With nearly 50 million cumulative views on TikTok, the sound “tonight in the city” has become the trending song of the moment (at least, on the social network). A success which comes above all from the heady rhythm, assimilated to funk. Taken up by many users – even by the police headquarters – the title is the pride of its author, Sandji do Brazil who now has nearly 80,000 subscribers, which thus highlights “the talent of the Lyonnais”. And yes, because, if you didn’t know, the capital of funk is Lyon.
“All you have to do is type funk on YouTube and you’ll see who’s giving the trick to who [expression lyonnaise qui signifie dire battre quelqu’un] ! It’s the sixty-nine pelo!! It’s 6.9, that’s how it is! », says the young singer. “All Lyonnais were born with funk in their blood,” adds his producer. But then, where does this myth come from?
“I grew up with funk”
Above all, funk was born in the United States, in the mid-1960s. It gradually arrived in France, particularly in Lyon, and never really left. “In the 1990s, when hip-hop broke through in France in big cities like Paris and Marseille, that was not the case here. We stayed with funk and it has followed us ever since,” says record dealer and musician Kâshif Kroche, considered a reference in the field. He is the manager of The Sounds of music, with more than 3,000 funk references of all kinds.
“In neighborhoods like Vaulx-en-Velin or Bron, we remained very nostalgic,” he continues. You just need to have a parent or an older brother who listens to funk and you automatically do the same thing. I grew up with funk. » He says that at the time, it was difficult to find new sounds, the import market not being what it is today. “We exchanged our cassettes, some remixed them or added musical influences from other regions of the world,” remembers the enthusiast.
This is how many labels opened in the 1980s in Lyon. As recalled Le Petit Pauméat that time, festive gatherings around funk often took place in the bars and cafes of La Guillotière, between the 3rd and 7th arrondissements.
A fashion that never fades
The trend has not gone away. She evolved. “More than forty years after the emergence of funk, it is still a very current style in Lyon,” assures Kâshif Kroche, himself a member of a group, The Funky Drive Band. And there’s a good local scene. »
The musician elaborates: “Now we won’t call it modern funk anymore. In the corner, we have Nickee B, Master Fonk and DJ AK. In even more current sounds, there is also Dabeull who worked very, very well. These are different ways of making funk, like what young people do on the networks, but it’s still funk. » According to him, this is also why Lyon is considered the capital of funk. “But the capital in France, eh! “, he specifies. Because in terms of reference, the United States or the United Kingdom seem far ahead.
According to the specialist, “we will never move on.” Understand, funk will live forever. “Recently, artists like Daft Punk or Bruno Mars have brought this style up to date. They used the rhythms in their songs and it was a hit, he says. The basis for good funk is that it makes you dance. » Sandji’s hit therefore fulfills the rules. According to the videos, “tonight in town” gets the Lyonnais (and others) moving.