Before Hip-hop dominated the VMAs and pop-culture in general, there was a time where it was considered the alternative. To be involved in Hip-hop was to be different, it was to be a pioneer of a new movement. A couple of these pioneers were birthed, outside of the Hip-hop epicenters of NY or La, making them even more of an anomaly. Going by the name Les Nubians, a Paris-born/ Chad-raised duo broke out onto the hip-hop scene in a furry. With the release of Les Princesses Nubiennes in 1998, the duo quickly became one of the most successful French-Language groups in the US, bagging a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for best new artist in 1999. The sisters continued to churn out gold with their next project, One Step Forward released in 2003, which landed them a Grammy nomination, along with two NAACP Image Award nominations.
Five years later, the Nubian princesses turned queens are back, dropping Nu Revolution this month, an album inspired by life, as they currently know it, and kicking off a preview tour on the 20th of this month. We caught up with Celia Faussart, one-half of the sister duo, discussing the new album, the internet, and what it means for their African fans.
AfriPOP!: What have you been up to since you put out One Step Forward?
Les Nubians: We’ve been doing some master classes; we’ve been raising our kids. We’ve been organizing to be independent. You have to organize in a different way when you’re independent; you have to fortify your company.
How was working on the album?
Les Nubians: It was very exciting, it was empowering, it was fun. It was the first time we recorded so much in America. It was the first time that we worked so much with American people. It was lovely.
Since you debuted in 1998, do you think there has been a change in receptiveness to your music?
In America, since 1998 there’s a change in the reception. I think that American people, if I can compare between 1998 when we first came out and now, I can say that for example now most of the journalists and radio people we were meeting had no idea who people like Fela were. So it’s changed a lot, I think compilations like Red, Hot, and Riot, the tribute to Fela helped, even the Fela show, to open up the door, and I think African artists in between did a lot of work, and continue to do a lot of work to expose people to their music. I think people are also getting better in discovering the new Africa. It’s not even the new Africa; it’s the Africa of “nowadays” that’s what is crazy. You know what they call world music is all the traditional Africa music, which is great, but it’s not really necessarily what young African’s listen too. Now, people have the Internet, and the whole record industry really has changed. People think more and research more for music, so they discover more interesting things to listen to, it’s a great time!
Working in the US did you work with a lot of American artists?
We worked with many artists; we worked with Piranha Head from Detroit, coming from the house scene there. Then in New York we recorded with Mr. Brian Jackson, who composed the music to The Bottle from Gil Scott Heron. We worked with Mr. Eric Roberson that we love dearly. We recorded with Carol Riddick of Philadelphia. We worked also with J. Period. We worked with Blitz the Ambassador, our African American brother. That’s the return of real MCs, hallelujah!
Do you think other MCs are lacking?
It’s hard to criticize. I think that they’re lacking culture. I don’t think that they’re lacking skills. You know they can rap fast, you know they sometimes can rhyme. It’s just that they are lacking culture; they’re lacking vision. They’re lacking hip-hop culture. So it’s missing a lot of vision. It’s just the way it is. It’s OK.
Blast from the past: Les Nubians hit single Makeda
Do you feel that this album could be geared to win over a US following?
I don’t know about that, because the geared thing has a lot of premeditation, but what I can say is that it has more English, but that our English, it’s English as a French girl, or Afropean girls. It’s English as we speak it. It has more English because we are speaking more English, that’s it. It’s not trying to charm more Americans, because I think we would even charm them more in French. I don’t know, I have no theory about it. Its just because we speak more English, so we feel more what we speak and what we say. As we worked more in America, or in this album, sometimes the songs were coming in English, so we decided instead of trying to translate or whatever, lets keep it the way it is, and that’s how for example Nu Revolution the song is in English.
We’ve talked about the US market. What about African market?
I think South Africa’s going to have the album because they already have a system of industry there. That’s when as an artist you take your feet and you go there. We’ll be in Africa in December. Voila! When you play there you find a distributor, and also there’s the freedom people have nowadays, they have with Internet. The Internet is a blessing for Africa, because we have Internet access at every corner, so it gives less of a delay between Africa and the rest of the world. I love how the youth is running to bridge the gap in their own way. Aaah, that is so cool! I know we’ll be in Cameroon there’s going to be Kenya. Senegal’s on the list, Ivory Coast wants to jump in.
What do you think of the African artists emerging like K’naan, Asa, Nneka?
