Keblack's odyssey is unique... It's the story of a decade of hits and millions of YouTube views, but also of doubts, questioning and finally one of the music industry's most remarkable remontadas in 2023. After a period of uncertainty, the singer racked up 3 diamond singles in the space of a few months. ‘Laisse-moi’, “Aucune attache” and “Boucan”, featuring Franglish, marked the comeback of one of the most popular artists of his generation, and have raised expectations for his next project. Soberly entitled ‘Focus’, his 4th opus perfectly sums up the status of the Mc. An indisputable star, he has experienced the medal of success and its downside, but has always retained the same passion. A pioneer of Afro, Keblack has reclaimed his ground with a constantly renewed formula.
Keblack's career is inextricably linked to where he grew up, in Nogent-Sur-Oise (60). It was there, in the La Commanderie neighbourhood, that he forged his musical education. Between the street, with its mix of cultures, and the house where the songs of the great Congolese rumba singers (Werason, Fally Ipupa, Papa Wemba) resounded, Keblack forged a unique musical repertoire. At the age of 15, he officially wrote his first lyrics to Spike Miller's prods, which he found on the Net. He soon dragged his childhood friend, Naza, along with him. His first demo tapes reflected his daily life: ‘We were out-of-towners at the time. We were doing raw rap. At the time, there was Niska, Gradur, PSO Thug. It was weird to sing’. Yet Keblack has it in him. Melody. Over the years, he has incorporated more sung flows into his draft lyrics.
It was in 2014 that everything changed for the young man. After a series of 14 freestyles, he sent out ‘Tout va bien’, his first all-singing freestyle. The buzz was immediate. In just a few days, the video went viral and Keblack became a new sensation. And then things really started to happen. Keblack joined Youssoupha's Bomayé Musik label, where he was reunited with his long-time friend Naza. The studio became his playground, his laboratory. In 2015, Keblack sent out ‘J'ai déconné’, a single that caused a tidal wave. As soon as it was released, the track racked up millions of views. But it was during Euro 2016, when the French national team took over the song, that it really took on a new dimension. A few weeks later, he released ‘Bazardée’. The coup de grâce. With over 100 million views on YouTube, the single - certified diamond - made Keblack the new hitmaker of his generation. He then went on to release his 1st album, ‘Premier étage’, certified platinum.
Now the undisputed star of the game, Keblack is consolidating his formula. On his second opus, ‘Appartement 105’, he experimented. He experimented and decided to make a double album. Once again, tracks such as ‘Ne m'en veux pas’ and ‘Menteuse’ went gold, as did the album itself. After this project, Keblack left Bomayé Musik. He released a string of singles, but these were not as popular with the public. Now signed to his own label, he had to manage everything solo. It was in this very particular mood that the young man conceived his third opus, Contrôle: ‘I tell myself that people don't want to listen to me any more. I accept that's the way it is. I'm in the doldrums, people don't call me any more, I'm aware of that’. But Keblack is not giving up. He locked himself away in the studio, fine-tuning and rectifying his formula. He returned to something simpler, more instinctive, while opening up his universe to new styles, particularly the sounds of Nigeria. Keblack turned this period in the desert into a new opportunity, a new beginning. He came out of it much more focused and precise. Hence the title of his new opus, ‘Focus’.
