“I met a fan who changed my mindhe explains to us. After a fascinating discussion, he told me: “you can’t wait until 2025. We’re getting impatient, it’s been too long.” Damso listened to this anonymous admirer and took up the challenge by writing, producing and recording I lied in a few weeks. The result exceeds all expectations. Produced in the ICP studios in Ixelles, where he is accustomed, I lied is not a collection of DIY models. It is a powerful work that puts the pyramid of French-speaking rap back in place. With Damso at the top. And the others, all the others, “those who get millions of views” as he sings in I liedthose who pretend and even those who try, all the way down.
How is “I Lied” different from all your previous projects?
“I never ask myself this question before embarking on an album. I’m not particularly looking to offer something different. The writing, the production, the recording… All these phases must above all please me. I’m in the present moment and I never make a comparison with what I created before. What surprised me the most was the speed with which this album was built. I never committed myself. in a project with such an initial intention There was this challenge. to move forward quickly and ultimately it took me in lots of different artistic directions.”
In the album, you mention the conflict in Ukraine, relate a bloody news item, question the relationship with money, chronicle ambient racism or infidelity. Where does this fascination with the vices around us come from?
“The diversity of subjects covered in this album undoubtedly comes from the break I have given myself in recent months. It has allowed me to be confronted with lots of different experiences and to have time to reflect on them. But it’s a good question. Deep down, I don’t believe that my attraction to these themes comes from fascination. For me, it comes from my deep love for it. Other. I spend a lot of time with people. I’m having a discussion, I’m not pretending, I’m listening, I’m interested, I’m remembering, I’m taking notes.”
Your mother is a sociologist by training. To what extent did it open your eyes and allow you to see things differently early on?
“It was she who gave birth to me. It was she who educated me, who spoke to me and to whom I had to listen. I consciously or unconsciously keep her imprint. As a mother and as a sociologist, she undoubtedly played a role a role in my mental construction and in my relationship to the world around me And like many children, at one point I had to “deconstruct” what she had taught me to allow myself to assert myself. as than anyone and to have my own vision of things.”
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In the song “Leave Me Alone,” you say “The life of a black rapper is a daily challenge.” For what ?
“It’s pretty self-explanatory, right? Being Black in this society is already a challenge. So, rapping and being Black…”
The album closes with “La rue est mort” and “Damsautiste”, two tracks where you expose your flaws in broad daylight. Are these the most difficult texts to write?
“Writing a song is never complicated. I love writing, I love playing with words and their meaning. On the other hand, rapping these texts in the studio or in concert is something else. Because, when I rap, I can hear my own voice. And I know the person behind that voice needs consolation and can’t find it.”
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The album is called “I lied” but this story of buying a campervan and leaving far from game rap, was it true?
“I’ve been talking about it for years and I ended up buying this camper van. It was important to me. It’s always been a dream. I’m busy turning it into a studio. The break to leave, I took it too. With or without the campervan, Traveling gave me a taste for authenticity. It allowed me to take a step back and gain perspective. I had to go and meet him. I see things differently and. I’m still learning.”
Is there a place, an encounter or a book that particularly struck you during this break?
“The most enriching moments are the ones I spent with the people who appreciate my Music. We’ll call them “the fans”. Before, these “fans”, I would meet them, we would talk to each other but I was always between two things. Concerts, listening sessions, festivals… It all happened superficially. There I took time to talk, it sometimes lasted for hours and I realized. that behind these “fans”, there were beings humans with their own story and their own feelings and honestly, these encounters completely changed me. If I hadn’t had this particular conversation with a fan, this album would never have seen the light of day.
In French-speaking rap, you feel above the fray. You are not the type, for example, to snitch or clash continuously on social networks. In your texts, on the other hand, there is always this spirit of competition and the desire to justify yourself. For what ?
“When I say in the album “they get millions of views, I make millions of euros” or “fat, you haven’t even realized that they say you rapped better before”it’s a punchline. These are sentences that sting. That’s also rap. It’s a lyrical code, an exercise in style. It should not be seen as a need to justify myself or settle my scores. Besides, I’m not quoting anyone. And when you mention the French-speaking rap scene, it doesn’t mean anything to me. Honestly, I don’t think I’m above the fray. I’m not in the fray at all. I’m not trying to position myself in relation to other rappers. What matters most to me is how I live my own life. She is so unique. I already have enough things to look at at home to spend time watching what’s going on with other rappers.”
Your first mixtape “Waiting Room” was released exactly ten years ago. Are you proud of how far you have come?
“No. It’s my path, that’s all. I followed it and I’m here today. Happy? Yes, I am. But I don’t feel proud of anything.”
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Is music still your priority?
“Looking back, I don’t think music was ever my number one priority. Music did and still does me a lot of good. I really need it. That’s why I devote a large part of my time to her, because I know what she brings to me personally.”
A word about “Try Everything”, your new collaboration with Angèle which appears on “J’ai menti”?
“I had a good production, a good guitar sound and she came to sing. Angèle, she’s like a friend with whom you want to spend a good evening. Except that with Angèle, rather than going at the restaurant to tell each other the latest gossip, we go to the studio and we make music together. There is no calculation, marketing or obligatory stuff. And when we like the sound we made, we do it. fate.”
Damso “I lied” Thirty-Four Centimes
