The 45-year-old rapper comes out Supreme love on January 24. In an interview with AFP, he talks about his patriotism, his love for his two children and says he is not a feminist, and does not « have the pretension to teach life to the one who gives it ».
Under his air of an old rap sage with skillful rhyme, Youssoupha addresses in Supreme love some recommendations to the younger generations, keen to leave them a « light trace » without denying the struggles that forged it. Considered one of the most brilliant lyricists in French rap, the 45-year-old artist stands out with a longevity that takes nothing away from his technique.
The proof with this seventh album with afrobeats sounds, available Friday. If the lyrics are less aggressive than in his beginnings, the fruit of his immigrant adolescence « in a public housing project in 95 »the nib remains sharp. And passion, « always lively »led him to reunite with his audience, on a tour already underway.
In 13 songs, you draw up your own assessment between maturity and lucidity. Why this need ?
Youssoupha : We have fewer judgments, fewer certainties, about people and things. We see ourselves evolving, questioning ourselves, leaving. My life 20 years ago is no longer the life it is today. So my rap changed.
You talk about your departure from France for Ivory Coast in 2016. Looking back, how do you view this choice? ?
My speech, where I said « I’m going there for my peace of mind and a better quality of life »it didn’t “match” at all with the image that people have of Africa. My quality of life is better. What is more new is that by leaving France, I perhaps realized that I loved this country. My attachment to France was real but perhaps, in the annoyance of a young black man from the suburbs, where we deal with everyday struggles, I didn’t have the time to reveal that.
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When did you realize it? ?
What has been happening in the country in recent years affects me. I feel attached to my compatriots. In fact, I realize that I am French.
What worries you ?
I have never discovered diversity as much as in France. Now, we are breaking up (dividing) people, we are rejecting them based on their beliefs, their color, their cultural identity, by wanting to create a kind of French standard that doesn’t really exist. So much mediocrity for a country that can inspire so much greatness, I find it offbeat.
After My king for your son, you dedicate God is great to your daughter. Sacred title !
-Being a woman, anywhere on Earth, is not trivial. I couldn’t make a song that says « My queen, you are beautiful and you are cute » because when we said that, we didn’t say anything. This formula came to mind because I knew it would make men uncomfortable. Besides, since the song was released, they have been saying: « The title, it is blasphemous, how, God in the feminine ? ». Like what, there really was a subject
Youssoupha – God is great (excerpt from Supreme Love )
Claim your responsibility for writing a feminist song ?
I wanted something that was dedicated to my daughter but that, generally speaking, broke a kind of domination that is insidiously placed in women’s heads. On the validity of their thinking, their intelligence, on the complex on their body. But I don’t feel like I’m a feminist. I am a man who grew up with stereotypes of men. But I stopped pretending to teach life to the one who gives it.
Can we call you deconstructed? ?
Under construction! You have to see me in a football stadium, I become very, very stupid again. So: deconstruction not completed. My daughter and my son will be better than me.
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Is heritage the common thread of the album? ?
I’ve given up on being perfect because that’s dead. On the other hand, I am not giving up on transmission. I really want us to not only focus on our struggles and what may have caused us to suffer, but also on what can elevate us. We can pass it on to others who come later. That way, they will rise faster and higher than us.
Youssoupha – Supreme Love (The Movie)