The most listened to French-speaking artist in the world with Aya Nakamura, Soolking, who sings in French and Algerian Arabic, shares with the interpreter of "Djadja" the refusal to be locked up, geographically or musically.

"My music doesn't really have a national affiliation. My music is a mixture of many cultures, many styles that I have listened to," he told AFP.

Through his duets with Kendji Girac or the Turkish singer Reynmen, via the single "Suavemente", the artist likes to enrich his creations with his multiple inspirations, mixing hip-hop, raï, pop, stadium music and Latin sounds, Eastern or Balkan.

"It amuses me to try lots of delusions, lots of different rhythms", explains Soolking, whose artist name is inspired by a character from the hit manga "One Piece", one of his great passions. .

Algerian singer Soolking, whose real name is Abderraouf Derradji, poses in Paris on June 7, 2022 JOEL SAGET AFP

"At the beginning of my career, I had a bit of this complex, I couldn't go into things that were a little daring. But when there's success behind it, it's confirmation that I wasn't wrong. “, he adds.

A winning recipe that has allowed him to become since "Guérilla", his freestyle (mood note / improvisation, in rap) in the show "Planète Rap" having revealed him to the eyes of the world in 2018, a tube machine international with already two certified platinum albums.

Examples on his counter: the title "Dalida" rose to sixth place in the world top on Deezer, while "Meleğim" and "Zemër" have accumulated almost a billion views on YouTube to date.

"Harraga"

Beyond the festive sounds and its musical richness, his third opus "Sans Visa" refers in almost each of the titles to the life of the "harraga" (literally "the burners"), nickname of the clandestine migrants from the Maghreb who try to reach Europe by sea, for lack of future prospects.

Like an echo of its own history.

Born in Algeria, Abderraouf Derradji, his real name, grew up in the suburbs of Algiers, where he quickly developed his practice of dance and music, despite the difficult context of the dark decade (1991-2002).

Algerian singer Soolking, whose real name is Abderraouf Derradji, poses in Paris on June 7, 2022 JOEL SAGET AFP

If he did not cross the Mediterranean by boat, the artist came in an "irregular" situation to France, where he lived "the life of + harraga +" for a few years.

"Afterwards I succeeded in music and to regularize my situation, but it is my experience", he confides, with modesty.

"I know a lot of people who came to Europe without papers and who today (have succeeded)! They are important, cultured people who bring good to France, and at the same time to their country of origin" , he said.

"We all have this dream of leaving, I too left. But it's suicide to leave that way," he warns.

"In the end, there is no one who will cry for you except your mom and your loved ones".

“Someone had to tell their story,” he insists.

"A lot to offer"

Ahead of his first Olympia in October, Soolking took the next step this spring with a North American tour, which took him from Montreal to Washington via Chicago and New York.

Algerian singer Abderraouf Derradji aka Soolking during a photo shoot in Paris on June 7, 2022. JOEL SAGET AFP

Yet another sign, like the cardboard clips "Disco Maghreb" by DJ Snake or "Territory" by the electro group The Blaze, that it is possible to export the Algerian aesthetic to all continents even "to Macau "?

"Algeria does not only have raï to offer the world. Khaled and Cheb Mami have brought it to the apogee at the world level but we have many more styles, crazy rhythms too, to offer", pleads Soolking.

"I always try to bring this little Algerian thing to make this originality known to the world, he adds. I think it's a strength."

© 2022 AFP