Named in the male revelation category, this rapper singer, originally from the city of 4,000, is the new darling of French rap.
by Stéphanie Binet
Sitting in the Parisian office of his press attaché, Tiakola, 23, all smiles, points out: “You have seen since our first meeting, I have evolved well? I express myself better.” A few days before The release of his first solo album, “M Le Monde magazine” had devoted the “Researcher head” section to this rapper, king of melodious refrains in the middle of the hardest rhymes … Member of the rap group 4keus, the singer is the New darling of French rap. His sisters, like Aya Nakamura, and his colleagues, Gazo, Zola, Dadju, Leto invite him on their records for his melodic voice and the assurance of winning a tube. His first album, Mélo, published at the end of May 2022, is already certified double platinum disc and earned him to be appointed in the male revelation category of the Victoires de la Musique, “a pride”, summarizes the youngest of a family of eight Children who grew up in the midst of the bars of the city of 4,000 at La Courneuve (Seine-Saint-Denis).
On the TV set of the music ceremony on February 10, it is the first time that he will play with an orchestra his title umbrella. And the second time he will play with musicians, since his tour begins the day before in Saint-Malo and passes through the Olympia in Paris, which displays complete on March 12. Not bad for a young man who did not plan to be an artist at all …
He initially dreams of a footballer and entered Sport Études at Le Bourget en Seine-Saint-Denis, reads articles on the transfer window in the team to prepare for his career. The only part of his program is sprained: help their friends pay their session in a recording studio rented 70 euros. To this dozen apprentice rappers-singers, the studio is not more expensive than the price of a Kebab sandwich. They create their group, 4keus, the slang for “4,000, and here they are small stars of the city, then social networks.
Thousands of views accumulate on their videos broadcast on YouTube. The Sexion Label D’Assaut, Wati B, benchmarks and signs them. Tiakola changes his horizon: “In football,” he explains, “I was discouraged: relatives sign contracts and I was still on the sidelines. I expected a lot of football, I paid the 200 euros license . In music, I was not expecting anything, the studio session, I paid for 5 euros. I had fun and I had big feedback, up to 700,000 views on a video. And then, I ‘was not alone to hope, we supported each other.
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