It obviously started with that famous line from a backing singer: "Hey, tonton [uncle], the bags, they're too heavy!" One by one, the orchestra then launched swirling violins, followed by a traditional percussionist making the melody bounce by drumming on the skin of his darbuka. Backed by the rhythm from the turntables, Rim'K (real name Abdelkarim Brahmi), wearing sunglasses and dressed in an elegant sandy-colored workwear suit, appeared under the lights of the 40^th edition of France's main music awards, the Victoires de la Musique, in Paris, to deliver the unique introduction to the rap anthem "Tonton du Bled."

On February 14, this veteran of French rap performed his iconic track during a musical interlude dedicated to the memory of its brilliant producer, DJ Mehdi (Mehdi Faveris-Essadi), who died at 34 in a tragic accident in 2011. "We had six minutes and 34 seconds to pay tribute to Mehdi. It was obvious that 'Tonton du Bled' had to be part of it," explained Thibaut de Longeville, a friend of DJ Mehdi and the director of the documentary series DJ Mehdi: Made in France (2024), which aired on French-German public television channel Arte and whose nomination (followed by a trophy that night) led to this performance. "The symbolic significance was too strong," he continued.

While Rim'K performed, microphone in hand, a screen behind him displayed footage of his appearance 25 years earlier on the same stage. On March 11, 2000, as part of rap group 113, with whom he made a name for himself, he performed "Tonton du Bled" at the award show. Very few songs have been performed more than once by their original artists at the Victoires de la Musique. "This year, it's as if 'Tonton du Bled' has entered the French songwriting hall of fame," said Didier Varrod, director of Radio France's music stations and unofficial historian of the Victoires de la Musique.

You have 88.7% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.