Melanie Georgiades, better known as Diam's, has exceptionally granted in early August an interview to "Arab News", a Saudi media. The former rapper, now based in Saudi Arabia, talks about her conversion to Islam in 2008 and the reaction of her audience at the time.
It was almost seven years ago that the French public had not seen or heard the French rap diamond that had made it so much on the dance floor in the 2000s. On August 8th, Mélanie Georgiades, ex Diam's, has again entrusted its conversion to Islam in 2008 and the reaction of its fans at the time.
Installed in Saudi Arabia since 2017, the "young lady who was looking for a mortal guy" has returned to her glory years, when she "felt sad, very sad and wondered why she was on Earth" she said told Arab News .
"Money, success, power, it did not make me happy"
" One day, I realized that all that, money, success, power, it did not make me happy. So I looked for happiness. I was very, very sad and lonely, wondering why I was on Earth. It was not to be rich and famous, because it did not make me happy. So I started looking for answers to my questions, " says the former rapper in a calm voice.
Because of her former life, even if she does not deny anything, the mother of 39 years did not keep much. "I will never say it was not me. But today, I am like that, " she told Arab News . Seven years ago, Melanie Georgiades told TF1 to "get back to basics, a sense of peace [...] incompatible with rap that allowed him to express his anger".
A shock for the French public
"Before Islam, I was better known as Diam's, I was a rapper and I sold more than 4 million CDs in France, nearly 200 million views on YouTube. It was a shock for the French, they saw me before as a rapper and overnight they saw me with the veil.
And the old gold record continues: "The French saw me as a singer, and one day the paparazzi took me pictures at the exit of the mosque. People wondered how it was possible, that this woman is with the veil ... It was impossible for them. And at the beginning I did not talk to the media because I did not know what to say because it was my faith. And it was very difficult to explain .
Because in 2008, it's a stolen photo of Diam's that raises the hare and causes the rap girl to break up with the scene. We see the former rapper sailing, exit the mosque, phone in hand. Neither parents, nor family, nor staff, nor fans were aware at the time.
A very difficult moment for the former singer but, over time, finally allowed her to get rid of her old demons ... she who had made several suicide attempts and many passages in psychiatric hospital. "The first time I put my forehead to the ground [to prostrate myself before God] it's as if whole mountains had fallen from my shoulders" she had then confided to our colleagues TF1 in his final interview of 2012 .
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From rap to Islam, Mélanie Georgiades, formerly Diam's, talks about her conversionOuest-France.frENLARGE