"I never broke the link with Essonne": back on his land, rapper Disiz talks about love

Rapper Disiz, whose real name is Sérigne M'Baye Gueye, is on tour throughout France for the release of his new album

(2022).

In 2000, he made a name for himself with the album

in which he spoke of the popular districts of Évry-Courcouronnes (Essonne), the city where he grew up.

Today at 44, with more than twenty years of career, the rapper looks back on his links with Essonne and his sources of inspiration, during a concert he will give this Friday. evening at the Plan in Ris-Orangis, for the first edition of the Trace(s) festival.

Twenty years after you started your career, what ties do you still have with Essonne?

I never broke the link with Essonne.

I still live there, and I keep lots of ties there: my best friend, all my family and my children.

I used to come and play there, it's my home, it's my stronghold, as the expression goes.

I am still impregnated with the place where I grew up, even if I freed myself from certain things.

Of course, Évry still inspires me more or less directly.

How did you free yourself?

I deal with themes like love in a different way because in twenty years I've had the opportunity to experience quite a lot.

This allowed me to confront myself with other systems of thought, other references than what I had here in Essonne.

Already a child, I was that person in the neighborhood who didn't refrain from integrating everything that came to mind to enrich my texts.

I never hid from having other influences than rap.

I also listen to rock or funk for example.

I also spoke of love when it was still taboo in the popular neighborhoods where I lived.

Love is the title of your first album.

Why this choice ?

Love is not a new theme for me.

I already talked about it before.

I have five children now, I had my own stories and known separations, all that marked me.

3 or 4 years ago, when I realized that everything that came out of me was related to the theme of love, I said to myself that it was time to make an album totally dedicated to that.

All things considered, it's like the process of someone writing a thesis.

He digs into a subject as much as possible until he finally comes to a form that suits him, because he went as far as he could.

Are you interested in the current rap scene, particularly in Essonne?

NLP, Ninho…

I find it interesting today to see that groups like PNL are completely alienated from the industry and keep control over what they do.

I think it's an incredible advancement compared to what I experienced at the time, where we exploited young talents who knew nothing about business.

At least the next generation has learned from our pitfalls.

That people from the same social background as me have succeeded, that delights me.

Why does rap remain so popular with young people, in your opinion?

Who says rap also says popular neighborhood, it goes hand in hand, because rap is originally the music of the poor.

I think that if it works so much with young people, it's because it's a way of escaping from one's condition.

Only, I find it unfortunate that in working-class neighborhoods the only prospects for social advancement offered are still often only through sport or rap.

In Poisson rouge (2000) you broached the theme of brawls.

Twenty years later, your title is still relevant...

Sociologists talk about it better than me, so I have no relevant analysis to offer on the current situation of the neighborhoods.

I don't want to be paternalistic and take on the role of a lesson giver.

However, I think the best message I can send to young people is that I too have experienced what they are going through: violence, poverty.

But that I got rid of it.

And that if after having lived through all the difficult situations that I experienced at the time, I can still talk about light themes like love today, then everyone can get out of it.

Trace(s), first!

Disiz, but also the rising star of R&B from Grigny Ronisia, and many others.

Casting of choice for the first edition of Trace(s), the new urban festival which begins this Thursday evening at Plan, the current music scene of Ris-Orangis (Essonne).

"We are going to project a snapshot of today's rap in three days, mixing the major figures of the industry and the new emerging talents of the bubbling scene of Essonne", explains Fabien Lherisson, the programmer.

A total of 8 groups will take the stage.

But Trace(s) is not just a musical event.

"It's the first festival in Essonne that showcases all the urban arts and hip-hop culture," says Fabien Lherisson: dance, song, graffiti...

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 8 p.m. at Le Plan, 1, avenue Louis-Aragon in Ris-Orangis.

Prices: 30 euros for 3 days, 12 euros per day for children under 18 and 22 euros for adults.

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