Behind a carriage entrance in the Madeleine district of Paris, Sofiane Pamart waits quietly in the paved courtyard of the restaurant of his friend, chef Akrame Benallal, for an aperitif that he promises will be disruptive: “He is the first Algerian chef to have obtained several Michelin stars, he said proudly. What I like about him is that he breaks the rules a lot. » A bit like him, he slips, insisting on the parallelism between the cuisine that his friend describes as « tradinnovante » and its classical Music, which borrows as much from Chopin as from the strumming chords of gangsta rap masters like Scarface or Dr. Dre.
The “Piano King”, as rappers call him, is also iconoclastic. He first made a name for himself in the rap world, composing for the majority of today's heavyweights, and is the only solo pianist to have filled the Accor Arena in Paris. He also played in the most viewed ceremonies of 2024: the opening of the Olympic Games and that of the Césars, during a tribute to Jane Birkin.
In the very dark decor of the restaurant, the musician comments on the appetizers offered by the waiter and orders an iced tea, with elderflowers and a little ginger. He almost apologizes for not having a glass of wine: “Music is an environment where there is alcohol in abundance. If I don't maintain some discipline, I sink quickly. But I love the culture of wine, the ritual around it: tasting your glass before drinking it, listening to the story around a bottle and understanding the difficulty of producing high quality wines. However, as I am in performance, a bit like an athlete, I cannot afford to drink. This remains very exceptional. »
« In France, I didn’t realize it”
His third album, Eveningwritten during a sold-out tour of Latin America, has just been reissued. To celebrate, the pianist will perform on November 15 in the club located under the Accor Arena, the Phantom – the evening is already sold out – and will have to return to France for the occasion. With the success, Sofiane Pamart, of Ch'ti and Moroccan origins, great-grandson and grandson of miners, left to live in Los Angeles to gain height on his list of achievements: three solo albums, including Planet (2019), certified platinum, and Letter (2022), gold disc. Then there are those composed, among others, with the Belgian rappers Scylla and YG Pablo, the singer Arno, nearly 670,000 copies sold, according to his label. All of his tours in France and Europe have sold 100,000 tickets, enough to make your head spin: “In France, I didn’t realize, I was in the heat of the action. It was in Los Angeles that I really visualized how much my life had truly changed. »
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