In the documentary Blacks in France, broadcast on France 2 this Tuesday, January 18, rapper Soprano delivers a powerful testimony to the racism he suffered at the start of his career, with the members of his group Psy 4 de la rime.
This Tuesday, January 18, France 2 devoted an evening to the question of the place of blacks in our society with the broadcast of the powerful documentary Blacks in France. This film highlights the stereotypes, prejudices and racism of which black French people have always been victims through archive images and the powerful testimonies of celebrities or anonymous people The former tennis champion Yannick Noah, the journalist Karine Baste-Regis, Caesarized actor simply black Jean-Pascal Zadi and the singer Soprano there share their personal experience.
“Do they speak French?”
Soprano notably recounted having been victim of racism early in his career, when he was on tour with the Psy 4 de la rime. During a train trip, the rapper and the other members of the group thus found themselves targeted by an identity check, for no valid reason, just because they were black. “I remember with my group Les Psy 4 de la rime, we take the train to go to a concert. We are in first class, we are very quiet. And there, you see the controller coming – from afar! He is always far from us, he hasn’t even started that he says: ‘Second class is over there!’ Then he sees our manager is white and he says, ‘Do they speak French? Do they speak French?'”, he recalls.
“It’s gone too far”
But the incident does not stop there since the controller called the police. Soprano recounts his surprise: “You, you look at him, you ask him questions and you see that he turns all red, and that the police were called before they even checked our papers! Just because they saw us.” And the former coach of The Voice to point: “He didn’t speak with us, he only spoke with our white manager”. Even today, Soprano seems marked by this abusive control. “Therefore, he calls the police, who are waiting for us when we get off. When we had our tickets and we were going to concerts. In my head, I said to myself ‘Ah yeah, anyway! It went so far when we didn’t even say a word. It’s gone too far“ concludes the singer.