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Kery James’s writing workshops
Hip-hop as school support
Paris
15/02/2008 -
"Yeah, I know all about promo!" Kery James announces before turning round and devoting his attention to the dozen young rappers from Marseilles and Salon-de-Provence who have turned up to his writing workshop at La Friche la Belle de Mai. Kery James, the militant hip-hop man who regularly ranks as no.1 in the rap ‘street charts’, is not on his first tour of France’s hip-hop bastions. In the past, James set out along exactly the same route with Idéal J and with Mafia K1fry, the hip-hop collective whose latest album, Jusqu’à la mort, recently went gold without the slightest exposure in the mainstream media. And then, of course, there were the two promotional tours for his own solo albums, Si c’était à refaire (in 2001) and Ma Vérité (in 2005).
But Kery James’s current tour is not simply an exercise in customer ‘aftersales’. Hitting the road in the run-up to the release of his new album, James is on a mission to promote his association ACES (Apprendre, Comprendre, Entreprendre et Servir - Learn, Understand, Undertake and Serve). “When the time came to get back out on the road prior to the release of my new album,” he says, “which, incidentally, we still haven’t got an official name for, I knew I wanted to do things a bit differently. Rather than simply doing a series of concerts to promote my new songs, I told my record label I wanted to take advantage of the tour and hook up on a half-day-basis with the new generation of ‘mike addicts’, organising writing workshops and telling people about my association. ACES aims to provide extra-curricular support for primary school kids in the suburbs. We want to help these kids develop a sense of self-esteem and teach them how to relativise the obstacles they’re going to meet along the way. Our motto is 'No-one is doomed to failure!’ “
James, who explains that ACES also provides financial aid to students from poorer backgrounds who wish to go on to higher education, says, “We’re a totally independent organisation. The only support we have comes from our official patrons who are famous sports people (like footballer Lilian Thuram), music stars (including female rapper Diams and slam artist Grand Corps Malade) and company directors (such as Malamine Koné, the head of Airness) who come from these sort of neighbourhoods and are sensitive to the work we’re trying to do there. We didn’t set out to try and replace the National Education system. Extra-curricular support for pupils already exists in most establishments. What we’re trying to do is get young people to realise the opportunities education can give them. And, frankly, who better to talk to these kids than sports stars or musicians, who often didn’t take their own education very far themselves?”
James’s record label, Warner, endorsed their militant rapper’s project, judging that in the current industry climate there would be no harm in mixing classic promotional press interviews with the rapper’s ‘fieldwork’ where he could come into close contact with fans. A dozen young hopefuls signed up for James’s workshop in Marseilles, hosted by Mix Evolution 13 (an association set up by a local artist, DJ Rebel). But there was only one female participant, Samia, a young Marseillaise preparing to release her debut R&B album later this year. Kery James kicked off proceedings by briefly outlining the rules of engagement. “OK,” he announced, “We’re going to start off with the lyrics, spending half-an-hour or so putting pen to paper. You’ll have a bit of an instrumental intro to set you off – and then you’re going to pick up your mikes one by one and present what you’ve come up with!”
Professor Kery James
“So, who wants to go first?” asked Professor James once the budding songwriters’ time was up. The apprentice MCs squirmed in their seats, then one bold rapper suggested “Ladies first!”, acknowledging his own sudden bout of nerves, obviously shared by most of the other participants. “Well, you’re all going to take a turn!” James insisted, his eyes roaming the room before he decided “OK, let’s start with you!” The ‘you’ in question turned out to be Kams, a young hopeful from Salon-de-Provence who had turned up with his mates from Ministère des Affaires du Ghetto, a posse who began working together at a local youth club around a year ago. In his lyrics, Kams claimed he “prefers sign language” to ordinary words, but he managed to put on an impressive performance nevertheless. And at the end of his performance, James noted that “Kams has just set the standard very high indeed!”
Kams was a hard act to follow, but young Fayce gave it his best shot. Afterwards, Professor James analysed his lyrical flow, noting “OK, I like your idea of words ‘galloping out of control.' It’s good, but I think you have to dig a bit deeper now and develop around that, see what other images might fit in, like comparing yourself to a jockey maybe…” “Or a disc-jockey!” chimed in one previously timid soul who had suddenly gained a bit of assurance. By the end of the workshop all the participants had taken a turn at the microphone as James had promised, some of them opting for a cappella versions of their work, but most fitting their lyrics neatly over the proposed intro. And, at the end of the session, James admitted he had got as much out of the experience as his young pupils. “There’s a freshness and spontaneity about them, a certain audacity sometimes, too. And that can put me on a new track. Being the one in the teacher’s role, the one who ‘knows it all’ makes you question what you do actually know and formalise things so you can teach them in an empirical way. This is always a stimulating experience for me.”
Kery James & Charles Aznavour
Meanwhile, fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Kery James’s new opus, due out at the end of March. The rapper claims that his new album, principally produced by Kilomaître (aka Tefa and Masta) and James himself, is “eclectic but coherent.” What we can reveal for now is that the next Kery James opus is a full-on hip-hop affair featuring a number of totally unformatted tracks. Many of the songs on the album run between 7 and 8 minutes in length without the slightest hint of a verse-chorus structure. Banlieusards (reminiscent of Coolio’s Gangsta’Paradise) and 6,57 are already firm favourites on rap fans’ MP3 players.
James is keeping his cards close to his chest for the moment, but he is willing to talk about one of the tracks on his new album, L’Impasse. “It’s actually the framework of a feature film, a sort of rap opera we’re planning to shoot next year with the Bonne Pioche team,” he says, “The theme is closely linked to what we’re trying to do with ACES. It’s basically the story of this young rap artist from Choisy-le-Roi who wants to give up school, and we project what his life will be like if he does that.” James reveals that a number of guest stars are due to join him in the studio, namely slam artist Grand Corps Malade, his friends from the Mafia collective and legendary French ‘chanson’ star Charles Aznavour. “We’re hooking up with Aznavour to record tomorrow, in fact,” James says, “But I can’t say any more than that for now.” Looks like there’ll be a major surprise in store for all of us when the next Kery James opus hits record stores!
06/05/2005 -
