“Zouk La Sé sel médikaman nou ni”, “Sye Bwa”, “Ou Lè”… Everyone has danced at least once to Kassav' zouk hits! The famous West Indian group, which has been a hit for more than 40 years, has nevertheless experienced tragic recent years with the disappearance of its singer Jacob Desvarieux in 2021 as a result of Covid. Since then, numerous tribute concerts have been given to him, notably in Paris where the group sold out the Adidas Arena and then the Accor Arena. Because yes, the public tends to forget it, but before Indochine, Shaka Ponk, Louise Attaque, NTM or even Daft Punk, Kassav' was the first French group to perform at Bercy in 1999. Likewise at the Stade de France in 2009, a year before Indochina. Historic firsts that the general public and the media tend to overlook. Just like their enormous influence abroad. Proof of this is with keyboardist Jean-Claude Naimro who became a touring musician for Peter Gabriel. However, a video that has gone viral allows us to dot the i’s.
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“Never a prophet in his country”
Indeed, the two members of Kassav' Jocelyne Béroard and Jean-Claude Naimro were the guests of the special overseas issue of “Grand échquier”, broadcast on October 31 on France 2, alongside Laurent Voulzy, Stefi Celma, Harry Roselmack or even Christiane Taubira. Facing the artists, André Manoukian was keen to recall the importance of the group on the French and even world music scene. “ There is an injustice regarding Kassav'. You are the French group which has performed the most concerts abroad and which has sold the most records [plus de 5 millions, ndlr]. And you are never cited as such » proclaimed the presenter and musician: “ You influenced Anglo-Saxon musicians, you created a style. There aren't many bands that create styles ».
Words reiterated by music journalist Bertrand Dicale: “ We don't know who invented jazz, but we know who invented zouk. (…) There is not a French group or DJ who has played in as many countries as Kassav' “. Because in fact, in addition to French-speaking territories, the West Indian group has made audiences dance in Africa, Russia, Latin America and even Japan: “ And where it's completely crazy is that we French, who easily take out our flag, we don't realize that these people are the Beatles, Elvis… They revolutionized music for throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, the Indian Ocean ». « Never a prophet in his country » Jean-Claude Naimro then reacted philosophically, while Jocelyne Béroard had tears in her eyes in the face of all this praise. A viral video since it has 735,000 views on TikTok, 708,000 on Instagram and 411,000 via re-sharing on X. Enough to allow all Internet users to place Kassav' at the top of the list of the most popular French groups.
