This evening in February 2019, when ElGrandeToto is preparing to go on stage as the opening act for Belgian rapper Damso, in Casablanca, no one among the organizers has yet taken the measure of his aura. “Damso agreed, but the film makers feared it wouldn’t fit the audience,” remembers Anissa Jalab, manager of ElGrandeToto since 2018. They did not want this Moroccan singer who raps mainly in Darija (Moroccan dialectal Arabic), does not hesitate to appear with a joint in his mouth and a glass of alcohol in hand and is too reminiscent of the street for a renowned French-speaking audience “pretty classy”. And then, ElGrandeToto started his show.
In a few minutes, the Mohammed-V stadium was transformed into a giant karaoke. “The audience knew the words by heart, people were excited, we experienced a great musical moment. His audience spoke for him, praises the Belgian of Moroccan origin. I insisted because I understood that Toto fascinates the whole of Morocco. » And now well beyond its borders.
At 27 years old, ElGrandeToto is one of the most listened to artists in the Arab world. Since October, he has exceeded 100 million streams on Spotify for his debut album Chameleon (2021). The Moroccan star begins a world tour, from Brussels to Los Angeles, and will perform to sold-out audiences at the Olympia, in Paris, on November 5. Highly anticipated, his second album, 27, produced by Toulouse-based Guilty, will soon be released by RCA (Sony Music France).
“It’s the rappers who make things happen”
In a few years, ElGrandeToto has imposed his outspokenness in texts which describe his daily life between alcoholic evenings, cannabis, violence, idleness, confrontations with the police and dreams of elsewhere. So many subjects that touch the heart of a whole new generation left on the margins of a country torn between religious conservatism and modernity.
For the young people of Benjdia, his native district, ElGrandeToto is a hero. An impertinent character, rough around the edges, who managed to free speech and restore the darija to its letters of nobility. “Toto popularized our language which was considered shameful. Today, he has surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify. Who did this before him? Person. Nobody gave us visibility, remarks Oussama Benbrika, a 17-year-old high school student passionate about rap, who dreams of a career as a professional footballer. Today, it’s rappers who make things happen in our country, not politicians. All Moroccan youth are behind him! »
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