ABOU TALL // Interview

It's in the premises of the famous label Wagram Music France that we went to meet the emblematic artist Abou Tall who became known through tracks such as 'Alter Ego', 'Pour Toi' and 'Aime-Moi Demain' featuring Gradur.

He's listened to by thousands of fans who and he decided to highlight those with whom he grew up through his first solo album Ghetto Chic and we can say that he made a flawless one. Coming accompanied by his team, Abou took the time to discuss the project on which he tried to draw his person through sounds worked in the smallest details. Always with a smile on his face, Abou tells us here about the values he holds dear and that he wanted to bring out through his sounds.

Often associated with Dadju with whom he created the group The Shin Sekai which made her visible to the general public, Abou remains above all a fully-fledged artist. Humble and modest, the one who has been raping for more than 10 years has taken the time to speak to us with an open heart. For A Rap & A Cup Of Tea, he went back over the events that marked his career until the birth of his first solo project Ghetto Chic.

When did you realize you were meant to be in music? Was there a trigger ?

I don't think there was really a click where I said to myself "I'm made for music" because I've always done it out of passion. But I do remember at one point I thought I really liked what I was doing, it was the first part of the Sexion d'Assaut with The Shin Sekai at the Nîmes Arena. It was in 2013 I think.

How would you describe your peculiarity in French Rap to an English-speaking audience that wants to discover you?

I think my music is eclectic. I listen to many types of music and I think you can feel it in my sounds. I make music with really varied influences whether it's inspired by Rap or French variety. In my projects you don't usually get bored. (laughs)

Talking about your first album Ghetto Chic, can you tell me more about the meaning behind its name?

It's an album that's really important to me because it's the first one, and I wanted to create something that's close to the person I am. I grew up in the center of Paris in the 9th arrondissement. It's a fairly popular neighbourhood but I didn't have the same social status as the people who lived there and that's why I decided to call this project "ghetto chic". We were quite a few young people in the same situation and naturally got closer to each other around the same common passion which is Rap.

In this album, there are themes that stand out more than others such as love and betrayal. There's even a song called 'Rue De La Traitrise' and in the sound 'Paris Centre' you say "Betrayal is always a local product, I'm less suspicious of my enemies than of those who call me 'Mate'." Sounds like an important theme for you...

It's true that I talk a lot about this theme but I think it's also mostly disappointment that I'm talking about here. Whether in friendship or in love, we are sometimes disappointed in people... These are things that I have been through and that can mark a person and in which people also recognize themselves. It was important for me to talk about my personal experience, so much the better if it resonates in people's hearts.

You obviously evoke Dadju in 'Paris Centre' by saying: "I can hear them thinking "Yo Abou, tell me again how it feels / Aren't you jealous, aren't you hurt / Since Dadju left you?". Is a question you've often been asked?

Yes it's true that people are quite curious about it because they saw us create our group and evolve together and now they see us separate. Of course they want to know. (laughs) By saying that, I wanted to clarify things and say that nothing has moved between him and me and that we continue to make music together.

The other important theme of this album is love as in 'Mona Moore' and 'Cadenas' in feat with Dadju. How did you manage to find the perfect balance between such different themes?

It's funny you say that because I've never analyzed things that way. (laughs) I think it's a good representation of who I am because I can be as full of love as I am of resentment. So that balance came naturally, I think.

It was important for me to talk about my personal experience, so much the better if it resonates in people's hearts.

Writing seems to be something really important to you, you can feel it in each of your titles that you've put your heart into it and that the turns of phrase are well thought out. Is writing an outlet for you ?

I've always been immersed in the culture of Rap, so writing and music go hand in hand. So yes, writing is an outlet just like music. I try to deliver myself through my sounds and above all I try to do it well by putting forms into it. It sounds old-fashioned to say that but I come from the old generation of Rap and before, writing was something really important and it's a standard that I decided to keep in my sounds.

Are you someone who writes a lot of basic writing?

To tell you the truth, I'm not really someone who likes to write in the studio. I prefer to write at home or outside, but on the other hand, I take my mind off what I write. I'm able to take four hours to write two lines. (laughs)

There's something I find strong in this album too, that you show that money dazzles people. You say it in 'Ghetto Chic' with "We live in a world where we take money as a prophet" and "Is calling me my brother adequate when you spend the equivalent of my mother's salary in a club?". Can you tell me more about that ?

In all sincerity, money has never made you happy. And yet, there is a real paradox in running after money without finding happiness in it. Whether it's the Rap scene or the current generation, it seems that this quest for money is a real obsession... You know, I was brought up in a religious Senegalese family far from opulence and appearance. But besides that, I also grew up in Paris and here we have a taste for beautiful things... (laughs) Life is full of paradoxes like this one.

There is a song more melancholic than the others and which can even be read as a poem is 'Rat Des Villes'. It's a terribly touching sound...

I think it's one of the sounds that best represents the album. I don't necessarily talk about myself on this track but rather about childhood in general. When you grow up feeling different from the people around you, it's sometimes difficult and you can quickly feel excluded. And that's exactly the feeling I tried to highlight: the childhood's issues.

What made you want to go back to Jacques Dutronc's 'J'aime Les Filles' in 'Je Veux De Toi'?

I find that in French Rap, we don't really sample such important songs from the French musical heritage and I found it interesting to do so. When I listened to this music again, everything was clear in my head and I already knew how I wanted to create this song. I think that with the title 'La Clé' it was one of the strongest studio sessions I've ever done because I thought: "You're reusing music from a French variety myth, you can't miss it". So you concentrate twice as much to do something good but in the end it's a great experience.

I come from the old Rap generation and before, writing was something really important and it's a standard that I decided to keep.

In the feats we find Dadju and artists such as Lefa and S.Pri Noir with whom you have already collaborated before. Is it important for you to collaborate with those who are part of your close circle?

It's true that it's easier to make music with people you know. But in this case, it's mostly because they are people who grew up in the same context as me and whose universe is similar to mine and to the "ghetto chic" spirit of this album. It's not my fault if my friends are known and seriously dazzling. (laughs) In reality, they were the best representatives of what I wanted to do in this album.

Looking back on your career now, what was your best moment?

You really want me to tell you? It's the release of this album. It wasn't easy to release it, it took a long time, it was a lot of work in real life. With my team, it took time and investment, but to be able to do a project from scratch and present it to the world when it's finished, it's an incredible feeling. It's like my first baby, you know? (laughing)

Instagram: @AbouTall09

Words © Fanny Hill Scott // Photography © Fifou