LES NUBIANS

YOUNG AUDIENCE PROGRAM
LES NUBIANS
Concert
Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 at 11am – Florence Gould Hall
School groups only • Grade 1 – 9
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Who are Les Nubians?...………………………………………………………….………3
Meaning and origin of their name………………………..…………...…….….….….4
Their aesthetics……….……………….……………………….………………………..…5
Focus on their musical influences…………..…………………….………………...….6
What are the themes of their songs? ………………………………….………....…12
Interview with Les Nubians …………………………………………………….………15
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Who are Les Nubians?
Les Nubians is an “Afropean,” urban, R&B Grammynominated duo composed of two sisters, Hélène and Célia
Faussart, from Paris, France. Les Nubians had its genesis in
a small town in the southwest region of France where the
Paris-born sisters lived as teenagers after returning from
several years’ residence with their parents in the African
country of Chad. With a French father and a Cameroonian
mother, Hélène and Célia experienced cultural dissonance
in the rural Bordeaux region.
After their father’s death, Célia joined her sister in
Bordeaux and they helped found a cultural collective, les
Nouveaux Griots, a “griot” being a traditional African
Storyteller and historian, all with the goal of increasing awareness of African and urban cultures. A
chance meeting with jazz legend Abbey Lincoln, who encouraged the sisters to sing, led to the formation
of Les Nubians.
In the beginning they sang a capella due to their difficulty finding musicians who would back them.
Their unique sound led musicians to a recording deal with Virgin Records and in 1988 their debut album,
Princesses Nubiennes was released in Europe, where initially it enjoyed only modest sales. But the
album’s innovative mix of hip hop, neo soul and African music found an audience in America and
“Makeda” the first single from Princesses Nubiennes became an urban radio hit. The video for
“Makeda” garnered heavy rotation on BET and VH1 Soul while a DJ Spinna re-mix generated strong club
play. Characterized by a marriage between Sade and Erykah Badu, “Makeda” was the right sound at the
right time.
Massive media attention, successful tours, and a Grammy nomination followed as well as nominations
for two NAACP Image Awards and two Soul Train Awards; one of which Les Nubians took home as
1999’s winner for Best New Artist Group or Duo. In 2003, Les Nubians released their second album One
Step Forward, a conscious evolution of their style. They sang more in English on this album, largely as a
result of their American experiences which made them far more fluent in English. Restlessly creative the
sisters graced 2005 not with a new Les Nubians album but with a spoken word project Echos (Nubiatik
LLC/LicenceArtemis--‐Triloka Records), that brought together talented spoken word artists under the Les
Nubians umbrella.
To date Les Nubians have made Brooklyn their home base. They continue to tour the US and
worldwide, performing at festivals, art centers and clubs. Their most recent release is the nü revolution
album (2011–Nubiatik/Shanachie). Their pan-African vision remains as vibrant and clear as ever, as
expressed on “Africa for the Future” from this same new album. 2016 will be their 20th career
anniversary as Les Nubians. To celebrate this special time, they are preparing a “Best of” and will be
touring in the US/Africa/Europe in 2016.
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The meaning and origin of their name
The term “Nubian” describes an ethnic group that originated in
modern-day Sudan and Egypt. The Nubians have a distinct ethnic
and cultural identity, they speak their own language with its own
script, and they have a history dating back to dynastic Egypt.
Ancient Nubians were famous for their skill and precision with the
bow.
At times in their history, the Nubians have followed the Pharaonic
religions, had an indigenous Christian culture, and now follow Islam.
Modern Nubians are divided into three main groups – the Danaqla
around the Dongola Reach, the Mahas from the Third Cataract to
south of Wadi Halfa, and the Sikurta around Aswan. Each group
speaks a slightly different dialect of the Nubian tongue. In Sudan,
the groups also practice facial scarring. Mahas men and women
often display three wide scars on each cheek. With the Danaqla, the
same scars are found around the temple. Scarification, however, is
becoming less and less popular with younger generations.
The Nubians have developed an identity which has been celebrated
in poetry, novels, music and storytelling.
Music is important in Nubian culture. Unlike Arabic music it’s based on the pentatonic scale, and so is
more immediately accessible to Western ears. Traditional music features a kisir (five-stringed lyre) and a
tar (drum). Nubian ‘pop’ music is highly synthesized and often introduces horns to weave further
melodies into a heady jazz mix. Whichever style is played, the themes remain the same – call-andresponse chants, love songs and songs in praise of the land. The last have become increasingly popular
in the last 40 years with the flooding of Nubia’s heartland and the urban drift of Nubians to Khartoum
and Cairo.
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Their aesthetics
Inspired by the conscious rap of Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Arrested Development as well as the
smoother but no less exhilarating sounds of Soul II Soul and Des’ree, Les Nubians are a new breed of
Afropean-styled hip-hop.
Les Nubians debut album, Princesses Nubiennes, is an amalgam of everything they had soaked up in
their life travels, including African roots (the girls lived for several years in Chad) with a jazzy feel, funky
rhythms, a hint of British soul, and a dash of French cool. Other French rappers such as MC Solaar and
Mel’ Groove have indeed forged a blueprint upon which Les Nubians build their sound, equally
influenced by classic soul, contemporary R&B and the inspiration of such African world music icons as
Miriam Makeba, Ray Lema and Youssou N’Dour.
“This album (Princesses Nubiennes) is a kind of travelogue, a kind of journey through all
the different kinds of music of the African Diaspora. We begin with the roots -- African
chants, griot chants -- and then after that traditional soul, and after that gospel, blues,
jazz reggae, funk and on to more modern styles. This was our idea of travel, to offer a
tribute to different black music, but still to have a modern touch. Because soon it will be
the 21st century, and so we wanted to do something modern. On time.”
