Lord Kossity had not been talked regarding for ten years. The rap, reggae and dance hall singer, the man with 16 albums, is remembered fondly, with two albums to come and a series, Diana Boss, in which he almost plays himself.
Outre-mer-La 1ère: For regarding ten years, you disappeared from circulation. What were you doing ?
Lord Kossity : For the past ten years, I have worked on projects with my independent label, Lord Ko publishing. I released four albums between 2008 and 2012. I did a lot of scenes abroad, some with Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube. After sixteen albums, I had decided to slow down and continue to develop outside France. I understood that to make myself known internationally, I had to go myself, hence my contacts with international artists.
Outre-mer-La 1ère: The two albums you are going to release are the fruit of this whole period. Can you tell us more.
Lord Kossity : Two albums are indeed to come. The first to be called West Koss should be released at the end of April/beginning of May. It will include between ten and twelve new releases with a strong west coast influence. I recorded in Los Angeles. The second, Fully Loadedwill be a best-off with once more unpublished.
Outre-mer-La 1ère: On social networks, you believe that most of the music that claims to be rap is not rap. What do you mean ?
Lord Kossity : There are new formats of urban music. What we hear today on TV and on the radio corresponds to musical currents that we cannot assimilate to rap. These artists are not from the hip-hop culture like DJs, breakers or graffiti artists. Rap has specifications, content, flow. Rap denounces something. And there are things to denounce these days in politics, in terms of health. Most of my discography has not been broadcast on the radio because there were a lot of committed texts. The radios preferred to play lighter songs. I did not feel comfortable in this box. That’s why I distanced myself. However, my particularity is to be as comfortable in rap as in reggae and dance-hall where I arrived with committed texts. Let’s not forget that I got a music victory in 2002 (note, victory for best reggae album).
Outre-mer-La 1ère: Your other news is this series on rap in which you play.
Lord Kossity : The series is called Diana Boss. I was contacted by the production who was looking for a rapper of my generation. This series tells the story of Malika alias Diana Boss, a young woman who, alongside her law studies, seeks to find her place in the rap world. She faces racism and sexism. For me, Diana Boss might be the new Diam’s. I play the role of the host of a radio show, a converted former rapper, who organizes rap battles.
Outre-mer-La 1ère: Do you have other projects in the cinema?
Lord Kossity : I played in an episode of the series Criminal Tropics which is to be broadcast soon on France 2. And I have other projects as a screenwriter and actor. Finally, I have a book coming out on Greco-Roman mythology. I recount the life and journey of Hercules.
Diana Boss on France.TV slash since April 4.
