Here we had a conversation with the Parisian middle schoolers. They were mostly first and second-generation immigrants from Northern Africa and spoke fluent French. When we asked them what music they listened to they replied with many American artists particularly hip-hop artists. However, they did mention a few French artistes. When we asked them why they listened to Hip-Hop they told us that it reminded them of friends and family they had left behind. For them it was a means of communion with loved ones. It also embodied their personal struggles they had to face.
Seine St. Denis is a banlieue of Paris, located to the north-east of Paris. To those that live in it, however, it is called simply “the 9-3”, le neuf-trois, as the area is designated Department of France number ninety-three. It is the department with the highest immigrant population—about 25%--and is where many of the riots (insert link) took place in 2005. Unemployment is rampant, poverty severe, and drugs and prostitution plague an already crippled population. The banlieue is where France puts its marginalized citizens, its undesirables. It is the ghetto.
"La banlieue has more than a geographic meaning. It is also a matter of mentality. We feel cut off from the rest of French society. When we look for a job, employers don't want to hire us because we come from the suburbs, because we have African names, because we're black. What they always forget is that we are French citizens."
-Matt Moerdock, a Congo-born, banlieue-raised MC
The most violent riots began on Thursday, October 27, 2005, three North-African youths, accidentally electrrocuted as they tried to evade the police. The flics, or cops, had been looking for break-in suspects and had asked the three (who had been playing soccer at the time) for identification. Two of the boys died; the third was hospitalized. Clichy-sous-Bois has three main ethnic groups: the Arabs, the blacks, and the Turks. The three boys were representatives from each.
Bands of youths roamed the streets not only of Clichy but also poor urban areas all over France, burning cars, throwing rocks and other types of vandalism. The was the worst civil disobedience in the last decade. Barely a week before the riots began, minister of the interior Nicholas Sarkozy pledged to fight a "merciless war" on banlieue violence, and called the rioters "hoodlums."
Gospel Dream performed at the American Cathedral in the chic 8th arrondissement of Paris, one of their well-attended regular concerts. The Assistant Organist and Choirmaster at the cathedral, William Buthod, observed that Gospel is "hugely popular" in France, but has "nothing to do with American gospel today." "It's something that you'd see in a Hollywood movie," he said. "When they bring out the gospel choir and 'this is what they sing.'" Gospel in France is caught in a time-trap, it seems; it hasn't evolved the way it has back in the states. And that's what French audiences want--good, old-fashioned, dependable "gospel."
Outside of the Pigalle metro, a troupe of three break dancers take turns showing off their moves to a crowd. A stereo with a heavy bass thumps thumps out a beat as the dancers flip, jump, and move to the rhythm, showing off their agility. One of the men, who calls himself Blondy, says that there is an American man who is here in Paris to study and who dances with them on weekends. Break dancing is one of the five components of hip hop culture, along with MCing, DJing, graffiti, and rapping.
THEN: The Royal Box was another night club owned by Italian American Joe Zelli. It was located at 16 Rue Fontaine.
NOW: The former Royal Box now appears to be residential.
THEN: The Theatre was the location for several scenes from the film, La Sirene des Tropiques. Josephine Baker was the star of this film.
NOW: Theatre Mogador still appears to be an active theatre.
THEN: Eugene Bullard was the African American owner of the famous Le Grand Duc and other night clubs in Paris. He was born in Columbus, Georgia on October 9, 1895 and died on October 12, 1961 in New York City, New York. Prior to opening night clubs in Paris, he fought as a combat pilot in World War I. While in Paris, he lived here at 12 rue de Navann.
NOW: Today, Eugene Bullard's former residence is a manilla-colored apartment buildin.
THEN: The Chorus of the girls of La Revue Nègre lived at the intersection is rue Henri Monnier and rue Victor Massè. Josephine Baker stayed there when she first arrived in Paris. It was located in an area where impressionist painters worked and lived.
NOW: Interestingly the Jazz singers’ home is still an apartment complex which is currently under construction.
THEN: Located at 49 rue des Acacias, The Acacias was a club that catered to French clientele and functioned as a restaurant. Around 1921, it offered jazz and dancing. In 1927, they served afternoon tea accompanied by entertainment.
NOW: The former location of the Acacias appears to be apartment housing.
THEN: In the late 1920’s Jocelyn “Frisco” Augustus Bingham, with the financial aid and popularity of her good friends Josephine Baker and Ada “Bricktop” Smith, opened the very popular “Frisco’s Club” in the 9th arrondisement.
NOW: Today, where Frisco’s Club used to stand is a bank.
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