlè support, where Works and dances alternate in a society that binds subsistence and rejoicing.

Among the known Bèlè singers are Ti-Émile, Ti-Raoul, Marce or Benoit, and Paul Rastocle.

To learn more about this music, go to The Maison of Bèlè at Sainte Marie.