Faced with the controversy surrounding the song “No Pasarán”, Seth Gueko speaks out

“The song is described as hatred towards the RN… But it’s a mutual hatred! Especially when I see how people behave since this song“: Well known to hip-hop fans for his XXL punchlines and consistently well-placed rhymes for twenty years, Seth Gueko is today at the heart of a controversy.

Since the publication on Youtube, Monday July 1st in the evening, the day after the first round of legislative elections marked by the new surge of the National Rally, the anti-RN title “No Passarán” is much talked about.

Thus, a large part of the French right denounces violent words towards political leaders – Jordan Bardella denouncing “Incisive punchlines: calls for murder, violent misogyny, crass anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories” – , when the left, led by the New Popular Front, assures that it has not asked anything of the artists and seems a little embarrassed by this piece of 9 minutes and 43 seconds.

“Let’s get into the heart of the subject !“, says Seth Gueko, welcoming us to his stronghold in Pointoise, in the Val-d’Oise, in front of one of his restaurants “Barlou Burger”. And he decides straight away: he takes responsibility.

The “Barlou” with multiple tattoos takes the opportunity to denounce the criticism made by a part of the political class in the face of the insults of certain rappers in this song: “It’s a multi-generational song! Sometimes, you need shock words, electroshocks… Racists can talk about a song with hate, but that’s all they advocate: it’s the hospital making fun of charity! And then, it’s also a story of generations. Today, young people are a little more virulent and experience things differently. For example, I don’t suffer from racial profiling as much as a little Arab or a little black guy.” he points out.

Before responding directly to all the criticism: “I’m not here to spit on the French flag. I love my France. I love its wine, its cheese platters… I love France in its diversity,” he smiled.

“My generation is black, white, Arab. When we went to eat at each other’s houses, it was about sharing. Despite a certain violence in some of the lyrics, there is a message of peace that is advocated.”

Seth Gueko then shows us a racist message, topped with a Celtic cross, received on his Instagram: “The trees your homes, the bush your nation“. “Apparently, this is a guy who has been listening to me for years. And he is disappointed because he discovers that I stand against the RN!he laughs. But these are my words since forever. It’s surprising to think that there are guys who followed me on social networks, who must have found me nice, but who have never listened to my texts. We are in the culture of emptiness! That’s what is frightening… “

Under his denim jacket, we can see his impressive build: “I’m the last of a family of skinhead hunters. I grew up with punks, anarchy. I don’t know what they expected from a guy with a black Bérurier tattoo on his hand! We’ll always be against it, because we’re black, we’re white, we’re yellow and together, we’re dynamite.“, he advocates, repeating the famous “Pigsty” from the group Bérurier noir, which became an anti-National Front anthem in the 1980s.

This song is “imprinted in my DNA“, he slips. “For me, for the neighborhoods, Jean-Marie Le Pen was the devil for minorities, for Jews, for French people of diverse origins… Today, it’s still impressive how uninhibited the ‘fascists’ are. Before, they hid behind pseudonyms, behind voting slips and now, they feel hyper-confident. France has become a breeding ground“, he denounces.

And he who made himself known with his “fairground potato” laughs: “That’s sorting out my social media followers! Shalom, salam, hello to all those who are leaving. Good luck! You’ve got the wrong door. It’s not because I had a shaved head and I’m blond with blue eyes that I was a skinhead. In fact, you guys got it wrong!”