There are days when circumstances make it necessary to talk about a specific subject. That is the role of the journalist to cover current events and anticipate potential questions from his readers. With the recent release of the excellent documentary DJ Mehdi: Made in France on arte.tv and the musical appearance of Rim’K in front of the Arc de Triomphe to celebrate the end of the Olympic Games, you are entitled to ask yourself: “But why isn’t ‘Tonton du bled’, this song that we’ve been hearing everywhere at the moment and for so long, where I want to listen to it, that is to say on streaming platforms?” So we give you some possible answers.
Let’s first quickly go back over the crazy story of this title and its repercussions. An iconic piece, it is one of Rim’K and DJ Mehdi’s biggest hits. “Tonton du bled” comes from the album The Princes of the City. An indisputable classic from the group 113 (Rim’K, Mokobé and AP). This album was released in 1999 and won two Victoires de la Musique: Best Rap Album and Best New Album. If we had to keep just one track from this album, it would surely be “Tonton du bled”, for its success, but not only that.
This piece is a true anthem, witness to an era and an important marker of an immigrant youth who grew up between France and their country of origin, in this case, Algeria. “bled”often visited during the holidays, a well of culture and memories, which Rim’K describes precisely:
“I’m on the beach at Boulémat with my zinc and his derbouka
In the hand a glass of Selecto imitation Coca
A layer of Zit-Zitoun on the body and arms
With my post on a background of Zahouania“
In addition to all this, the song is a true tribute to the sounds of the Maghreb, DJ Mehdi opens new possibilities with these sounds still rarely heard (if ever) in French rap of the time, proof that he too can have his own identity. Through the documentary DJ Mehdi: Made in Francewe discover a good part of the history of this title, like its creation after Rim’K brought back to DJ Mehdi a pile of traditional Algerian records belonging to his family in order to find THE perfect sample and that’s where things get stuck first.
The melody around which the piece is built is taken from a CD. It is the raï title “
Since then, it seems that this matter has been put back in order with the help of big checks. And yet, “Tonton du bled”, just like the album The Princes of the Cityis still not uploaded to the platforms. How can this be explained? For Mouv’, Raphaël Da Cruz explained in an article that it would be a “contractual impasse”repeating the words of Karim Thiam in The ABC of Sound which explained a very annoying puzzle after the album’s license ended in 2009 with Sony. It was then impossible to extend it due to the bankruptcy of two structures: Double H and Alariana. “It was therefore removed from the platforms. And even if case law indicates that the masters then rightfully belong to the artists, there remains a whole series of parties with whom to contract. Since no one takes the initiative, the album has not been available for ten years.”explained Karim Thiam.
Several promises have since been made regarding the upcoming release of this album on platforms but, for the moment, nothing. This is how Raphaël Da Cruz named The Princes of the City, “the ghost of a sovereign with a glorious reign”. Concerning “Tonton du bled”, even if the song is no longer supposed to exist legally, it continues to live with a rare force in the minds of the public and artists. No doubt that with all this recent news around DJ Mehdi and the song, things should speed up in order to see this song and its album available on streaming platforms as soon as possible.
