the essential
The slammer who has not been presented for a long time will perform in concert this Friday, June 21 as part of the “Montauban en scenes” festival. He will notably play his album “Reflets”, certain texts of which resonate with current events.
He has memory. Grand Corps Malade has not forgotten its first concert in Montauban, which dates back to 2007, and this “warm audience”. While the most famous slammer in France will sign, this Friday, June 21, his return to Tarn-et-Garonne as part of the “Montauban en scenes”* festival, he mentions in particular his eighth and last album “Reflets”, released in 2023 but more relevant than ever.
Some of your texts particularly resonate in light of the political context of recent days…
So much the better if it resonates because I never imagined that my texts were above ground. Some are very personal, evoking love and the role of father, but most of them correspond to a moment, an era, a society. I don’t see myself as an artist in my own bubble. So if it fits the news, that’s great.
Do you have a comment to make on the news of recent days?
I am completely devastated by the power of the far right in France. I rarely do politics with a capital “P” because I don’t feel legitimate. Even if my texts are political in the broad sense by appealing to certain values. But if you had told me, when I was 15, that the National Rally would become the leading party in France, I would not have believed you.
You who remain in contact with young people through your regular interventions in schools, how do you analyze this massive support for the theses of the extreme right?
It’s not easy to capture youth. Moreover, there is not just one: there are lots of social categories, different generations. However, if we try to isolate a trend, we clearly see that there is a deficit of confidence in the political elites in the future. Referring to the extreme right is, in my opinion, an error but it is also the result of a distrust of politics, of an increasingly difficult life, of a purchasing power that is disintegrating. .
With “Hold on to your dreams”, you are speaking directly to your sons. A message to send to this future generation?
I don’t trust messages. I hope that my texts carry several and that they are aimed at everyone. With the title “2083”, I evoke the change in behavior, the collective effort that will have to be made, particularly in terms of ecology. But who am I?
How did you construct this album “Reflets”?
Except for the album “Mesdames” because I knew I wanted to write for women, I didn’t anticipate anything in advance. I have texts, desires and it is only afterwards that I realize the existence of a trend. The word “reflections” is a generic term to evoke this audience which is reflected in my texts. Unless it’s me who reflects myself in their lives… When someone says to me “This song, you wrote it for me!”, there is this mirror side. With the song “Autoreflet”, I wanted to make a self-portrait. But there is also “2083” or “It’s happening today” and as you say, so much the better if it reflects today’s society.
Why did you request the collaboration of DJ Quentin Mosimann and singer Vincha?
There are slammers who compose but most are authors and not necessarily musicians. I like to surround myself with music specialists and that’s the case for both of them. Even if Quentin Mosimann is a DJ with very electro rhythms that interest me, he can do everything.
You co-directed the film “Monsieur Aznavour” which will be released on October 23. What can you tell us about this cinematic adventure?
Cinema has been part of my activities for 7, 8 years. “Patients” and “La vie scolaire”, which I co-directed with my friend Mehdi Idir, worked well. Building on this experience, we said to ourselves that we could perhaps tackle this monument of French song. It’s a biopic that has a different scope. It is a period film which looks back a lot on the period before success, his childhood, the two wars. His parents were involved in the Resistance networks and were very close to the Manouchians. I was lucky enough to know the great Charles very well, we actually did a duet. And at the time, we had already discussed this project and he endorsed me. But be careful: it’s not an entirely smooth film: we also talk about its flaws, its faults but always this extraordinary will which led it to become a real monument.
On June 21, you will share the bill with Sofiane Pamart and MC Solaar. No change of scenery in sight?
I don’t know Sofiane very well but I have great respect for him. And Solaar, we’ve known each other for a long time. I have absolute respect for his work. He contributed to the reputation of rap. It was softer than NTM or I AM, of which I am an absolute fan. But Solaar opened the way for rap to an older audience. He is one of those super talented poets.
