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Young Paris

YOUNG PARIS, JUNIA T & THE JUICE MONEY COLLECTIVE and PHOENIX PAGLIACCI and others as part of Dalton Higgins’s Rap N’ Roll at the Rivoli (334 Queen West), Friday (February 27), 9 pm. $10. daltonhiggins.wordpress.com.


“My father co-founded the First National Ballet of the Congo,” rapper/producer/performance artist Young Paris says over the phone from his home in New York City. “Back then, you couldn’t speak out against the government, so they would do theatrical plays as a way of transmitting messages across communities.”

His upbringing was a direct influence on the burgeoning artist, whose music is a compelling mélange of African drumbeats, American hip-hop and electronica. Born to a Congolese choreographer father and an African-American dancer mother, Paris and his nine siblings were based in France for years before moving to Long Island when he was a kid. 

“To American kids, Africa was a joke,” he recalls about the rough transition. “They associated you with being hungry and dirty.

“I grew up knowing and being proud of my history – knowing of the castles and kingdoms our land held, as well as the great history of our people from Egypt to Sudan, so it was hard to adjust.”

Elements of Young Paris’s music can be seen as a response to these childhood traumas. In Kaké, from his self-titled 2014 release, he seems dead set on upending the dominant narrative about Africa: “They call us the third world, but the media is lying / How are we the third world? We sit on gold and diamonds.” 

“I try to be very clear about [providing a different perspective on Africa] while also making songs lively.”

His POV and originality have helped his just-released video for The Haus get tens of thousands of hits, and made him a key act at Dalton Higgins’s Rap N’ Roll: The Afro Alternative Music Showcase, a Black History Month event highlighting the best in urban indie alternative music. Its theme this year is Young, Gifted & Black. Perfect fit. 

He’s also earning some notable fans. After a raucous performance at Montreal Fashion Week in the summer of 2013, Paris caught the attention of the Arcade Fire’s Win Butler, who invited him to perform at the band’s annual fundraiser for Haiti, Knape Kanaval. 

“I hadn’t heard of the Arcade Fire because I didn’t know much about rock music,” Paris admits. “But it worked out. We blew the performance at Knape out of the water. And I’ve kept in touch with Win.”

Future plans include more music and videos while keeping his message intact. 

“My goal is to show Africans that you should have pride about who you are, because our origins are the basis of everything we know today.”     

music@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto

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