On the set of "World of Tomorrow", the series on NTM: "The beginnings of rap in France were not rosy"

In a howl of an engine and thick smoke, the Peugeot 405 ends up detonating the padlock which holds the gate. A Renault 25 and a Talbot Samba rush into the pitch-dark stadium, under the livelihoods of around a hundred young people. They rush into the field chanting happily "Fuck your mother". Cars park in a semi-circle. A makeshift scene is hastily put together. Failing to have been able to play in a municipal hall, two young rappers from Saint-Denis, JoeyStarr and Kool Shen, accompanied by their DJ buddy, Dee Nasty, improvise on the rugby field of the city a wild concert lit by the light of headlights. That evening, they unwittingly write a page of the NTM legend.

The cars, the looks, the titles, everything indicates that we are in March 1991 on the stadium of Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines).

But we are in fact thirty years later, at the Briqueterie stadium, in Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis).

And young JoeyStarr and Kool Shen are embodied with great intensity and energy by Melvin Boomer and Anthony Bajon.

NTM fans are extras from the Parisian suburbs who were not born at the time.

From midnight to 5 o'clock in the morning, Saturday May 15, we attended one of the last scenes of the series "the World of tomorrow".

This docu-fiction, whose title resumes that of NTM's first mini-album, will be broadcast in six 52-minute episodes in 2022, on Arte and then Netflix.

"Getting as close as possible to the truth"

Filming in Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris began in February and ends at the end of May. The couple of directors, Katell Quillévéré and Hélier Cisterne, have joined forces for the first time to lead this huge undertaking. "We had wanted for a long time to tell about the birth of NTM and the arrival in France of hip-hop, graffiti, dance and DJs," explains the director during a break, under the bleachers of the stadium. Hélier had made a film on the culture of graffiti. Kool Shen starred in my movie

. We asked the main stakeholders if they were interested in our project. They accepted with a right of scrutiny and we have accumulated dozens of hours of interviews. A 1.5 hour film would not have been enough. Les Films du Bélier is producing this ambitious series - 1550 extras, 300 technicians, 150 dancers, 90 stuntmen - with Arte and Netflix, which have joined forces for the first time in such funding.

All the protagonists of the NTM epic are involved in the series, including on the set. That night, we see JoeyStarr in the catering and on the stadium. “He often comes to give us valuable information, enthuses Hélier Cisterne. Like last night on a stage telling a concert at the Élysée Montmartre where he guided Melvin, who plays his role. We also worked with dancers, choreographers, graffiti artists and musicians of the time. Our goal is to get as close to the truth as possible. As far as the confinement allowed us, we shot in the real places, like the cities of Allende and Montjoie, in Saint-Denis, where JoeyStarr and Kool Shen grew up, on the basketball court where they played… The inhabitants were happy to participate as extras and relive their history.It was one of the highlights of the shoot. "

A “very present and generous” JoeyStarr

"It's a real pride to participate in this project, abounds Melvin Boomer, 21, hip-hop dancer, spotted on Instagram to play JoeyStarr. It's good to show that the beginnings of rap in France, it was not rosy. NTM's past is the story of a gang, and I never expected it to be so dark. I am too young to have known her, but she is legendary for me who grew up in this environment. I have the pressure to have such a character as a leading role, but I looked at all the archives, I took courses and Didier

is very present and generous. He shows me what it was like back then. He's an excellent actor and he also advises me on the game, often tells me to take more freedom and trust myself. "

Mullet cut and thin mustache, Anthony Bajon is a Kool Shen with a broken voice. "The shooting of yesterday's concert killed her," smiles this young, more experienced actor, Silver Bear in 2018 in Berlin for his role in

. All the scenes require a great physical involvement. It is a responsibility to embody these legends who have done a lot for the youth and accompany us. They must recognize themselves in us. "

“Like all those around them and to whom this series pays tribute,” adds Laïka Blanc-Francard. This debutante plays the flamboyant graffiti artist and dancer Lady V, who was the wife of Kool Shen. “Unfortunately, she passed away, but I had the chance to go to his house and his mother's house to tell me about her. It is also moving for me, because I tell the story of my parents. My mother danced for NTM. "