Akhenaton
Métèque et mat
Akhenaton |
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"Métèque et mat" is about as far from hardcore rap as it gets. Mostly mellow and supremely funky, the songs on this release do not have the same edge as the IAM songs, rather they are sly and well-crafted. Instead of hitting the listener head-on, they ease their way into the atmosphere. Akhenaton uses his voice masterfully, enunciating French as if it were Italian, giving it extra substance. The disc opens with the spooky "La Cosca", a fable about a man working for La Cosca, a major Italian crime family: "Je suis né en 1903/ Au mileu des vendettas, dans les environs de Caltanisetta".
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To hear a sample
Songs: La Cosca, Le calme comme essence, Je ne suis pas à plaindre, La vie de rêve, Métèque et mat, Assedic: 3 heures du matin, Éclater un type des Assedic, Au fin fond d'une contrée…, La face B, Di Polipo, L'Americano, Lettre aux hirondelles, Dirigé vers l'est, Je suis peut-être…, Bad Boys de Marseille, Promethée, Un brin de haine, Je combats avec mes démons, Bad Boys de Marseilles (Part II), J'ai pas de face. Lyrics included. |
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Akhenaton is an Italian raised between Marseille and Sicily, and he shares his experience
of being a stranger in a strange land, missing his native culture. "Je suis un
100% métèque, importé d'un pays sec," he asserts in the song "Métèque
et mat". The song "L'Americano" is a humorous look at his childhood, years
he spent emulating symbols of American culture: "Je voulais être différent,
original dans le vent/ Ça criait l'Amérique dans tous mes vêtements/ Interloqués les
ignorants glousssaient comme des idiots". In the dark, poignant song "Je
combats avec mes démons", Akhenaton writes about his adolescence ("Enfant
déjà mon ésprit était en scisson"). Yet Akhenaton writes about a whole range of experiences. There is the fun revenge fantasy of "Éclater un type des ASSEDIC" (the French equivalent of the Welfare office). In the hilarious "Je suis peut-être…", Akhenaton recounts: "C'est vrai, il me manque bien quelque kilos/ Et quand je suis en maillot, on dirait une radio…Je ne danse pas car j'ai l'horreur du ridicule… À la danse peut-être je suis zéro/ Mais putain qu'est-ce que je tue sur le micro". He pays tribute to the early days of hip-hop with "La face B". This song is for those of us who remeber the days of of 45's, where the flip side was often even better than the radio cut (rember all of those great Prince B-sides in the 80s?): "J'aurais pu parler d'amour sur la face A/ Mais cette face-là ne m'interesse pas/ Je suis de l'autre côté de la force/ De l'autre côté du risque, de l'autre côté du disque". My favorite song is the last - the satirical "J'ai pas de face", where Akhenaton ridicules the manufacted pop acts and "boys bands" who have flooded the French music market in recent years. Here Akhenaton portrays a sleazy producer ("Gamani Productions") who forms music groups using talentless yet attractive young men and women ("Passe mon annonce pour le prochain projet de mon assoc Chill de cent figures/ Recherche trois beaux gosses trois gros niases…Pour faire les guignols dans un groupe minable/ Des musclés pour rien, guardien de plage, Baywatch…"). The producer even turns to murder to increase his profits ("J'en tue un pour faire chaler les filles"), and in the end shares his motto: "Si c'est pourri, c'est Gamani!" "Métèque et mat" is probably one of the best hip-hop albums that will ever be made. The music is impeccable, each track seems meticulously constructed and mixed. This is the kind of album that sounds better with every listen. Whatever the future of IAM, Akhenaton shows that as a solo act he is a formidable presence. |
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