8 minute read
DENZO // Interview
Thanks to this wonderful album that allows Denzo to enter the Rap Game by the big door, the latter surprised everyone by offering his fans a first album both touching and fabulous. Although Denzo shook up our assumptions with a rich and diversified project ranging from bangers - in which we know he is unstoppable - to summer hits and genuine songs written with an open heart, the young 20-year-old artist has set the bar very high.
Humble, sincere and honest, the rapper who grew up in Grigny (91) in the suburbs of Paris, didn't hesitate to speak candidly to A Rap & A Cup Of Tea about the competition that exists in the Rap industry today and his desire to share - the very essence of Rap in his eyes.
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As he says in his song "Parolier" (Lyricist), "Dans le terter je suis le parolier" (In this hood, I'm the lyricist) and one must admit that he knew how to successfully describe the environment in which he grew up, the same environment that gave him the desire to get out of it in life. Resourceful and ambitious, Denzo speaks about his beginnings in music until the rise of his first album, a real "Pépite".
I want to know everything, how did you start in the Rap world?
I started with a group called 3GC, when I was 13 years old and now I'm 20 years old so I've been rapping for 7 years. Well you know at first, I wasn't serious about it... (laughs) I was just rapping and goofing around with my friends. When they decided to stop, I chose to continue. It was hard at the beginning before my producers joined me on my projects, because I had to pay for everything myself. The studio, my videos, etc.. And then I met the people who are now my producers. They're the big guys from my neighborhood. From there, we created our label Royal Music and one thing leading to another, we got signed and it allowed us to release our first album in July.
Was it hard to pay for your own songs when you were younger?
Yes it was hard because I had to do it on my own. I had to write the lyrics, get the money to take an Uber to the studio, I had to pay for my own clothes, I had to eat every day, you know? I really had to do everything.
Right, and at what point did you realize that you wanted to pursue Rap Music and nothing else, even if it was hard doing it?
Well, I used to play football and I was good at it too. But I saw that there were many talented people in this field. Rap was such a passion that I ended up giving up football. That's really when I knew that I wanted to pursue only Rap music, that was all I had in mind.
I also heard that you were inspired by the rappers from Grigny while growing up...
Yeah it's true that they inspired me. What they tell us in their lyrics, it was really what we were living and what was happening. A lot of things are happening in Grigny and they found the right words to describe every single detail. And personally, I was really inspired by that. You know, there are a lot of rappers there, but what was good about them is that each of them had his own flow and his own style. We, the guys from Grigny, have to have something unique to stand out from the others and to have our own style. Besides, among these rappers, there were my cousins, my uncles... Sooner or later, I knew I was gonna start rapping, you know?
We already saw you with Koba LaD more than a year ago on the featuring "Y'a Les Porcs". It was obvious for you that he was going to be present again on your project in the song "Tout Dedans". Can you tell me more about your bond with him?
First of all, I know him. Koba is a guy from the 91 department like me, he comes from Evry and so I watched him grow, you know? I was always sending him messages to congratulate him for what he achieved because I know where he comes from. And he always appreciated that about me. He also was always humble enough to congratulate me and support me. He gives me strength and he knew that I was going to produce an album, so he came and saw me and that's how it happened. It's true that there's a good chemistry between us.
The music video is insane and is based on movie posters. How did you get the idea?
Actually, it's my director Omar Piechurski & Gary Song who had this idea in mind for some time and since I trust him with everything, I went with the idea. It turned out great and it's a music video that everybody likes, I'm really happy!
Coming back to your new project, can you tell me more about the meaning of its name "La Pépite"?
The name, I already had it in mind and when we produced the intro of the album, the first sentence had to reflect the rest of the project. And the first sentence is "La pépite doit sortir de l'ombre pour briller" (The nugget must come out of the shadows to shine) and for me, this line sums up the project the best. Because for me, Grigny is a dark place where a lot of things happen. And in this dark place, there is a little gold nugget called Denzo who has to come out of there to shine, you know what I mean? I have to represent my neighborhood, it's important to me.
We feel that this project is about songwriting... What's the main inspiration for your texts?
It's my life, the questions I ask myself, my choices, my doubts, my anger... All those things that really affect me. Like for example in "Allo" when I say: "Il y a des millions de morts au Congo, l'ordre donné par les blancos." (Millions of black people are killed in the Congo, on the orders of white people.)
Is there an ultimate message you wanted to convey with this project?
The desire to succeed. I think that's my primary message, I want to encourage people to want to succeed. Because nobody is doomed to fail, nobody. Everybody has to succeed, no matter what you do. Success is not necessarily about having millions of euros, it's just about being fulfilled in what you do.
There are also great featurings on this project like with Ronisia, Bramsito, Jok'Air or Ferre Gola. How did these collaborations happen?
First of all, big up to these artists because they really helped us with the project, and it's a pleasure. Basically, for me, Rap is all about sharing. I'll tell you the truth, even before I made my first million views, I thought things were really like: "I'm going to get into the Rap industry, I'm going to make feats with everyone because I like the idea of sharing." But as time went by, I realized that not everyone had the same mentality as me and that some people like to play it solo and that put me off a bit. But I was able to collaborate with a lot of people and rappers like Dalton, we were in the same group before and he was always supportive. It's mainly a matter of meeting the right people and the right feeling, you know?
Do you feel that there's competition in the Rap scene?
Of course there is! But that's something that rappers tend to hide. I prefer honest people. I'm a sincere person and I have a hard time with people who lie in their speech. Don't portray yourself in interviews or in your music as someone you are not. If you're a competitive person, show it, there's no point in lying. There are a lot of people who are in the spotlight and who wait for the others to be in the spotlight too to collaborate, you know what I mean? We're still the same guys from the hood. Before you reached the top, it was guys like us who gave you the strength and talked about you to everyone, in every neighborhood, to help you make it. God knows I'm not envious of anyone, I'm happy for everyone who made it in music. But unfortunately for some people when you mention a feat it's like you're trying to double-cross them because they're so competitive...
Your song "Mama Léa" is very moving... It must have been difficult to expose yourself in this way?
The recording in the studio was a moment that really struck me. Everyone was quiet in the studio, the sound engineer and SNK were there, he was the one who created the instrumental and the topline, and he told me to unleash myself on this track... I think I'll remember it forever. If you listen closely, you can almost hear me crying because it's such a powerful song.
There is a beautiful mix in this project between more ambient and urban songs like "Paris Tanger", "A2" or even mellower ones like "C'est Comme Ça" and "Je Dois"... Was it intentional or did you do it unconsciously?
It was all planned, I didn't want to create a project with repeated sounds. I don't like to make songs that sound the same. I'm Congolese, I know I can master any kind of sound. (laughs) I wanted to create a diverse album. I listen to all kinds of music and I wanted to show it.
In the song "Avenir" (Future) you say "Mon avenir est entre mes mains" (My future's in my hands) ... What can we wish you for the future in this case?
You can wish me success, happiness. Yeah, just to be happy, a long life and happiness for my family.
