Loko and Martin Gal unveil the album “All In”. When a sacred monster of French rap, who has been playing his double role as a producer and rapper for 20 years, crosses over to the other side of the mirror, the result is simply explosive.
Loko: French rap in 20 years!
The career of Loko begins within the collective ATK. Then, it will be behind the brand Néochrome that the artist will make a career. Néochrome is about mixtapes where the golden age of French rap is played out. Loko‘s brand will become the label that has carried exceptional artists in music. Among the label’s signatures, we find notably Seth Gueko and Sinik. The signature of Néochrome, parallel to the excellence represented by Loko, is first the quality of the lyrics and the power of the concept.
Later, the producer turns away from the stage and returns to the studio. With a few magical signatures as a producer like Zaz, Kendji Girac, Vald, Loko, even without being much more active, leaves his mark on French rap and transforms it.
The title “À la carte”, in which Loko and Martin Gal are surrounded by Alkpote and Deadi, a true tribute to Pop culture, is explosive, original, creative, and powerful. Like the four artists who carry this title with their experiences, it is non-conformist in contradiction to an increasingly mainstream rap.
Loko, Martin Gal, Alkpote, and Deadi explode Pop Culture!
The title was composed by Loko himself. And cobblers are not always the worst shod. The beatmaker has quite a bit of success under his belt with notably “Pour si peu” by Vald, or “Altesse” by Hayce Lemsi, not to mention “Je suis un lion” by Nakk Mendosa. It is not surprising either to find Loko alongside Lacraps, a re-emerging artist with his “Machine à écrire” on an exceptional remix. The title “À la carte” is a feat of beatmaking, a deconstructed and rhythmic title. It’s a highly crafted musical chaos, and the artist has released his best title.
In the sequence of notes and images, we find the French voice of Anthony Hopkins coming to play for the last time the role of Hannibal Lecter, he who traumatizes the youth since “The Silence of the Lambs”. The interludes of Hannibal Lecter are not a coincidence of the concept.
Because in the title as in the visual, everything blends in image as in music in this formidable “pot-pourri” that has become Pop Culture. Between references to the opening credits of the movie “Seven”, to “Superman”, to “Matrix” and to video games, the characters who are the rappers take on different forms. This sequence is culture. And if Trump’s election in the USA has sometimes led commentators to say that America has become a “DC Comics”, the visual of “À la carte” shapes a Pop Culture that the rapper slices into mini-scenes interspersed with Hannibal Lecter interludes. Some references are made as tributes to famous or ardently celebrated rappers like Benjamin Epps or Booba.
The visual is the work of PICTO.GRAM. The directors FX are known in the rap game. They have already collaborated with Koba LaD and Denzo on “Trop Dedans” (a breathtaking clip) and with Soso Maness and Maes on “Parapluie”.
