“If I thought I was going to do all of this? No. But to become someone, that yes! ”. Wrapped up in a branded puffer jacket, a cap screwed onto his head, Rohff is all smiles, and he has something to be so. His new album Great Sir sells like hot cakes. Expected by the fans since the release of Supernatural in 2018, this new double-album – one of the artist’s specialties – is out of stock at several points of sale. Between these two games, imprisonment and confinement. An isolation that allowed him to take a step back to better observe and dissect society.
From this reflection on the world around him, Housni Mkouboi – his real name – has scribbled 26 pieces. On paper, he puts down his vision of current rap and its actors, breathless in the incessant race for numbers. Because since The Code of Honor, his first album released in 1999, the rules of this environment have changed a lot. Yet the one who stands out as the “Padre of the Rap Game” has chosen not to comply with it. “My music, I don’t want it to be dependent on streams”, insists the one who has the feeling of being too street to be appreciated by streaming platforms. More mature and more peaceful, we met Rohff on his 44th birthday and confided in no joke, as usual.
Franceinfo Culture: “Grand Monsieur” was released 3 years after “Supernatural”. How long have you worked on it?
Rohff : I worked on this project for ten crazy months, with breaks in the meantime because I had no more inspiration. And to find her, I need to live. Each of my songs is a photo of a T moment. There are times when I’m a little less inspired and then, all of a sudden, it happens. There are artists who don’t have this problem because they are more into the fictional. Personally, I don’t rap for the sake of rapping. I didn’t create a character for myself, so I need to be in tune with my reality.
Speaking of reality, the confinement allowed you to take a step back on the things that surround you?
Quite frankly, it allowed me to take a real step back on our world, the environment, the entourage, society and everything that is said on TV. I also took advantage of this moment to discover the new scene of French rap, to read, to listen to music… Things that I did not do before.
“Grand Monsieur” is the title of your album but it is also an expression that we have already heard you use. What is a great man?
A great man has walked through swamps, jungle, tons of hardships and always got up. He thinks of others, he gives, shares, endures, collects in silence and carries his values. If there are 50 million people going left and heading right into the wrong, he will stay on the right, even if he is alone.
In this album, we find Gims, Dadju, Tayc but also Jul, Naps and Imen Es who are appreciated by new generations. And we also have songs that sound more authentic like “Generation ROH2F”. This tenth album, you wanted it to unite?
I gave some for everyone. I easily assimilate to what is being done today. I have always renewed myself so it was not a problem for me. I modernized my bases but it was out of the question to distort them on current sound. The artists you mentioned are people that I appreciate and who have managed to put their feet on the tracks. For the instruments, I also worked with young beatmakers. But besides that, I also wanted to please my audience with sounds that sound more old-fashioned like Generation ROH2F Where Inverted value. I consider that there are a thousand and one ways to rap. What matters is that it is well executed.
In the song “GM10” you say: “Current, old-fashioned, I mix everything I have my plugs”. Is it this ability to adapt that you are talking about?
Exactly, this sentence sums up what I just said. And that’s an advantage for me. I ate the golden age of American rap and French rap. All of these things gave me a technical background and a certain flow. It would be a shame to throw everything in the trash to copy the new generation and rap like them. I have nothing against their way of rapping but I am here to bring them too. It’s as if you were telling me that today in football you have to dribble like Mbappé. While he himself was inspired by elders like Zidane or Ronaldinho.
Speaking of the new generations, in “Classic Man” we hear you say: “They grew up on my sounds, none of them share me / Cousin I don’t need it, I have no ties to this game. ”Or“ Generation R9 stronger than Neymar ”. Do you find that newcomers to rap are not grateful to those who came before them?
Quite a few are, we have to admit. When they are invited to rap on Skyrock, Generation, Mouv ‘, many of them pose on my instrumentals. Others claim Rohff in their interviews. But besides that, there are some who are not grateful. Because to claim Rohff today is to take sides with other rappers. So a collaboration, let’s not talk about it. I am sure that many will not be able to afford it. Maybe for fear of being clashed later. But, as rapper Kofs says, those who grew up on your sounds and don’t claim it is because they have a boss.
