REMY // Interview

Rémy Camus - from his real name - hails from Aubervilliers in the Paris suburbs, and he's not afraid to speak up. Born with the talent to create with his pen, at the age of 22, he's as funny and endearing as anyone you could hope to meet. The son of a caretaker, like his mother and grandmother, Rémy is today engaged in the creation of his second opus, named Rémy D'Auber, which he works on with passion, for the delight of his fans. He stopped his business studies to throw himself, body and soul, into music. Before the release of his first album C'est Rémy, this sincere, genuine and emblematic rapper said that the French Rap scene doesn't stop fascinating him. Between laughter and reflection, A Rap & A Cup Of Tea set off to discover this artist, who never ceases to dazzle us with his maturity and his attitude. Call him Rémy, just Rémy.

Could you describe your particular style of Rap to an English audience who wants to know about you?

If people translate the lyrics, they can understand. (laughs) The most important thing in my Rap is the message. I like to combine the message setting it to the flow. Whether by the choice of words or that of the melody, I try to always keep the importance of the message conveyed in sound. There’s always been that in French Rap, even if it’s a bit lost over time because the music is very diverse.

Do you find that it's sometimes difficult to place a Rap rather personal like yours in front of the Trap music which takes more and more place in the French Charts?

I can be difficult, it's true. Precisely how you said it: personal Rap disappears more and more, so those who are in the mood for that are happy to find it through my songs. A homecoming always feels good for Rap enthusiasts. It allows me to be closer to my audience too, because I get a lot of DMs telling me: "I can let my son listen to your songs because there is no vulgarity but a lot of veracity". I'm glad to hear that. I'm trying to make mature songs that can be heard by audiences between the ages of 7 and 77, you know.

You said that travelling for your gig tour after your first album enriched you to be able to make this second album. Can you tell me more about that?

Before, I didn't really go out of the city where I grew up, and going on the road like that for my concerts, and meeting so many people allowed me to have a more open mind.

Do you think this evolution was something vital for the conception of your second album?

I think the most important thing in order for people to experience a musical evolution in your songs is that there is a personal evolution above all. And that’s clearly what happened.

It's often said that the first album is an artist's calling card, that's where he lays the foundations and shows what he's worth and your first album was melancholier than the second. Were you afraid of being locked up in this box of a "melancholic rapper"?

Yes and no. I’m a melancholy rapper, it’s true, but I’m not only that. It’s like saying to Niska, "You’re a rapper who makes people dance." This is partly true but yet he's so much more. People have seen me make songs like ‘Repeat’, or through freestyles in parkings, you know. I think it was from the second album that people really started to understand that I knew how to touch different registers. If you listen to songs like ‘Alibi’ (featuring Leto) and 'C Pas Que', you quickly realize that they have nothing in common. People have also labelled me an old school rapper, but in truth, I don't mind, as long as we talk about my music, that's the main thing. (laughs)

Despite everything, you continued rapping on piano tunes and the titles 'Notes De Piano' 1 and 2 are much melancholier than the rest of the album.

It’s important because I still love doing it and I don’t think I will want to stop it one day. I did it naturally, by instinct. It wasn’t reflected songs, it’s even more important to me. The main thing is to do what you want.

Besides that, you have completely opposite productions, with 'Isolé' and 'C Pas Que' for example. How did you find the balance between these two different universes?

Songs like that are the ones I wrote on the tram to go home, or in the tour bus to go on tour. I always write according to the environment and my state of mind. Our mood changes every day, we don't wake up every morning on the right foot, and on this album, there are 13 tracks and it's a bit like there were 13 different days. Each song is like a new story that I tell. It’s a bit like if an author wrote five books with the same story, it wouldn’t make any sense at the end. And I'm aware of this fact. I want to diversify my music as much as possible. You see, I like to make more danceable songs, even if I have no idea how to dance. (laughs)

The first album is simpler, you say everything you have to say but for the second you ask: 'And now what do I say'.

You said "Every sentence you write, you question yourself, you wonder if you’ve already said that sentence before. It requires constant concentration." It's true that we do not necessarily imagine all the work that it takes.

