Dj Mehdi: Made in France, the link between rap and electro

In a documentary series available on arte.tv, Thibaut de Longeville deciphers the DJ Mehdi phenomenon and depicts a unique trajectory.

Without ever losing his good humor, Dj Mehdi gave to see a placidity at all costs. A quiet strength according to those close to him. Capable of making music for hours with the biggest names in French rap as well as with those of the French Touch, he was the rock on which everyone convoyed. The documentary series Dj Mehdi: Made in Franceavailable since September 12 on arte.tv, looks back at the meteoric rise of an outstanding producer and composer, navigating between genres and eras.

Thibault de Longeville, a childhood friend of Medhi, had the good idea of ​​filming him through the ages. It is thanks to his images that he was able to produce the six episodes offered on Arte. Six episodes in the form of a tribute to the late man, who died in September 2011, but above all in the form of a plea for music, in all its most composite aspects. With a host of prestigious guests, the man who has been involved with the rap world since his adolescence shows us the man, ultimately little known to the general public, behind the music. One could have believed in a hagiography, we are treated to a very intimate portrait, alongside the very eclectic vision of DJ Mehdi.

If music is made of trajectories, the story of DJ Mehdi is more of a destiny. Growing up in Genevilliers and then in Colombes in a family where music plays a major role, Mehdi Faveris-Essadi was immersed in a cultural melting pot from a very young age. A clear path? However, it is worth remembering that we are in the early 90s, in a poor city and that Mehdi is here an immigrant, from Tunisia to be precise. Not necessarily the environment conducive to a future great career in music. In any case, this is how Thibault de Longeville introduces his friend, with the help of a tearful Kery James at the mention of his traveling companion.

Of the same age, the latter will meet through Cut Killer – another DJ who will have followers, made a star in Hate – and very quickly start collaborating. At only 15 years old, the two already have solid foundations in their respective fields: Mehdi already composes songs and instrumentals and Kery James is at the head of a rap group, Ideal J for Ideal Junior. Thanks to striking images by the alchemy that binds them, we see them walking the streets of Paris and record stores in search of the new American rap or soul vinyls. Three years later, in 1996, their first album was released, then the consecration arrived in 1998 with The fight continues.

The strength of the documentary also lies in its casting. Most of the members of the Mafia K'1 Fry, a rap collective from the 94, intervene, all in terms more complimentary than the others towards Dj Mehdi. We understand that he knew how to make himself loved without really wanting to, that his talent preceding him had become essential. Manu Key, Mokobé, AP, Rim'K, Teddy Corona, Rohff, all agree: this Dj is special and is even unique in France where most producers are infused with American rap. He knows how to play on his musical culture and will draw from all genres. With his biggest success to date, the album The Princes of the City Then 113 is causing troublehe goes even further in sampling – this art which consists of choosing a piece of a piece and endlessly manipulating it – and looks into electronic music.

In Thibault de Longeville's series, we can clearly see this concern for perfection sometimes pushed to the extreme. Told with great detail by these artists, who have become like brothers, but also by his mother and cousin. Who recall, between astonishment and amusement, the much-discussed transition of Dj Mehdi with electro and his entry into the legendary Ed Bangers label. A slight downside to the series, this change in artistic direction that occurred in the mid-2000s is little exposed, except in one episode, the last one. Cassius, Busy P aka Pedro Winter or Romain Gavras are thus questioned about this new life made up of international tours and nightclubs, at the antipodes of the codes of rap. They sketch the idea of ​​a change rather than a denial. A complete DJ in fact of a torn man. Rap ​​and electro, Mehdi as a hyphen.

A conventional exercise if ever there was one, the documentary series is here praised to the skies, between archive images, interviews with various artists and family members. Its strength is that it is not tearful, preferring to celebrate the visionary in Dj Mehdi rather than the artist whose wings were clipped, who died at only 34 years old. You have to see it to understand how considerable this legacy is. Definitely one of a kind.