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At the Francos, French rapper Jok’Air set Club Soda alight on Friday night. A few minutes before he took to the stage, Pan M 360 spoke to the Parisian star about his visit to Montreal and his latest album, Melvin de Paris.
Born in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, Melvin Félix Aka aka Jok’Air is far from being a rookie in the rap world. For the record, the rapper spent several years in the MZ collective alongside Hache-P, Dehmo and Loka. In 2017, he went solo and unveiled his artistic identity with his first project Big Daddy Jok. Jok’Air’s music is melodic, honeyed and incorporates some r&b elements with a rap base. But make no mistake, the eternal romantic shines with his versatility and is also capable of delivering hard-hitting tracks.
Last May, the 31-year-old released Melvin de Paris, the most coherent and accomplished project of his career. The 18-track album features contributions from Damso, Laylow, So La Lune, Soprano and others. One of the best tracks on this opus, Tu m’as eu avec Linema, pays tribute to the hit You got me by the legendary hip-hop group The Roots and Erykah Badu.
photo copyright : Frédérique Ménard-Aubin
PAN M 360 : First of all, welcome to Montreal. How long have you been in town?
JOK’AIR : I’ve been in the city for about a week now. I have friends who live in Montreal. They show me around the city every time I come.
PAN M 360 : What do you know about the Quebec rap scene?
JOK’AIR : I know a bit about Quebec rap. I’m mostly familiar with Montreal beatmakers. I was lucky enough to go and see Loud’s show and meet him at the Festival. I also know Enima and Lost. I come to Quebec quite often.
PAN M 360 : How would you describe your music?
JOK’AIR : It’s simply Jok’Air. It doesn’t necessarily fit into any particular musical style. It’s different from anything else on the French rap scene at the moment.
PAN M 360 : Last May, you released Melvin de Paris. Tell me about the creation of this project.
JOK’AIR : It’s the album I’ve been working on the longest in my career. In general, I release one or two projects a year, and this time I took a year off to put the finishing touches to the album. I really had to work in depth on each track. What’s more, I recorded several of Melvin’s tracks from Paris to Montreal. For people who want to discover me, this is definitely the perfect album to do so.
PAN M 360 : Looking back over your career, it’s clear that the pace at which you create is breathtaking. What is the key to your work ethic?
JOK’AIR : It’s definitely being passionate. Passion pushes you to always give more. It makes you always want to give your best. It allows you to progress every day. Without that, I’d never have been able to get there and keep up the pace.
PAN M 360 : The album features “Quoi de neuf bébé”, a collaboration with Belgian rapper Damso. How did this track come about?
JOK’AIR : One day I was in the studio with Damso in Brussels and we were listening to some tracks I’d recorded. As soon as “Quoi de neuf bébé” came on, he listened to it several times and he really got hooked on the track. It was he who decided to add his verse to the song and I was really flattered that he liked it so much. I’m really proud to have such a renowned artist on my project. It’s crazy to be able to share one of these tracks with such a talented person. It’s a real honour to have him on my project.
PAN M 360 : Let’s talk about a project that’s close to your heart, your comic book and its distribution in many schools in France. What is the aim of this project?
JOK’AIR : It’s a collaborative project we’ve been running for two years with the association La Mélodie des Quartiers to combat illiteracy and encourage young people to read. It’s quite simple, the aim is to distribute comic strips I’ve made to schools in disadvantaged areas of France. It’s a project I’ve wanted to do for a long time, I’ve always wanted to do a comic strip à la Titeuf. So we created a book called Melvin de Paris, like my last album. It’s a great human adventure, we’re putting smiles on children’s faces and that’s great.
PAN M 360 : Clearly, comic strips were very important in your childhood. Do you have any other projects of this kind in the pipeline?
JOK’AIR : Absolutely, they had a huge impact on me when I was younger. In fact, I’ve got a tattoo of Titeuf on my left arm. It just goes to show how deeply it’s ingrained in me. I’d definitely like to explore this avenue further, either by doing another comic strip or even a cartoon. There are no plans for the moment, but I’d certainly like to.
PAN M 360 : With a ten-year career as part of a collective and seven years as a solo artist, you’re definitely one of the big names in French rap. What’s next for Jok’Air?
JOK’AIR : It’s simple: we want to do even better. It’s impossible to reach the top, but it’s always possible to surpass yourself. At the moment, I’m doing the festival tour and a number of shows in Europe. Then I’ll be back in the studio to do even better and offer my fans even more.
