Words by Erin MacLeod, as determined by Erin MacLeod and Ghislain Poirier.

Mr. OK in Montreal

The Toppa Top 10s on LARGE UP thus far have been wide ranging—pan-Caribbean, even—but there’s been one thing missing: songs en français. While it’s not often that countries are grouped as “anglophone,” there’s a definite “francophone” connection, from Montreal to Port au Prince to Dakar, Paris, Abidjan and beyond (and then back again).

Who better than to help LARGE UP with a tropicale top ten than Montreal’s globetrotting selector Ghislain Poirier? The man responsible for connecting dots between tropical music of all types put it this way: “How are the francophone countries linked? It’s very random. But for sure, a song has to be big in France before spreading to the rest. Coupé-décalé is still huge in West African clubs. Gwada and Martinique’s dancehall scene are still fueling France’s dancehall scene…France is the passage obligé for an international francophone hit. ” Same way dancehall can take a trip to New York, Puerto Rico and back to JA, so too, do tunes from across the French Caribbean and the wider francophonie. That’s why number one on the list for 2010 is: