ELGranDetoto 39
It's impossible to talk about Moroccan Rap without mentioning the name of ElGrandeToto who's one of the biggest leaders of Hip-Hop in North Africa. So we met the one who started from the bottom to end up in the top 4 worldwide YouTube trends. As his name suggests, Toto has all the makings of a great rapper and for A Rap & A Cup Of Tea, he goes into detail about his career and his dazzling ascension. This young rapper from Casablanca talks about his ambitions and the trials he went through to get there. Since the release of his first album Caméléon, released this month and featuring some of the biggest names of French Rap, Taha - his real name is living a childhood dream and that's what he came to tell us. Why did you choose ElGrandeToto as your name, what does it mean to you? It's a long story. (laughs) There was a dealer in my building named Toto. My apartment was next to his so automatically I was his little Toto, you see. I used to hang out with his little brothers a lot and since my name is Taha, it also started with a T like Toto. Then El Grande was because at some point he stopped doing stupid things and that's when I started music. So I took his place some way, but in a "softer" way, you know what I mean? I thought it was a stylish name too. Let's go back to the beginning of your career, when did you realize that you were made for Rap ? I'd say it was the day I went on stage at the Boulevard Festival in Casablanca. There were 20,000 people there that day and my parents were also there in the audience. I think that's when I understood that I was really made for Rap and not for anything else. You often talk about the street in your texts as for example in "La Rue" feat Maestro. Can you tell me more about your relationship with the street? At the time, I was always hanging out in the streets. It's the first school of life you know? As Soso Maness says, "Hanging out in the streets doesn't make you a thug". That's not what makes us bad people. The street is an outlet that has helped us escape our problems, it has welcomed us with open arms. I could never have been a rapper without the streets, nor could I have been the person that I am today. What does inspire you musically speaking? I listen to a lot of French Rap. I started with Ärsenik and Assassin but now, I really listen to everything that's out on the rap scene. I'm not someone who is going to stay "hooked" to a generation. Whenever there is a new release, I listen directly. I also have other inspirations like reggae for example. I'm open to everything, I'm not "stuck" in a particular genre.
