Photography © David Delaplace
Photography © David Delaplace
"Of course, there's competition in the Rap scene!
But it's something that rappers tend to hide."
"Of course, there's competition
in the Rap scene!
But it's something that
rappers tend to hide."
Thanks to this beautiful album, Denzo is allowed to enter the Rap Game by the big door. The latter surprised everyone by offering his fans a first album that was 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.
As he says in his song "Parolier", "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, at first, I wasn't serious about it... (laughs) I was rapping and goofing around with my friends. When they decided to stop, I chose to continue. It was hard initially 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 neighbourhood. From there, we created our label, Royal Music, and one thing led to another: we got signed, which 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 alone. I had to write the lyrics, get the money to take an Uber to the studio, pay for my own clothes, and eat every day, you know? I really had to do everything.
At what point did you realise that you wanted to pursue Rap Music and nothing else, even if it was hard?
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 when I knew I wanted to pursue only Rap music. That was all I had in mind.
I also heard you were inspired by the rappers from Grigny while growing up...
Yeah, they indeed inspired me. What they tell us in their lyrics 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 were my cousins and my uncles. Sooner or later, I knew I was going to start rapping, you know? It's not just about the music; it's about the place, the people, the culture. It's a part of me, and I want to share that with the world.
We already saw you with Koba LaD more than a year ago on the featuring "Y'a Les Porcs". It was obvious to you that he would be present again on your project in the song "Trop 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, so I watched him grow, you know? I always sent him messages to congratulate him on his achievements because I knew where he came from. And he always appreciated that about me. He also was always humble enough to congratulate me and support me. He gave me strength and knew that I would produce an album, so he came and saw me, and that's how it happened. There's indeed a good chemistry between us.
The music video is insane and is based on movie posters. How did you get the idea?
Actually, my director, Omar Piechurski, and Gary Song had this idea in mind for some time, and since I trusted him with everything, I went with the idea. It turned out great, and it's a music video that everybody likes. I'm thrilled!
Coming back to your new project, can you tell me more about the meaning of its name, "La Pépite"?
I already had the name in mind, and when we produced the album intro, the first sentence had to reflect the rest of the project. 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 many 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 neighbourhood; it's important to me.
"I want to encourage people to want to succeed. Because nobody is doomed to fail."
"I want to encourage people
to want to succeed.
Because nobody is doomed to fail."
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 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.
This project also has incredible feats, like Ronisia, Bramsito, Jok'Air and Ferre Gola. How did these collaborations happen?
First of all, big up to these artists because they helped us with the project, and it's a pleasure. 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 passed, I realised that not everyone had the same mentality as me and that some people like to play it solo, which put me off a bit. But I could collaborate with many 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 speeches. Don't portray yourself in interviews or your music as someone you are not. If you're competitive, show it; there's no point in lying. Many people are in the spotlight and wait for others to be in the spotlight, too, to collaborate. Do you know what I mean? We're still the same guys from the hood. Before you reached the top, guys like us gave you the strength and talked about you to everyone in every neighbourhood 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, when you mention a feat for some people, 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 really struck me. Everyone was quiet in the studio. The sound engineer and SNK were there. He created the instrumental and the topline and told me to unleash myself on this track. I think I'll remember it forever. You can almost hear me crying if you listen closely because it's such a powerful song.
There is a beautiful mix in this project between more ambient and urban songs like "Paris Tanger" and "A2" or even mellower ones like "C'est Comme Ça" and "Je Dois". Was it intentional, or did you do it unconsciously?
Every aspect of this project was meticulously planned. I was determined not to create an album with repetitive sounds. I'm not a fan of making songs that sound the same. I'm Congolese, and I believe I can master any sound. (laughs) My goal was to create a diverse album that reflects my wide-ranging musical tastes.
In the song "Avenir", 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 and happiness. Yeah, I want to be happy, to have a long life, and happiness for my family.
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