It was more complicated for sure, because I have to evolve and people have to feel it. The first album is simpler; you say everything you have to say but for the second you ask: "And now what do I say?". I'm not someone who writes quickly. I'm more in quality than quantity. I take the time to think about each sentence I write. Every words have to make sense.

The song 'Daron' is a kind of “painful” sound. You're talking about the paternal absence and I saw that lots of fans reacted on social networks by saying: "Dude, you said exactly what I feel".

People react more because it's not a song which deals with my situation only, but it reaches thousands of people. This song brings people together. Human beings always think that they're the only ones to live in such and such a situation, but it's false. We're all the same in many ways. Deep down inside me, I knew that this song would please, because there are so many of us living without a father. I attach myself to the melody and the emotion transmitted, not to the buzz that it will generate.

Besides, in TV program Clique you also mention the taunts you were victim of as a teenager because of your physical appearance. Was it obvious for you to talk about this subject?

People think weakness is talking about what hurts. Personally, I think it’s the opposite. To be strong is to speak and point a finger at what's wrong. There are people for whom it's easy to confide, but not in my case. I can't say that I was brave to make a song like this, I just had to talk about it, and I did it without asking any questions. You have to listen to yourself first, before listening to other people's good advice.

You also talked about the importance of Mac Tyer in your career [e.d: a French Rap pioneer also from Aubervilliers, like Rémy, and who took him under his wing when he started] ... You must be a pride in your neighborhood as he is too?

Pride, I don't know... In my neighborhood, there is a big group that is proud of what I'm becoming, and there is also another that is jealous of this success. Pride comes from mothers most of the time, because those your age are often the ones who let you go.

We see that you have enriched yourself with all these trips that you have made, it can be heard in your songs, and yet you have recorded the entirety of this new album in Aubervilliers. It's hard for you to stay away from the city where you grew up?

No, in truth if I recorded this album in my neighborhood, it's because that's where my studio is. If I could do that on the 20th floor of a building, with an amazing view, or in a villa facing the sea, I would have done it. (laughs) I could make more "Rio de Janeiro songs", but for now, it's better to make darker songs in the hood; at least you're in the right context. (laughs)

I attach myself to the melody and the emotion transmitted, not to the buzz that it will generate. The most important thing in my Rap is the message.

Do you see yourself leaving Aubervilliers one day?

Yes, of course, but not to wipe Aubervilliers off my map, it's impossible. I know the neighbourhood by heart, and everyone knows each other. I like my privacy and have my share of secrecy. Do you know why I want to move? To be able to barbecue! Have you ever tried to make one on a balcony? It really sucks. (laughs) I have lived in this city all my life, I know its advantages and disadvantages, and the more you grow, the more you realize that you're never really free here.

You already said that you were able to give advice to Kanoé [e.d: a rapper of 15 years who created the buzz with a freestyle broadcast on social networks] when he came to your Planète Rap at Skyrock radio station. So, more generally, what advice would you give to a youngster who wants to get into Rap as you did?

Already, I would tell him not to stop school as I have. I was lucky because, before I made this decision, I had spoken at length with Mac Tyer, who had plans for me and it immediately materialized. Already, you have to know your true level. You know, every day there are people who come to speak to me and who say to me: "I rapped since ages but nothing happened yet". During all this time, if you have never succeeded to break through maybe it's because Rap isn't for you. The problem is that now people want to "break into" everything they do, but sometimes it's not realistic. I would tell them to do this out of passion, and not for the money. It's the love for what you do that will make you achieve what you really want.

Are you going to play a show in London soon?

At the moment I have nothing planned, but I am waiting for you to invite me. (laughs) Soon enough, with my teammates, we'll start to work on my tour. I would love to come and do a live concert there to be honest. However, I think it would be impossible for me to do interviews because I don't speak English. Or if I try to speak English, the interview will end very quickly. (laughs) But London is a great idea.

Instagram: CestRemy

Words © Fanny Hill Scott // Photography © Fifou