Americans often display the names of their composers in large letters across the various media that cover urban Afro music. In France, due to a lack of professionalism or because of our unfit musical culture, only the performer takes center stage. Yet, DJ Mehdi, who passed away in the early 2010s, had a crucial influence both on hip-hop when he helped grow Mafia K’1 Fry and on the French Touch, which he championed during its golden age.
At his death, in a bizarre domestic accident, Pharrell, DJ Premier, and major American stars rushed to pay tribute to him. Major national media covered his story, and even internationally, his influence was celebrated. The legacy of DJ Mehdi is immense in rap, yet he isn’t mentioned as often as he should be.
DJ Mehdi: From the ghetto to the biggest stages!
As artists often say, they grew up immersed in music. In DJ Mehdi’s case, a Franco-Tunisian mixed-race artist, he was born into the party scene. The influence of his family played a crucial role in his career when he started composing his tracks, as it was in his family’s formidable vinyl collection that the DJ found his inspiration. In the early ’90s, the sampler that Mehdi coveted cost around 30,000 francs. That’s the equivalent of a small car. So, the young man from the suburbs, much like the movement’s pioneers such as DJ Kool Herc in New York, built his own sampler using two vinyl turntables to isolate the sounds he wanted to keep. This was the start of the artist’s genius.
Later, when he handed over his first sample tape to Idéal J, already led by the mature and iconoclastic rapper known as Kery James, the rap world recognized his genius. From “Original MC’s”, the first album of Idéal J, to “Nouveau Western” by MC Solaar, “Pour ceux” by Mafia K’1 Fry, and his tracks “Signatune” and “Lucky Boy”, rare gems of the French Touch, the composer left an indelible mark on French rap. A documentary directed by his best friend Thibaut de Longeville traces the career of the iconic beatmaker of French rap and electro. By giving a voice to all those who shared moments of life with him, the documentary, both intimate and insightful, explores the genesis of the hip-hop movement in France and the birth of the French Touch. In dedicating a six-episode documentary to one of France’s musical treasures, Arte also sketches the movements that shaped music from the ’90s up until Mehdi’s death in the 2010s.
