Holy sh*t I had no idea what happened to Lucian. Always loved that Tribe record
@woodchuck @dik cashmere
The song is about the story of a very important artist for both US and french rap history. Here's his genius profile description, translated with deepl :
Lucien Papalu, whose real name is Lucien M'Baidem, is a French rapper, DJ and composer born in Val-De-Marne (94).
Considered one of the pioneers of French hip-hop, he has been very present in the early hip-hop landscape in both France and the United States. He first collaborated on a record in 1989 in Harlem with the group Jungle Brothers on the songs "Belly Dancin' Dina" and "Black Woman" on their now famous album: Done By the Forces of Nature
The following year, in Queens, the group A Tribe Called Quest released their first album, which would forever leave its mark on the world of hip-hop: People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Present during the recording and having largely connected with much of New York's emerging hip-hop scene, Q-Tip wrote a song about Lucien: "Luck Of Lucien", which he will include in the album. Lucien makes several appearances on the song during breaks.
That same year, he participated in a large gathering of rappers under the aegis of Afrika Bambaataa, who created the Free South Africa collective for the occasion, of which Lucien would be a member. The purpose of this artistic event was to raise money for the African National Congress, which wanted Nelson Mandela released. Thanks to this initiative, they will raise $30,000. A single was released from this meeting of rappers, dancers, DJ's and graffiti artists in London: "Ndodemnyama"
Following his many encounters and evolving on the New York hip-hop scene, he became one of the founding members of the Native Tongues collective, of which many rap pioneers were part: De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah, Mos Def, etc.
In 1995, he returned to France and became a columnist for Radio Nova. He collaborates for the first time with the group Alliance Ethnik as producer on their song "Jamais à l'Heure", from the album: Simple and Funky
Then, two collaborations will reveal him more or less to an insider audience on the famous album Paris Sous Les Bombes, by the group NTM, on the songs: "Plus Jamais Ça" and "Check The Flow".
In 2001, a tragedy followed: Lucien, in disagreement with his producer E. Kauffman, decided to burn his doormat at his residence in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. The fire took on an unexpected magnitude and reached the inside of the apartment, a couple died, burned alive in their maid's room under the attic. With no leads from the police, Lucien will denounce himself by explaining that he is willing to pay for his mistake and go to jail. A very courageous act knowing that there was no lead connecting him directly or indirectly to the fire. The sentence falls in 2006, he is sentenced to 8 years in prison, where the prosecutor requested 15 years.
Before going to the police, he called his friend Common to explain the story. He explains that they will not see each other for several years and they talk about their past in London. Following this call, Common wrote a very moving song dedicated to him in which he recounted part of the call: "Heaven Somewhere"
In this song are addressed several questions about religion, Paradise, life after death; singers like Cee-Lo-Green or Jill Scott participate in this song integrated into the album: "Electric Circus"
When he was released from prison in 2008, he became artistic director at Europacorp, the largest French film studio, directed by Luc Besson, until 2014.
In 2009, he also directed, with the group De La Soul, a song that would become the theme song of the film Les Lascars: "Say la vee".
In 1998, he had already produced the soundtrack for the series with Ärsernik and Lord Kossity, of which he is musical director and principal composer.
www.cbr.com
