INTERVIEW
Interview by : Benoit Georges
on Tuesday, June 15th 2004 - 18 120 views
On the occasion of the release of his mixtape on 21 April, we met the formidable veteran DJ Daddy Yod, who offered us two unreleased tracks from his forthcoming album: " Fraîche ".
A forerunner of raggamuffin in France with the sound Youthman Unity (Pablo Master, Supa John, Mickey Mosman...) in the 1980s, Daddy Yod is today the most prolific " survivor " of that period, with six albums. In 2004, the King is still active, with an album in preparation and a mixtape that has just landed in the racks.
Reggaefrance / Hello Daddy Yod, can you introduce yourself?
Daddy Yod / For those who don't know me, I was born under the name Sténard Saint Félix in Gwada. Around the age of 9, I came to France with my mother to join my father. We were housed in the 93. In 2004, you see, we're still in the 93. Then I met Rasta philosophy and reggae music through people such as Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. And with Yellowman, I discovered rub a dub, and that's what made me want to chat on the mic.
What were the first parties you went to in Paris at that time?
Let's say I went to nightclubs very early. It was more to go and swing, in the disco era... But then the reggae parties were at Quai de la Gare, with people such as Pablo Master and Supa John. At the time we had a sound called Youthman Unity; there were Murphy, Mossman... There were groups too: Next Soweto, Savane... The first sound systems: Youthman Unity, Jah Wisedom, King Dragon, and there are others I've perhaps forgotten.
How did the first track you recorded come about?
The first track I recorded was called "Elle n'est pas prête", it's a maxi vinyl. The producer had already recorded Pablo Master's "En a, en i, en o", then he recorded Mosman's "La cocaïne c'est le chemin de la mort", and then he recorded me; it was my first thing. After that came Rapattitude, and then the albums "Redoutable" and "Le king"...
As for Rapattitude, how did that come about? Because with hindsight, that record is often considered a legendary one by quite a few people who started listening to rap or reggae with it.
It came about simply. Well, we were there, the rappers on one side and us coming from reggae on the other. A producer who knew us a little had an idea, he brought us together, and since we were only asking to express ourselves and be listened to... He brought us the project, it thrilled us all, we found ourselves in it, and it turns out that today it has become a classic.
Today in 2004, you are one of the longest-serving toasters still active, you are one of a handful of veterans of the French scene. With hindsight, how do you see these 20 years of the French ragga scene? How would you describe them?
It has matured well. We were right to believe in this thing and to plant that seed which has now become a tree. Back then you had to do rock or rap; we were right to keep believing in our thing and to do it with the means we had, which were the sound systems, the dubplates... Today it has become big business. Personally it makes me happy to see that. Now what would be great is for certain records to come back out, as often happens. Sometimes it's too early, people arrive too early. There are perhaps tracks from that time that should come back out.
You mentioned dubplates. Do you still make dubplates often today? Is it important to you to make them?
I even make more now. Before we didn't make dubplates; today people are ready for it. Today I record loads of dubplates: I recorded some for the championship, I record regularly. All of that is part of the movement. But before, we didn't record as many dubplates, which means it has really caught on. The seed that the Jamaicans planted has since become truly international; it's really done with the traditions, it follows.
What are your plans today?
Today I have a mixtape that should come out for the summer. I also have an unreleased album that we're finishing for the autumn; there should be a single to announce it when the new season starts. I'm doing a few shows like that while waiting for the autumn.
Are these projects self-produced?
The mixtape and the album are self-produced, yeah.
Why did you have the idea of making a mixtape?
It's not because you have a clearly worked-out plan for the media (that you shouldn't do it). Anyway, there's piracy everywhere. So if it's going to be pirated anyway, I'd rather give people a mixtape with things that will perhaps be better worked on the album because it will be on original music. It's good to give people a foretaste, through mixtapes, of what is coming, and to make other artists who aren't known better known. That's exactly the point of dancehall: we're not going to wait for them to open a record company. If I want to make someone known, like the Kouzines or like Admiral Jack Nelson and Lil Jo, and the record company, for one reason or another, doesn't want it, well, it goes on the mixtape and then the public chooses. There's the Internet, there are mixtapes, there are 10,000 ways to keep dancehall and raggamuffin alive without going through these sorts of people who sit there manufacturing things...
To conclude, regarding what you have done with the video clips, "Faut pas taper la doudou" and so on... do you think the best is yet to come, or that your best period is already behind you?
It depends how you look at it. Personally, I know that back then it was a lot of experience; today I know exactly what I want and where I'm going. I know I sing better than before. Now maybe the professionals, some people who are supposedly there to make or break things, think that I was ready before. No, before I was a baby learning to walk, discovering the business, learning to sing in the right keys. Now it happens that sometimes you land at the right moment on the right people, the right things. In the beginning we were ready for dancehall, but people weren't ready, none of the professionals were ready. Today they are ready. But with music, everywhere, the older it gets, the more the wine ages, the better it is. It's not the younger the better, that's an illusion. And maybe that's why they don't even want to sign things any more, because it's too young and then it slips away from them when the whims of the young come, they no longer control it. Things mature. If Bob were here his music would be killer, but maybe people wouldn't be ready for what he'd be doing today.
Finally, do you have a message for the readers of the site and for others?
I give a big up to your site, because once again it helps make sure reggae gets known and isn't filtered. I big up all the artists out there who believe in it.
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