I’m proud, I’m happy, that’s what we worked for. So we’re happy the word came to pass. We met Asa in France, when she played with us. That’s where she met the record label that signed her. So it’s a story, not a family story, but kinda. We’re so happy. We’re part of the symbol that shows that, hey, it’s possible. People in America can listen to your music; especially for the African European. I met Nneka at the beginning. She gave me her first album, back in the day in Berlin. She’s a lovely artist, so I’m super happy and proud.
What can your fans expect from Nu Revolution?
We have a sunny song, can you believe that?! It’s to show you our mood. They can expect the Nubians – the Nubians in 2010, in both languages. They’ll find hope, prayers, and blessings for now and in the future. They’ll find strength, I hope. I believe in inspiration, because if you ask me precisely which genre (it is) it’s a Les Nubians album. It’s still a mix as we always do, and it’s really difficult to tell. I can’t wait for it to be out. It’s a very world citizen’s album, which implies responsibility, awareness, and action. It also talks about travelling, because we’re travelers. It’s also talking about womanhood. It’s called Nu Revolution. In French “rêve” means dream. It’s the evolution of a dream. We’re entering another step of the dream that’s what the album is about. It’s a new revolution. Its not the revolution, “take your weapon we’re going to kill them.” Oh, no. That’s not the time we live in. But there is a revolution, a change happening. Going towards evolution. And even Eve- volution: the evolution of women. Women are evolving they have to evolve, I mean they are anyway, not that they were retarded, just that they have been shut down for so long, they need to take their power back. They just have to continue doing it, because they have been doing it already. So those 3 three things are very important on this album. The dream, the evolution, and the woman, who are we in the evolution, as human beings, as citizens, as women as mother, as black women and so on, because all those circles, are all those circles constitute my identity. It’s about action, and energy. It’s talking about love, and many levels of love, but love.
What inspires your music?
Life inspires my music, I look around and that inspires my music. Life is the main inspiration. Books, music itself. So when you say the inspiration has changed through out the years, yes and no. Because some influences are really rooted deep, and don’t move. Influences like Fela, and people like Bob Marley, and Edith Piaf, all those influences that we have since the beginning are still there, and are there as strongly as when we first began. Then in between of course we listen to some compositions that we find very interesting, like I was telling you we have Eric Roberson, we’re so happy Eric is on the album. You know sometimes people they tell us why don’t you call big names. No you call on whom your heart and your life path bring, and that are totally meaningful, we really listen to his music. We think he’s a great songwriter, he writes songs of love in a different way with a different meaning. I love the sound of his voice, he plays in New York, he’s doing the soul night, once a month at SOBs, he was there so I was like yeah let’s see if we can try to do something. I like these kinds of encounters, its really meaningful. I’ve been listening to a lot of Brazilian music, which is still part of my influence. I like the way they mixed the roots with the now, while protecting the future, I think they are very brilliant. I listen to a lot of house music too. There’s one song on this album, that’s sort of THE ballad of the album, this song was written at the end of the first album and we kept the song for more than 10 years with us, and now it’s out. It wasn’t good timing for the song. It’s a song about a couple each person in the couple; depending on the verse it’s the person who stays in the home, or the person who travels to accomplish a mission to build this palace of love and peace for both. That was a song that we wrote in the first album when we were thinking about being women artists and what we’re going to do with our boyfriends, how to explain to them that we’re going to be gone for months, “stand by me, I need you to stand by me strong, as I would stand strong for you.”
And how has that worked in real life?
It doesn’t work. I mean there’s no such thing. Maybe that’s why we didn’t put it in the first album. Now that we’re putting it in this album now, maybe it’s going to manifest, because I said it, so maybe it will help manifest it.
It’s interesting to see women on the road, not shifting back to typical family life.
It’s a balance you have to do, and the two are very important. And also it’s a process of non-guiltiness facing the society. Because everyday people want to put their guilt on you, like “How could you? You’re the mother?” But you have to have that part of the fulfillment of life. That’s what allows me to be happy at home.
Do you feel more of that guilt as an African woman?
I felt that guilt in beginning, but I brought myself to refuse to carry that guilt because I felt my mission was bigger than that. I’m not saying bigger than being a mother, but bigger than that. For me the kids are also the kids of their father, the children of my clan, and the children of his clan. It takes a village to raise a child. All of that is very important. Like the music is part of me, and they always know that. I toured with the babies, but I’m home too and when I’m home I’m home.
I feel like you should write a book.
Les Nubians: I have to think about it.
Click below to hear Les Nubians new single Liberte
