Compas (sometimes written Compas Direct, konpa direk, konpa, kompa or compa) is a Haitian musical genre derived from African and European roots. It is also known as kompa, kompas, kompass, compas direct, or konpa direct. The genre has been adopted and recognized as the national music of Haiti, and it is often featured at Haitian festivals and events; worldwide, several festivals annually feature compás music and other aspects of Haitian culture. Compás music is also available in recorded form from record stores which specialize in world music.

History
The genre was developed by Nemours Jean Baptiste, a Haitian jazz artist who was witness and actor of a musical and cultural trade between Haiti and Cuba. Although Jean Baptiste was given credit for inventing Compas, it was said to be his conga player Quedzere Durozo during practice who actually struck the conga in a manner which would later be known as compas direk. That name reportedly came from an army officer who was awakened by what he had heard and said in creole (a la yon kompa direk papa) loosely translated "what a direct beat". Compas' popularity took off likely due to the genre's ability to improvise and hold the rhythm section steady. Baptiste incorporated traditional Haitian sounds and rhythms into a lively musical style which incorporated a lot of brass and easily recognized rhythms. Compás music is typically accompanied with singing in Haitian Creole.

Although Nemours Jean-Baptiste founded his orchestra (“Ensemble Aux Calebasses” named after the club “Aux Calebasses” located at Carrefour - just South of Port au Prince, Haiti's capital - where the band was performing on week ends) in 1955, Compas Direct (Konpa) came to the fore in 1957 with the album containing the populer song De P'ti Piti Kalbass as perhaps the first compas hit. The genre quickly took off. It enjoyed a heyday in the 1960s and 1970s with an assortment of talented musicians performing compás music and building on it to create their own sound. Baptiste believed the compás music was almost like a building block; it could explore in any direction under the right hands, making the genre incredibly diverse.

Some traditionalists criticized the introduction of the electric guitar first at the beginning of 1958 and the electric bass a year later in the Compas - which was a marked departure from traditional Haitian music. Although Dodophe Legros had already used the electric guitar in urban popular music in Haiti, it was Nemours who introduced it to a wider audience. It is to be noted that Nemours Jean-Baptiste turned out to be an innovator as everybody else soon thereafter followed and the genre probably made traditional Haitian music more prominent, by introducing the sounds of Haiti to a wider audience as the music spread beyond Haiti's shores.

Etymology and characteristics
The word “compás” in Spanish means “beat” or “rhythm,” and one of the most distinctive characteristics of compás music is the consistent pulsating drum beat, a trait common to many styles of Caribbean music. Compás music is easy and fun to dance to, incorporating musical traditions like Merengue, which propel dancers around the floor with lively, active beats (though Compas has a slower beat and dance than Merengue). You may hear the notes of compás music in a community of Haitian immigrants anywhere in the world, and where there is compás, dancers are usually not far behind. Unlike zouk, the lyrics are mostly in Haitian Creole, and it has a faster rhythm than zouk.

It must be said that the plethora of rhythms that exist in Haiti (from the many tribes coming from Africa) included in some other forms the Compas (Konpa). Konpa Dirèk is a genre of music emulated throughout the Caribbean (Zouk etc.) and parts of Africa.

In North America, compas festivals take place frequently in Montreal, New York, Miami, and Boston.

Compas artists
Well Known Compas Artists and Bands
* TANTAN/OLE
* Nickenson Prud'Homme
* Jose E Gabriel
* ayitizz
* Coupé Cloué
* Sweet Micky
* Zin
* Carimi
* T-Vice
* Robert Charlot / Nu Vice
* K-Dans
* Djakout Mizik
* Evangel
* Dega
* D'sire
* D'zin
* Jean Michel Daudier
* Nu-Look
* LES FRERES DERONETTE
* Misty Jean
* Alan Cavé
* Vilx ( Rap )
* Nu-Vice
* Zenglen
* Kreyol La
* Gracia Delva
* Hangout
* perin joseph bass
* Gabel
* Fabrice Rouzier
* Top-Vice
* Mizik Mizik
* Black Parents
* Tabou Combo
* Magnum Band
* Skahshah
* Sweet Konpa
* Krezi Mizik
* Alberto S. Pierre
* King Kino
* Mr. Fraunchise
* EVO
* Vizyon
* All Stars Music Magic de Port-de-Paix
* Sinic Music de Port-de-Paix
* Harmonick
* Kazak Eksperyans
* Fuzion

Historical kompa artists
* Coupé Cloué
* Les Freres Deronette
* Jazz des Jeunes
* l'Orchestre Septentrionel
* l'Orchestre Tropicana d'Haiti
* Ibo Combo
* Les Freres Dejean
* Shleu-Shleu
* Skah-Shah
* Scorpio Universel
* Les Gypsies de Petionville
* DP Express
* Gemini Allstars
* Bossa Combo
* Tabou Combo
* Magnum Band
* Mini Allstars
* System Band
* Papash
* Djet-X
* Zekle
* Les Loups Noirs
* djazz la
* Alan Cave
* Nemours Jn Baptiste
* Julien Paul
* Webert Sicot
* Missile 727
* Mario DeVolcy
* Les Freres Duroseau