In “Hall of fame” you talk about your beginnings in rap. If we went back to that period and told the kid from Vitry that you would become one of the most important French rappers, would you believe it?
What if I thought I was going to do all this? No. But to become someone, that yes! Because the goal of the game is to get by in life and I had the slab. We all have predispositions and everyone has their own temperament, I didn’t want to end up under the bridges and go moldy in jail. I knew I was going to do something to be successful but I didn’t know it was going to be in rap. I had confidence in myself and I believe that it is enough to have self-confidence to follow through on your dreams. I didn’t know where I was going, but I was definitely going.
Do you think that in order to rap, you have to come from below?
No, to rap there is no permit to pass. You don’t have to come from the streets to rap. From my point of view, I prefer the artist to assume who he really is. When you grew up in France from above, and you think you can recover the neighborhoods by inventing a street credibility, that doesn’t work. You haven’t known bunk beds, public housing, housing estates, blocks and elevators blocked all year round. You can be clever, lie well, please with good music, but at some point your mask will fall off and the truth will eventually come out. What’s crazy is that guys like me, who come from below, want to pull themselves up. We try to detach ourselves little by little from this image while they stick it to each other (laughs).
If it isn’t necessary, why are they doing it?
Because they are afraid of losing their place. We have a real experience, the flow and the words that accompany it. They don’t have it, they compensate with communication. It reminds me of Hercules, a character in Dragon Ball Z. Hercules is a fairly strong wrestling champion but does not possess the powers of the Super Saians. He is surrounded by media which make him a sort of star. All the objectives are fixed on this clown whereas one does not count the Super Saïans who achieve incredible things in silence. Because unlike them, Hercules knows how to manage his communication very well. And that’s what happens in rap somewhere.
In “Too Many Stories” you tell of a police check when you were younger. What happened that night?
It was at the time of the Hip-Hop Awards held at the Olympia. At that time there were a lot of problems, and we weren’t empty handed. We passed the police when we were two behind the wheel on the ring road. The cops were shouting: “Oh ! Put down the bike, are you crazy or what? Come on, see you next time! ”. We got out, we got checked and I slipped away. But that’s in the past, I was young.
In your album there is a recurring theme: social networks. We have the impression that they represent a form of danger for you …
Clearly. For months, people can communicate without ever having seen each other. Before, we were told not to talk to strangers. Today, a person can be suspicious on the street but post his whole life on social networks. There is a bit of a schizophrenic side to it. We had moral values, real human relationships. Today, algorithms determine who loves you, who doesn’t love you, who is your friend and who is not. People can screw up their lives because they don’t have enough followers. There is a culture of narcissism that is developing excessively. As I say in Inverted value, people are more busy photoshoping themselves than watching the news and having real relationships. Everything has become fake. When you are someone you hide, when you are a person you show yourself.
Social networks are tools that rappers use a lot to communicate with their community. Compared to other artists, you are rather discreet.
Yes, it’s true. I’m not the type of guy who will post pictures every day. My story belongs to my audience. Fans send videos and we put them in the story to be grateful. I’m not aware of what other rappers are doing because I don’t watch them. In music, we don’t all work at the same time. Me, I trust my music, I am not there for the image. Some have artistic flaws and compensate with the image. As I say in Legend with Jul, “you don’t know how to rap so you communicate”. The day I release a sound, I make sure it makes the difference and basta. With me, it’s art before images and numbers. I got into rap for art and the numbers followed. And today all those who have gaps speak only of numbers. Because the numbers don’t lie, they can be bought.
Speaking of numbers, you are one of those rappers who rise up against the streaming giants. You have also called Spotify on several occasions when your album was released.
Of course, we don’t want to be addicted to streams. I mentioned them because they posted a list of the latest releases. No mention of my album, yet I was in Top Tweet for days. In addition, on the application, the album is poorly referenced. Behind these platforms, there are people who can take sides and who will promote certain artists rather than others. We must not forget that the platforms sign large partnerships with record companies and sometimes directly with rappers. They don’t want me to be the face of urban music in France because when I come up with an album, I land with a tank.
And “Grand Monsieur”, is this your last battle?
No, there are other things in the works.