Six years after his last album, Guadeloupean Nuttea releases “Tribulations”, an opus composed of 12 tracks. Whether in French or English, his texts continue to explore humanity. Overseas the 1st met this pillar of French reggae.
He is an artist with rare production who prefers the stage and concerts (around forty per year) to recording studios. In 35 years of career, Nuttea has only released six albums, including this latest opus, 12 pieces, collected under the title Tribulations, where he “unfolds the story of a lifetime, full of ups and downs”.
“That’s what life is likehe explains. It’s called tribulations.” Taken by his concerts, the Guadeloupean recorded almost in his spare time, “as a dilettante, because without pressure or deadline”. In short, this explains why it took him almost six years to deliver this latest album.
The name Nuttea (pronounced “Neuty”) does not necessarily speak to the general public. However, at the beginning of the 90s, with his crystalline voice and his effective toast, the Guadeloupean established himself as one of the leaders of French-speaking reggae. We discover him within the legendary sound system High Fight International, notably in the company of Tonton David. He then collaborated with IAM, participated in the soundtrack of Taxi 2released in 2000…
It was that same year that he, a veteran of sound systems, released his first hit She drives you crazy, almost a response to those who felt that he had difficulty creating successful titles.
At the time, even his record company didn’t believe it. “They weren’t fans. They found the piece twisted. But that’s what interested us: creating an original piece where we broke the codes”explains the singer.
After playing it to a few people, the record company realized something was up. They quickly revised their judgment.
Nuttea, Guadeloupean singer
Almost a quarter of a century later, with Tribulationsthe Guadeloupean has remained faithful to reggae. “I started with dance hall, but reggae is a mother music, the mother of hip-hop, afro, dance hall. It is said that dance hall is the turbulent child reggae, myself, as a child, I was turbulent. That’s probably why this music spoke to me when I was young.”
Tribulations is peppered with several collaborations, including that with the Jamaican Kabaka Pyramid, winner of the Grammy Awards for “best reggae album 2023” on the track Equals. If each recorded their voice on their own, they met in Kingston for the video which accompanies the title.
Another discovery: the cover of Bill Withers Ain’t no sunshine. And whether in French or English, it is the human that he continues to explore in his texts. “Politics has its flaws because humans are steeped in them”he believes.
In this regard, Nuttea is carefully following the situation in the Antilles and is waiting to see the responses that the State will propose on the subject of the cost of living. “There are so many hegemonies and privileges to be challenged. My heart goes out to those protesting. This situation cannot continue.”
He will be in concert in Paris (La Place) on December 6, then in Guyana soon. He is preparing a tour which should take him to the West Indies, among other places.
Listen again to the podcast “La 1ère vibe” with the singer Nuttea, guest of Délia Coliné:
