Tonton David - C'est showFRANCE-06/01/2010 // MPP_1.0472 / 2102171046 / Credit: Mathieu Lombard / MPP / SIPA / 2102171049 -
Mathieu Lombard
The artist Tonton David died this Tuesday at the age of 53 from a stroke.
If
Each his own road
is his greatest hit, Uncle David can not be reduced to this title which has dressed the soundtrack of
An Indian in the city
.
How did this raggamuffin pioneer open the doors of French song to urban music?
Each his own route
is undoubtedly his greatest hit.
The title dressed the soundtrack of
An Indian in the City,
a popular comedy which totaled 7,870,802 admissions when it was released in theaters in 1994. But Uncle David, who died on Tuesday at the age of 53 from the sequels of a stroke that occurred when he got off the train at Metz station in the middle of the day on Sunday, was much more: "His voice has brought reggae into popular culture", greeted on Twitter Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of Overseas Wed.
"The
Blues of the scum,
all my youth," posted actor Omar Sy.
How did this raggamuffin pioneer open the doors of French song to urban music?
"A pioneer of raggamuffin and French reggae"
Born in 1967, David Grammont, alias Tonton David, is rocked to the particular rhythm of the Reunionese sega played by his father, Ray, a ballroom musician and employee of La Poste.
His family left Reunion to settle in metropolitan France, and Tonton David grew up in Champigny-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne).
The teenager discovers reggae and the underground world of squats and Parisian sound systems at the end of the 1980s: “I really enjoyed the delirium.
Have your own sound system, organize ourselves without asking anyone for help, have a truck, manage the cash register, promote indie ... I quickly integrated Polino's High Fight with Nuttea and Féfé Typical as deejays main, ”he told Reggae.fr a few years later.
"He is a pioneer of raggamuffin and French reggae", greets Alexandre Grondeau, founder of the Reggae.fr site and lecturer at the University of Aix-Marseille.
He takes the microphone for the first time during an evening organized at the Lasson studio by the Saï Saï.
“We and so many others, like the Sai Sai, were immediately adopted.
He dragged around and learned a lot from them, ”summarizes Papet J, one of the MCs at Massilia Sound System.
One day in January 1989, he called the Mistral Gagnant, the Saint-Etienne club where Massilia Sound System performs: "There, I heard about you and I would like to meet you", launches the young man to the Marseille reggae group .
“He took a train to Saint-Etienne.
We invited him on stage.
He was in what we know how to do, the traditional sound system, where we improvise a version.
That day, he brought something very nice.
It was a nice meeting around the microphone ”, remembers Papet J. He was part of our journey, like us of his.
This is the story of French raggamuffin ”
In 1990, Tonton David posed
Peoples of the World
on the first
Rapattitude
mixtape
alongside rappers NTM, Assassin, Dee Nasty and reggae artists Saï Saï or Daddy Yod.
“
Rapattitude
is a key moment in urban music in France, it is the affirmation of a style and the discovery for the recording industry that urban music can sell a lot,” comments Alexandre Grondeau.
The album has sold 100,000 copies.
"The title was released as a single, and propelled it", summarizes Papet J. The clip of
Peuples du monde
is shot by Mathieu Kassovitz.
The title becomes a hit, to the point of being parodied by Les Inconnus.
"The artistic spokesperson of the districts"
“With this song, Uncle David becomes the artistic spokesperson for neighborhoods and cities in France, and especially for children of immigrant origin.
At the time, rap and reggae often went together, Tonton David had a fundamental role in the affirmation of urban music in French song ”, analyzes Alexandre Grondeau.
For this title, Uncle David borrows an extract from a speech by an activist for the emancipation of black Americans, Marcus Garvey, precursor of Pan-Africanism.
“We cannot be more committed,” observes Alexandre Grondeau.
"Uncle David was in that culture and he emancipated, like many others, the word in this country, like our hip-hop cousins and that left traces in society", abounds Papet J.
A political commitment that he will not let go even when he reaches the Top 50 with the hits
Everyone his way
,
My number One
, or
Sûr et Certain
.
"
An Indian in the city
, that's what people remember and that's normal, but in all his discography [9 albums and a posthumous album?], He remains a visionary artist, in terms of writing, and avant-garde in the political sense of the term, ”says Alexandre Grondeau.
“Uncle David can talk about very tough subjects on songs that are happy.
His story meant that he could not do otherwise ”, greets Spelim, one of the figures of the new generation of French reggae.
"A tutelary figure of urban music"
“For me, it's a good example to follow.
It's a bit like the big brother, or rather someone from the family who shows us the way.
He opened a lot of doors.
It helped bring raggamuffin into the national media, ”continues the artist.
“I don't know a single artist from the new generation who does not fit into this lineage.
You really have to consider Tonton David as a tutelary figure of the French reggae movement like urban music, ”comments Alexandre Grondeau.
"If you look at the history of reggae, there is always a great reverence towards the elders, not because they are old, but because they invented things", analyzes Papet J.
“He toured with the best reggae musicians in France.
In concert, he was sweating good humor.
He made music for fun and it showed.
He was nice to everyone and helped a lot of people by coming to their concerts, ”congratulates Spelim.
And to add: “Uncle David is a fine example of a person inhabited by his music.
"
“Uncle David has always remained in his relationship with others, quite faithful to himself.
He was adorable and not really prepared for show business.
It was not easy for him to be in there.
Even when it had great success, it remained accessible, ”rejoices Alexandre Grondeau.
And to conclude: “In France, in the 1980s there was an image of reggae, it was Bob Marley, and then, in France, there was Tonton David.
"
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Music
Hip-hop
Reggae
Rap