INTERVIEW
The rap group from Marseille IAM out Yasuke , a new album in which we can find themes dear to IAM: politics, racism, injustice, and poverty. The title of this new record set the tone since Yasuke is the name of a slave snatched from Mozambique in the sixteenth century, and became a samurai in Japan. In this opus composed of 16 tracks, the artistic collaborations rain down but one of them passed a little unnoticed. That of Yanis, a young rapper of 24, who is none other than the son of Akhenaton. The latter, accompanied by his sidekick Shurik'n, told this collaboration at the microphone of Matthew Christmas, Tuesday.
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"I'm waiting for the day he's coming to tell me, 'Dad, listen to my songs'"
The special guest of "Once upon a time" is "arrived at the last minute, I would never have suggested it myself because it's hard to invite your own son to the piece," says Akhenaton. "It's Kephren, one of his tontons, who suggested putting Yanis on because we tell our story and our vision of hip-hop, what we've been through," says the rapper who explains that Kephren wanted to invite new generation. Akhenaton emphasizes: "My son is rap, but he never said he was my son." He adds with a laugh: "but there suddenly ... he will be well noticed."
The rapper admits that he has never been able to listen to his son's songs. "He does his thing on his side, I've always told him, 'You'll make me listen when you're ready.' He told me 'Godfather and you, you're big names in rap, I'm not ready' ", says Akhenaton, who does not hide a certain desire to discover the work of his son:" I'm waiting for the day he will come and tell me: 'Dad, listen to my songs' ".
"I really do not want to push him or slow him down"
He claims, however, never to have sought to attract his son to the world of rap. "Whether it is him or my other children, I push them to absolutely nothing, I just tell them that you have to give yourself the means to live your dreams," says Akhenaton. "For him, rap is everything, he is passionate about the culture of this music," says the rapper, who says: "sometimes he makes me discover bands, we talk about music, he has passion and I I really do not want to push him or slow him down, I want him to do what he likes and be happy. "
Shurik'in, who is also Yanis's godfather, went to listen to the young rapper's tracks. He could not agree more with Akhenaton: "Life, you have to live it, not to endure it, and for that, you have to give yourself the means to live it, otherwise the others will decide for you".