The French rapper discusses his final album, past controversies and supporting the new generation of artists.
It’s always a tricky exercise to decide what questions to put to a national treasure. Especially one who has been sitting on top of the Frenchscene and music industry for a quarter of a century. How to even begin to sum up Booba? Lyricist extraordinaire, athletic aesthete, charismatic big mouth, magnet for controversy, most famous French rapper of all time?
It’s a damp, autumn afternoon when we meet Booba, on set at an extravagant 17th Century castle, forty kilometres south west of Paris, having his photo taken. Booba poses for the camera with the heightened awareness and sharp eyes of someone whose portraits have been taken regularly since the mid-nineties, someone who is fully aware of the perception everyone has of him. Although he’s about to turn forty five years-old in December, you wouldn’t doubt him if he claimed to be just over thirty.
So much so, in fact, that a decade ago Booba decided to leave Paris for Miami. “Whether I was going to make it in music or not, it was inevitable that I would leave France. Miami feels like a great tavern of pirates,” – he says, referencing the name his fans affectionately call themselves – “the entire city has a different feel and mentality. It’s very Cuban-influenced, tonnes of Haitians, the first language is Spanish… I’m happy being in an environment that’s void of judgement.
There’s a nihilistic streak to Booba. He has some bleak views on the world, but there’s also humour. He is however loyal, trusting, in love with the craft of his music and doesn’t feel many uphold the standards, although generous with the young rappers he wants to champion.
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