NTM before NTM, and much more! The world of tomorrow, series available this Monday on Arte.tv before its broadcast on the Franco-German channel, Thursday October 20 and 27 at 8:55 p.m., looks back at the origins of the hip-hop movement in France through the genesis of the NTM group , but also dancer and graffiti artist Lady V, and the career of legendary pioneering DJ Dee Nasty and his partner Béatrice. Hailed by the grand prize of the international competition at the last Series Mania festival, the breathtaking series in 6X52 minutes, created and directed by Katell Quillévéré and Hélier Cisterne, already at the origin of Vandala feature film on graffiti, succeeds in its ambitious challenge: to capture the ferment of the emergence of hip-hop culture in France and vibrate with the energy of the youth of the 1980s. Explanations.
A series in “crew” mode
It all started in San Francisco, at the end of the 1970s, Dee Nasty, whose real name was Daniel Bigeault (Andranic Manet), a young DJ passionate about funk, had an epiphany when he discovered hip-hop culture, with graffiti, breakdance and funk chanted in the style of Sugarhill Gang. 1983, back in Paris, this crate-digger learns scratch and sample and tries to impose this new genre in France, between pirate radio shows and sets in clubs, supported by his companion, Béatrice, rebellious and visionary.
The fact of entering by this character “is, for us, a way of affirming from the start that this is not a series on NTM, but a choral series. It’s a way of thwarting a form of expectation: we’re neither in the suburbs, nor in France,” says Katell Quillévéré to 20 mins to Mania series. And to add: “Symbolically, Dee Nasty is the pioneer, the ferryman. It is through him that this music enters the ears of our other characters and that hip-hop culture in France begins. »
As the movement emerges, two friends from a city of Saint-Denis embark on breakdance: the discreet Bruno (Anthony Bajon), with footballing talent, and the gambler Didier (Melvin Boomer), raised by a violent father. Their goal: to enter La Grange-aux-Belles to challenge the best, the arrogant Solo and his crew the Paname City Breakers.
“JoeyStarr and Kool Shen were pioneers in the birth of the hip-hop movement in France. What makes NTM rare is that they are two boys who have embraced all of hip-hop culture. They were first dancers, then graffiti artists, and then rappers,” explains Katell Quillévéré.
Elsewhere, in the Olympiades district in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, Vivi (Laïka Blanc-Francard) lives alone with her mother, Patricia, known as Patou. While waiting to find her father, Vivi tags the walls of the city. Her name, Lady V. “Vivi was a pioneer in graffiti and dance. And then she had this very strong story with Kool Shen, he fell in love with her. His mother, Patricia, was very important for NTM, she worked in a record company and allowed them to meet their first label, ”recalls Katell Quillévéré. “The series tells the story of what happened around male domination in rap. At the start, there were a lot of girls and boys,” emphasizes Hélier Cisterne.
Consultants for “street cred”
“We read everything about the history of hip-hop and saw all the possible archives,” announces Katell Quillévéré. Whether The world of tomorrow succeeds so well in giving the impression of being completely immersed in the bubbling of the emergence of hip-hop culture, it is because “all the living characters of this series, we have met them”, continues the creative.
“The basis of the work is interviews,” adds Hélier Cisterne. Football matches at the Lopez family, the anecdote of the broken vase… The world of tomorrow contains “a lot of real elements”, insists Hélier Cisterne.
Kool Shen and JoeyStarr, DJ Détonateur S, the DJ of NTM, Dee Nasty or Reak, one of the dancers of NTM, member of Psykopat “were involved until the end. They had a right of inspection, but not a right of veto,” adds Hélier Cisterne.
The series also shines with its perfect reconstruction of the 1980s. “We had a requirement for a very strong documentary climate, the archives fed us, but also fiction. Our references were very much in the English cinema of the 1980s, the films of Alan Clarke and the first Ken Loach”, indicates Katell Quillévéré. The journalist Laurent Rigoulet, music columnist at the time in Libé, collaborated on the project. “He took us to the free radios, Carbonne 14, and told us about the spirit of the era in the process of disappearing, the disenchantment after the arrival of Mitterand”, lists Hélier Cisterne.
Actors “validated” by those they embody
Rare fact, the young doubles of fiction were confronted with the characters which they incarnate. “Bruno is very chill and gave me a lot of freedom. We called each other once a week, he asked me to tell him about my week, and if, in the series, I stood up to JoeyStarr, it was important for him, “says Anthony Bajon, the interpreter of Bruno Lopez / Kool Shen during a round table at Series Mania.
Breakdancer Melvin Boomer first met JoeyStarr at his home. “It was special, in a good way. Didier is two people in one, it’s JoeyStar, the character, and Didier, the real person. Generally, before seeing the real person, you see the character, colorful, ”he analyzes. And to continue: “He showed me facets of him that surprised me. Between hip-hop guys, we caught on. The moment he validated me, I showed him a video of me breaking on the slab, barefoot. And he said to me: “that’s hip-hop”. »
“I had the chance to meet Dee Nasty. He taught me to mix. We had sessions with Victor [Bonnel qui incarne Franck/DJ Détonateur S] We had both never done deejing, ”says Andranic Manet.
A school of hip-hop
“There aren’t many roles that require such intense preparation. They spent four months with sports lessons, game coaching, rap, deejing. Andranic spent six months with turntables at home learning to mix. They got into hip-hop practice. It was a kind of school to reach this level and be credible, ”underlines Katell Quillévéré.
Mathias Rassin and Niko Noki from PCB (Paris City Breakers) worked on the choreography. “Niko Noki from the PCB told us how the battles were, who the characters in the crews were, what their specificities were in dance, what they knew how to do at what time,” continues the designer.
The trace of a spray paint on a wall, the skilfully unstructured shoulder movements of the breakdancers, the precise and delicate fingering of the scratcher on the turntable… If The world of tomorrow captures the birth and essence of hip-hop so brilliantly, it’s because the camera focuses on showing the gestures. “With the graffiti artist Bando, a character who appears in episode 3, we recreated identically the graffiti of the time with him. We trained the actor who embodies it with him so that he finds his style. We were far in the precision of the gestures, ”says Katell Quillévéré.
political rap
Beyond a “history of music in France which has not been told, this subject allows us to talk about social and political questions. Hip-hop is a movement invented by young people of immigrant origin, who lived in difficult neighborhoods, and who had nothing, and who invented everything with nothing, ”rejoices Katell Quillévéré.
It is sad to note that the issues highlighted by NTM such as “questions of racism, police violence, and many things that this youth suffered” are still relevant. “It hasn’t changed,” laments Katell Quillévéré. Like a loop, very sad sample, ” The world of tomorrow is still the world of yesterday”, observes Hélier Cisterne. Not enough to depress today’s youth, however: “What struck me was their desire to get out of it, to have fights, demands, to assume and defend them” , concludes Victor Bonnel, the interpreter of DJ Détonateur S.