INTERVIEW : BRAHIM
Interview by : Benoit Collin
Pictures by : Nicolah Martin
on Sunday, September 20th 2009 - 10 039 views
It took 10 years to hear Brahim again. After a first opus praised by the scene, "Dans quel monde on vit" in 2000, the artist from Tours returned only this year with a new project.
The trials, the hard times, have not disillusioned him. On the contrary, he is determined to follow imperturbably his own road, and only his: « I try not to sound like anyone, to have my own sound and my own words ». And still on the road, then. « I'm a nomad, that's how I see life », he confides. And in fact, he arranges to meet us in a railway station.
Reggaefrance / You learned your trade in sound system, with Wadada Sound between 1989 and 1995. What memories do you keep of it?
Brahim / It was a good time, where I learned everything on the job. It was also the beginning of raggamuffin in France, which was starting to develop. And as in any scene, when it begins, it's always a golden age: it's new, fresh, exciting... Even if we had no cash, were in the shit, struggling... I have very good memories of it.
Musically, how did you go from MC to solo artist?
Naturally, since I was already writing lyrics before working with Wadada. Joining the crew allowed me to learn. But I've always written, and at the end of Wadada, I put out my solo project.
That project is "Dans quel monde on vit", which came out in 2000. How did the project come together?
"My first record company was Inca Music, a small label that had money, but no longer exists. It allowed us to record at Jet Star, with great musicians. Yovo and Giovanni produced the album. It was a great experience, it allowed me to perform, right up to today.
 Quand je parle, c’est ma réalité. (...) je n’ai pas la vie d’un Jamaïcain, et lui n’a pas la mienne. 
The album was very well received...
People often tell me how much they loved that album. On the net, I see covers of J'entends les cris... It's gratifying. It was one of the first albums with well-constructed lyrics, because up to then, there was a lyrics problem in reggae and dancehall, it was a bit folkloric. And when that's the case, you can't go far. Even today, it's still sometimes the problem. Some lyrics stop you from going further.
What do you think of Jamaican music today?
I don't want to sound like an old man, but I have the impression that instead of going upwards, it's evolving in a more simplistic direction, and the lyrics are not up to scratch. Today, especially at the level of what's called new roots, there has to be a change, it's too formatted. There's some very good stuff coming out too; the Germans may not be Jamaicans but they've done good work. Music is a bit like everything in this world: fast food. It standardises things.
And in France?
The definition of reggae is one step forward, two steps back (laughs). It's sad to say, but that's how I see it. In France, reggae remains rather folkloric. For me, lyrics are one of the keys. You have to deliver a message that resembles us, in our French reality. We don't live in Jamaica. When I speak, it's my reality. I've never been to Jamaica, that tells you something. I don't have a Jamaican's life, and he doesn't have mine. Lots of people in the estates recognise themselves in French rap. That's because the artists speak well about their reality. There could be plenty of people who recognise themselves in French reggae or dancehall.
It took you 10 years to release your second album. What happened?
It was long, complicated... That album should have come out in 2005 at a push. We had problems making it, distributing it... We waited for promises from people that never materialised.
What changed on the album in the meantime? Does the album that came out resemble the album you made five years ago?
No. It's funny to say but no. I don't like boring myself. I like to evolve and change. My base is reggae, I grew up with this music and nobody is going to teach me what it is. I like bringing in other things, like my soul influences, a music I listen to as much as reggae. If I had to define my style it would be a mix between Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Bounty Killer, Sizzla... It's a mix of all that in the end.
Between your two albums, you still had visibility on several compilations or riddims...
Dis l'heure 2 Ragga, Purple Thing... Décidemment with Straïka did well too. All that meant I could keep playing in sound systems, do a few dubplates... and live my life as an artist.
Did you think about giving up?
I had doubts: "always on the road, with my sorrows and my doubts"... that says what it says. But it's stronger than me, I don't know how to do anything else. I'm 36 and I've always made music, I've always written. I have the flame, thank God, and if I stopped music, I'm afraid the flame that drives me would go out...
Is music also a personal fulfilment?
Of course. I'm an artist, I have an artist's soul. I say it often, because it's in me. If I don't do this, I'm a dead man. I'm not trying to be a superstar, but doing what I love and making a living from it is what fulfils me.
Do you have artists who serve as role models?
The artists I like have strange lives, they're mostly artistic examples, as for how they manage their careers... All I know is that in music, you have to be well surrounded.
What's on your turntables today?
I'm a big consumer of music, which means I can put on a Sizzla, a Jacques Brel, an Al Green, a really hardcore Capleton, a really lovers Marvin Gaye... I listen to a lot of music.
Are you happy with the result of the album?
Yes, I'm proud of it. I'm getting good feedback, I like it when people tell me "it's different". For me, deserving credit means people telling me they can feel that I want to do my own thing. After that, people either love you or they don't, but I'll have had the merit of developing my style, without trying to copy this person or that one.
Now that a page has been turned, what are your plans?
I'd like to put together a more danceable album. I already have plenty of other tracks.
What advice would you give to a young artist who's struggling?
To stay yourself, whether it works or not. It's the only way to be proud when you look back one day. If it's to succeed and make rubbish... for me, that's not succeeding. Succeeding is fulfilling yourself.
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