Marseille (AFP)

In a popular city like Marseille, the marriage between the music of the people, rap, and the sport of the people, football, is "made to last", according to rapper Sat the Artificer, who tells AFP this story of love.

Q: Why is there such a strong link between OM and rap?

A: "Because Marseille is a very popular city, and football is the popular sport par excellence, as rap is popular music par excellence, and today the most listened to music in France. The two bring together a great number of people beyond social, economic, religious or political cleavages. And then Marseille, we are not going to lie, is a city with a lot of wealth, but also very poor neighborhoods, it is a breeding ground for rap . "

Q: The club also turned to rappers from the city ...

A: "We must recognize this merit at OM. Whoever the leaders and the teams in charge of comm ', they have always had this open-mindedness to go towards artists. Other clubs do not have not dared to cross this course. For example the late president Pape Diouf (recently deceased from the coronavirus, editor's note) had given the keys to the Vélodrome stadium in Soprano (for a clip, editor's note) .More recently there are the OM Sessions: all month a local artist, and not necessarily a star, on the contrary, is highlighted on the platforms of OM. "

Q: Do all rappers from Marseille support OM?

A: "How to avoid it (laughs)? We all have a great love for this club, we have it in my skin. I have been going to the Vélodrome since I was very young, at a time when we could go to the stadium without paying (laughs), and 40 years later we continue to watch all the matches. And it's nice to see that the club, to a certain extent, identifies with us. OM remains a symbol of power, of wealth, even if it is not as rich as other clubs, and has hooked atoms with artists who, them, represent for many a poor, abandoned, abandoned Marseille.It is a marriage made to last. "

Q: Is rap a pride of Marseille like OM?

A: "What gave the Marseillais one of their greatest pride? It was often OM, the titles, the Bernard Tapie era, the Champions League 1993 ... until, unfortunately , the legal disputes which led OM to L2. And this coincided with the explosion of Marseille rap. When OM could no longer play the leading roles, IAM released their first albums, with notably, in gestation, + The school of micro money +, the biggest success in the history of rap in France. Our first album, the Fonky Family, was a success too, then in this movement appear other groups like 3rd Eye, Faf Larage, the collective Def Bond, there is also the soundtrack of the film Taxi ... "

Q: At that time, did rap take over from OM?

A: "There you go. For a few years, Marseille is no longer the capital of football but the capital of rap, and we are keeping our candy in Paris, with our means. The Marseillais were proud of their football club, and suddenly they are also proud of their artists and identify with them. I experienced that, when we gave concerts in France, there were movements of fans, like those of the ultras. As OM went up to play face at PSG, there it was the FF who went up to Paris to play at the Olympia! Our audience was wearing OM scarves! "

Interview by Emmanuel BARRANGUET

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