Swiss Review 1/2018

18 Swiss Review / January 2018 / No.1 STÉPHANE HERZOG Last summer, a group of rappers from Geneva appeared on stage at the Frauenfeld rap festival alongside star names from America, like Gucci Mane and Nas. Their style of rap? A “flow” with occasional ex- istential undertones. “Seeing local stars likeMakala appear at thisma- jor festival was fantastic,” says Hadrien Mauron, an 18-year-old stu- dent fromGeneva. Ahuge fan of American rap, who listens to two new albums a day, Mauron believes that Geneva’s Superwak Clique collec- tive “are showing young people in French-speaking Switzerland that you can reach for the stars fromhumble beginnings”. The emergence of Makala, who is the driving force behind the group and has been signed by themajor French label BMG, could also have been predicted. With his friends he has performed at venues in Paris, Marseilles, Brus- sels and London. Malaka, Pink Flamingo, Di-Meh and Slimka for the younger fans, and alsoWilliman, Basengo and the Valais-based rapper KT Gorique all represent this new rap movement from French-speaking Switzer- land which is making waves on the international scene thanks to a style that is deemed accessible. “It’s not the socially conscious rap of the 1990s that refers to all the suffering that Frenchhip-hop expresses, but amore lyrically sophisticated and personal formof rap,” explains Thibault Eigenmann, who co-founded the independent Colors record label with his partner Theo Lacroix. It produces the music of a num- ber of the Superwak Clique artists. In Switzerland, people remember the rap music of Stress and Sens Unik, whose lyrics were extremely political at times. Rap about reflective souls One example of a sensitive track is “Piscine privée (Private Pool)” by Makala, in which the narrator explores his conscience. “Dans ma pis- cine privée, j’aime quand elle nage, j’suis là, j’la surveille, pour pas qu’elle se noie (In my private pool, I love it when she swims, I’m there watching her so she doesn’t drown)” , raps the young man with Congolese roots, who grewup in Les Avanchets in the suburbs of Geneva. On “Pink Fla- mingo”, a homage to a local producer of the same name, the rapper depicts a night-time scene. “La gue-dro (drogue) est aux commandes; les p’tits reufs (frères) sont mal guidés; les daronnes (mères) sont fa- tiguées; quand t’es dans ton lit, y’a des SDF habités; d’la farine dans les Culture cavités. (Drugs rule, the brothers are misguided, their mothers are ex- hausted, when you’re in your bed, the homeless are housed and there’s powder in the cavities)”. Thibault Eigenmann, who does not believe that rap should bewrit- ten down (and never provides the lyrics to tracks), is neverthelesswill- ing to analyse them: “The track describes what happens at night. WhenMakala says the homeless are housed, it’s an oxymoron that ex- presses the notion that not everyone is necessarily on the road to ruin.” Take control of your own life Born in 1993 and having grown up inOnex, another suburb of Geneva, Williman encourages young people to create their ownworlds. In his track “Genève, on dit quoi? (Geneva, What Do You Say?)”, the rapper depicts “ténèbres, où les gens courent à la lueur du diamant (a bleak world where people chase the sparkle of diamonds)”. You have to get by here on your own. “J’ai créé mon propre business dans ce bas monde. Aux armes, je pars en guerre, passez-moi l’arbalète. Dans les grandes surfaces on est mal vus, ouais mon pote Albanais, hier je faisais dans le vol, aujourd’hui je fais dans le vocal. Les classes supérieures me pren- nent de haut (I’ve set up my own business in this lowly world. Get your weapons, I’m going to war, pass me the crossbow. They don’t like us in the big stores, yes my Albanian friend, yesterday I was stealing, today I’m using my voice. The upper classes look down on me),” intones the art- ist from Geneva, whose mother comes from Cameroon, with anger. Basengo, who has Rwandan roots, is another artist who has been signed by Colors. “He calls on everyone to take control of their own life and not live a life devoid ofmeaning,” says Eigenmann. In “Ground Zero”, the rap artist describes a Geneva with empty bodies and a pa- rade of carcasses. He warns his peers: “Fais gaffe. On investit dans ce qui est rentable seul assis à une trop grande taille. Et ton cœur tombe en panne, c’est le piège de l’opulence. A rester trop prudent le temps nous en- taille (Watch out. They only invest inwhat’s profitable and on a large scale. Your heart’s worn out, it’s the trap of opulence. Keep safe, as time catches up with us).” The issue of cultural diversity is also tackled. The performer Aurélie Djee raps about “le loup, le renard, l’arbalète, le couscous et la fondue (thewolf, the fox, the crossbow, the couscous and the fondue)”. “A l’aise dans mes baskets j’ai pas de gri-gri (In my comfortable sneak- Swiss rap is hip again in Geneva but poetic rather than political The suburbs of Geneva have produced a group of young rappers whose lyrics are significant on an existential level. The group’s leading light, Makala, has now been signed by a major French label. The era of political criticism by rappers like Stress is over.