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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6670069.stm
BBC NEWS May 19, 2007
French rapper relishes moral role
By Polly de Blank
Angouleme, France
France's Metisses Music Festival seeks to promote
social and cultural crossovers in what often feels like
an ethnically divided nation.
Abd Al Malik wants to change the image of the
troubled suburbs
['Soldat de Plomb' http://tinyurl.com/ysvbd8]
The festival is under way in the city of Angouleme, in
south-western France. It is showcasing international
legends such as Cuban crooner Omara Portuondo and
Malian guitar maestro Habib Koite.
Yet instead of prohibitively expensive tickets, most
concerts are free.
With the fans dancing to everything from rumba to
reggae, the festival seems to have been successful in
bringing people from different backgrounds and
generations together to have a good time.
Rap with a conscience
One fast-rising star performing here is Abd Al Malik, a
French rapper of Congolese origin whose background and
music embodies the spirit of the festival.
His latest album Gibraltar has already won four awards,
including the prestigious Victoire de la Musique . It's
an original mix of hip-hop, slam poetry and French
philosophy.
He sees Gibraltar as the symbolic meeting point of
Africa and Europe. "The reason I called it Gibraltar
was to use music to try and link our different cultures
and people together."
He takes his early years on the streets of Strasbourg's
banlieues - the poor suburbs - as a source of
inspiration. He sings of child drug-dealers and young
lives lost in gang wars.
Personal experience
In one track, Soldat de Plomb (Soldier of Lead), Al
Malik raps I was 12 years old, pockets full of money,
already seen too much blood .
Abd Al Malik is smartly dressed and poised. "That's my
life, I lived all that. Everything on that disc was
experienced by me or my friends and family," he says.
But if you think this singer is yet another rapper
getting rich by glamorising the violent lives of
gangsters, you would be mistaken.
"The aesthetic should always serve a moral purpose,
it's what's called artistic responsibility. The French
writer Albert Camus and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre
followed this idea, and I want to do the same," he
says.
Not the usual response I've come to expect from a rap
star. Behind these songs of petty crime and adolescent
disaffection lies a moral message.
"The idea behind Gibraltar is to show that just because
we lived that kind of life, we should still be seen as
human beings.
"Often, people like me are stereotyped, but in reality
the majority of us want to live normal lives. Most
people in the banlieues are like me - they've managed
to turn around their situation. There are many more
positive than negative stories and I wanted them to be
heard."
African roots
Al Malik is French, but he spent a few early years in
Congo Brazzaville, his parents' home country. How does
he reconcile the two sides of his identity?
"Using the metaphor of a tree, my roots are Congolese
and African and I have respect for my origins and take
care of them, for example my relationship with the
ancestors is very important.
"At the same time, the fruit from my tree is French and
European. I am not from two cultures, but within me is
diversity, and see this as a gift."
France has had more than its fair share of news about
riots, intolerance and division. But Abd Al Malik's
music and life tells a different story and it's going
down well among his fans. When he arrives on stage in
the rappers' uniform of hooded top and camouflage, the
crowd screams with delight.
Literary inspiration
He takes his position as role model seriously, as is
demonstrated on a track called Celine. It makes a
surprising comparison between the controversial 20th-
Century French writer Louis-Ferdinand Celine and
rappers like himself.
"Celine revolutionised literature because he was very
close to real people, like us rappers today. That's
generally a good thing, but there's a danger about
being so close to the people; you can start to embrace
all the things that are wrong with society.
"In Celine's time, anti-Semitism was rife and he fell
into the trap of becoming anti-Semitic himself. Today,
we rappers can sometimes do the same and say it's
always the fault of others, or apologise for violence,
or become misogynistic or too materialistic."
And how does he view the French elections? He does not
want to speak for the black or Muslim communities, as
he says the only community that counts is France as a
whole.
"Politicians must do their work and we must judge in
the long term. We must be vigilant citizens, in a
democracy the people have the power and if we
disapprove of what they do we must use our tools to
show our disapproval.
"We shouldn't be excessively pessimistic or positive,
but fair. The best thing you can do to make the world a
better place is to improve yourself. I think in France
we have all the tools available to do that."
And with those final words of wisdom, Abd Al Malik
walks off to greet his attentive and ever-growing fans.
Story from BBC NEWS:
(c) BBC MMVII
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