Discover Ivory Coast : Staggered cut

Birth of the coupé-décalé

While the group Magic System were the first to contribute to the internationalisation of Ivorian music - in this case zouglou - today even those who have never been to Ivory Coast know or have heard of coupé-décalé and equate it with this country. One of the great peculiarities of this movement: unlike other local musical genres, it was not born in Côte d'Ivoire, but in Paris! At the beginning of the 2000s, a group of wedding revellers familiar with the Afro nightclubs of the French capital unknowingly initiated what was to turn out to be a real musical and social phenomenon. This clique, led by Douk Saga, called themselves the Jet Set in order to clearly mark their difference from other party-goers in the diaspora, which translates into a bidding war of show-off and bling. Branded clothes worn close to the body, flashy jewellery and big cars, champagne galore, distribution of tickets to artists performing (the "work") to show off his opulence, and above all a very special way of dancing. But why "coupé-décalé"? Nothing to do with the technique of swaying your hips on the dance floor. The expression comes from the Ivorian street slang, the nouchi, "cut" for the Ivorian diaspora in France, is to work to earn money, "shifting" is to send a cash money order to the family back home.

Douk Saga the founding father

If Douk Saga is often considered as the "founding father" of the coupé-décalé, for some, he would have been inspired by an Akoupé dance in Attié country. Direct heir of the zouglou, he will receive in the country a welcome all the more enthusiastic as it allows Ivorians to forget while having fun. Following an attempted coup d'état on 19 September 2002, the country was cut in two and, in a state of emergency, was subjected to a curfew that put a stop to any fiesta. With its light lyrics and dance steps that take the edge off, the coupé-décalé represents the ideal antidote to the prevailing gloom and transcends questions of belonging by bringing Ivorians together around dance and entertainment. While the zouglou addresses the question of the future in the form of denunciations and demands, the coupé-décalé, on the contrary, stages the ideal vision of a golden future into which everyone can project themselves in a dream. This new trend eventually caught the attention of producer David Monsoh, who convinced the "President" of the Jet Set, Douka Saga, to record the song Sagacité in 2003, which became the coupe-décalé's anthem and manifesto. The clip shows the music, the dance, but also the concepts that go with it: atalaku (singing praise, the art of animating and signing autographs), farot-farot (showing off), the buccantier (making a racket), and "Travailler" (throwing banknotes).

The first generation of "cutters and scavengers

Le Molare, Boro Sanguy, Lino Versace, Jean-Jacques Kouamé (JJK), also members of the famous "jetset", will become other well-known names of this new current which is gradually conquering a wider audience. From 2005, the coupé-décalé is experiencing its golden age and is spreading throughout West Africa. Soon, the "coupe-décaléurs" were touring French-speaking Africa, setting fire to all the stages and negotiating their fees at a golden price. In the country, artists, singers and DJs affiliated to the genre multiplied, their creations more than ever marked by the spirit of celebration, drama and ostentation. Their favourite themes (everyday life, religion, football, dreams of material opulence, current events...) give rise to a myriad of choreographic concepts of which DJ Lewis is one of the most prolific artisans. His hit Avian Influenza (2006), launched in the midst of the H5n1 flu pandemic and mimicking the convulsions of a dying chicken, met with international success. Douk Saga's death in 2006 marked a turning point with the emergence of artists freed from the influence of the "Old Fathers", who produced a coupe-décalé less focused on showmanship. Intestine struggles will overcome the old fathers of the coupé-décalé, surpassed by the youth. As early as 2006, DJ Arafat and Debordo Leekunfa, Bébi Pilipp, Vetcho Lolas Mareshal DJ will occupy the field and keep their hands on the dancefloors for a long time. The genre will know multiple declinations and derivatives, a new musical and/or choreographic fashion directly inspired by the coupé-décalé making its appearance almost every year.

Women take over the mic

But women also stand out in the offbeat coupé, and not just in the exotic flowerpot. They have a loose tongue too, starting with the most charismatic one. The oldest, Maty Dollar, Molaré's cousin, comes from the American diaspora. She created the Pistolero dance, which was successful at the beginning of the^3rd wave of the coupé-décalé in 2006. Other female singers have also taken to the Ivorian stage: Claire Bailly, who made her debut in 2008 with the single A connait pas à demander, and unleashed the crowds during the Femua festival in Abidjan in 2019. We can mention Bamba Ami Sarah, who won the Primud trophy in 2019. She told the Ivorian youth: " Everything is feasible, but not everything is useful. Have God in your life. A real go never goes backwards". Sandia Chouchou, long in the shadows as a dancer has taken the mic, to release her single Koumoucoura. Vitale, dancer-choreographer burned the boards in 2012 with her debut album Premier Pas and her singles Goumin Goumin and Dôyô Dôyô, which celebrates the African woman. Named "Beyonce d'Afrique" and then "La Patronne", she is an outsider on the Ivorian scene. A new generation of women in this musical genre is still at the top of the bill and is more than ever an integral part of Ivorian and even West African popular culture.

The new generation of men is on the move

The genre is experiencing a dazzling success whose first ambassadors of the years 2005-2015 have been joined by the next generation. Serge Beynaud is noticed from 2012 and especially in 2014 with his album Talehi, thanks to his mentor Bébi Philip. Among the outsiders, we can mention Safarel Obiang with his eat shit, thetwo foals of Serges Beynaud (and his label Star Factory Musik) who released together pohi ka maka then solo zikabahoum for Ramses Tikaya and Aloukou for Salvador. But above all Ariel Sheney, the foal of DJ Arafat, who is exploding the charts today. He is the new king of the dancefloors. His best-known track Amina, which tells a love story, in a different register than those usually declined in the coupe-decalé, had a big success. Amina is played by the Togolese actress and model Maria Mobi in the video. Ariel Sheney seems to be moving towards a more reasoned version of the coupe décalé. In an interview with Trax magazine in 2020, he said: "For some years, the coupe-decalé is the scene of clashes that do not have to be. There was already this battle side, this competition that pushed the artists to work, but it went too far. It became tiresome for the fans. Our role, the new generation, is to show the older generation that the war can be musical, but that it must not become physical. There are children watching us, we must set an example. The coupe-décalé is made to give joy, nothing more. A way for the new generation to distance themselves from their elders and to experience the past conflicts that have tarnished the image of the coupé-décalé for some years.

The rise and death of DJ Arafat

DJ Arafat, Ange Didier Houon of his real name, became a legend even before his brutal death in August 2019. King of the offbeat coupe, the "angry president of China", nickname given to his fans "as numerous as the Chinese" effectively galvanized immeasurable crowds. Born in 1986 in Yopougon, he made his debut in one of Abidjan's largest maquis, Shanghai, where he was spotted by producer Roland le Binguiste. Revealed to the public by Hommage à Jonathan in 2003, he takes the name of Dj Arafat because his Lebanese friends call him Yasser Arafat, after the Palestinian leader, for his leadership temperament and his undeniable charisma. In 2005, he settled in Paris as a DJ in the capital's Afro clubs. He released the opus Femmes and the single Paris-Abidjan in 2007 before being sent back (because he was undocumented) to the Ivory Coast. Back in the maquis of the famous rue Princesse in Yopougon, he teamed up with another coupe-décalé star who would become his best enemy, Debordeaux Leekunfa. In 2008, Arafat's beats were beating wildly in self-respecting clubs and his new dance from his hit Kpangor was performed on all the dancefloors of Abidjan, and even in French-speaking West and Central Africa. The singles "Lebede 2", "25 25 Arachide", "Bouddha" culminate in the tops of the African charts. His discography of freestyles and attalakus became classics, such as the special Stéphane Sessègnon, Interdit aux moins de 30 ans, Retour en clash, Cadeau de fin d'année. Arafat, also nicknamed Yorobo, can be listened to morning, noon and evening in the markets, in the bush, in taxis, everywhere, full volume, from Dakar to Kinshasa. Footballer Samuel Eto'o, a fan of the singer, even gave him a €80,000 watch and a state-of-the-art BMW in 2009.
DJ Arafat's latest album features Nigerian stars Davido and J-Martin, Togolese star Toofan and Congolese star Fally Ipupa. Arafat is in a dispute with Debordo, his former stage partner, and the clash between the two singers never ends, each one sending spades back and forth from one concert to the next, from one sound to the next. But Arafat will also be in a clash with Serge Beynaud from 2014, when his hit Okeninkpin will overshadow the King. The latter will call him a "fag" before apologizing publicly and repeating the insult. Until his death, the two stars of the coupe-décalé will compete on stage as well as in the production of their respective foals.
While he is one of the most influential coupe-décalé singers on the Ivorian scene despite the clashes, he died in a motorcycle accident on 11 August 2019 plunging his fans into despair and collective hysteria. The polyclinic of the 2 Plateaux is stormed the day of the announcement, many dare not believe it, his grave will even be desecrated after his burial, following rumors claiming he is still alive. Political leaders, football stars and artists will pay him a heartfelt tribute. A ceremony at the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny stadium will bring together more than 35,000 fans "from the People's Republic of China", demonstrating the immense popularity of the singer.