Helene Faussart
Their Nü Revolution album, a mix of R & B, hip-hop, African music and other world elements, may be the
most impressive representation of Les Nubians’ “Afropean Soul” to date. Featuring special guests
ranging from African music legend Manu Dibango, with South African pop stars Freshly Ground,
Ghanian-American MC Blitz The Ambassador and Polish MC John Banzaï along for the ride. Somehow,
Les Nubians manage to make the blend of so many diverse elements seem logical and organic, it flows
quite naturally from their multicultural lives.
“The main difference between this album and the others, is that Nü Revolution is more
uptempo. This album is a celebration of life! We wanted to bring and spread this energy,
this joy in a time of uncertainty.”
Helene Faussart
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Focus on their musical influences
The sisters cite a long and varied list of musical inspirations for this distinctive sound. The origins of their
music are visible in the following family tree:
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AFRICAN MUSIC
Given the vastness of the continent, the traditional music of Africa is historically ancient, rich, and
diverse, with the different regions and nations of Africa having distinct musical traditions. However,
traditional music is passed down orally, without being written, in much of the continent.
The music of the African diaspora, formed to varying degrees on African musical traditions, includes
American music and many Caribbean genres, such as Soca, Calypso and Zouk. Latin American music
genres such as the Samba, Rumba, Salsa, Tango, Mambo, Merengue, Milonga, Son, Guaracha, and other
clave-based genres, were also founded on the music of enslaved Africans, and have in turn influenced
African popular music.
All sub-Saharan traditions emphasize singing, because song is used as an avenue of communication.
Because many African languages are "tone languages," in which pitch level determines meaning, the
melodies and rhythms of songs generally follow the intonation contour and rhythms of the song texts.
Songs generally are in call-and-response form.
Besides vocalization, a wide array of musical instruments are used. African musical instruments include a
wide range of drums, slit gongs, rattles and double bells, different types of harps, and harp-like
instruments such as the kora as well as fiddles, many kinds of xylophone and lamellophone such as the
mbira. Drums used in African traditional music include talking drums, bougarabou and djembe in West
Africa, water drums in Central and West Africa, and the different types of ngoma drums (or engoma) in
Central and Southern Africa. Other percussion instruments include many rattles and shakers, such as the
kashaka, rain stick, bells and wood sticks.
Among wind instruments are flutes made of bamboo, millet, reed, or the tips of animal horns and
gourds; ocarinas; panpipes; horns (made from elephant tusks or animal horns) and trumpets (made of
wood, sections of gourd, or metal tubes). Additionally, string instruments are also used and include
musical bows, zithers, bowed and plucked lutes, and the kora. Body percussion is also exploited, the
most common being handclapping and foot stamping.
With urbanization and the impact of Western culture, traditional music and dance, although still
practiced, have decreased. New idioms have emerged, however, that combine African and Western
elements; they include West African highlife (showing certain Caribbean traits), Congolese popular
music (reflecting Latin American influence), and in southern Africa, sabasaba and kwella (both akin to
U.S. swing and jive music). Evidence suggests that the needs of the church and other transplanted
institutions may stimulate a new type of music. Traditional music and dance face serious threat of
decline. Because of their political and cultural importance, however, their preservation is given special
attention in many countries.
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Bougarabou
Bamboo flute
Rain stick
Ngoma
Ivory trumpet
Kora
Wood Djembe
Kashaka
Mbira
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BLUES
Blues is a genre and musical form that originated in African-American communities in the "Deep South"
of the United States around the end of the 19th century. The genre is a fusion of traditional African
music and European folk music, spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed
simple narrative ballads. The blues form, ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll, is
characterized by the call-and-response pattern, the blues scale and specific chord progressions, of which
the twelve-bar blues is the most common. The blue notes are also an important part of the sound. A
blue note is a note that is sung or played at a slightly different pitch than standard, for expressive
purposes. Blues shuffles or walking bass reinforce the trance-like rhythm and form a repetitive effect
called a “groove.”
Blues as a genre possesses other characteristics such as lyrics, bass lines, and instruments. The lyrics of
early traditional blues verses consisted of a single line repeated four times. It was only in the first
decades of the 20th century that the most common current structure became standard: the so-called
AAB pattern, consisting of a line sung over the four first bars, its repetition over the next four, and then
a longer concluding line over the last bars. Early blues frequently took the form of a loose narrative,
often relating troubles experienced within African American society.
Many blues elements, such as the call-and-response format and the use of blue notes, can be traced
back to the music of Africa. The origins of the blues are also closely related to the religious music of the
Afro-American community, the spirituals. The first appearance of the blues is often dated to after
emancipation and, later, the development of juke joints. It is associated with the newly acquired
freedom of the former slaves. Chroniclers began to report about blues music at the dawn of the 20th
century. The first publication of blues sheet music was in 1908. Blues has since evolved from
unaccompanied vocal music and oral traditions of slaves into a wide variety of styles and subgenres.
Blues subgenres include country blues as well as urban blues styles. World War II marked the transition
from acoustic to electric blues and the progressive opening of blues music to a wider audience,
especially white listeners. In the 1960s and 1970s, a hybrid form called blues rock evolved.
SOUL AND NEO SOUL
Soul is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It
combines elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues and jazz. Soul music became
popular for dancing and listening in the United States; where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic,
and Stax were influential in the civil rights era. Soul also became popular around the world, directly
influencing rock music and the music of Africa.
Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of
soul music. Other characteristics are a call and response between the soloist and the chorus, and an
especially tense vocal sound. The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and
auxiliary sounds.
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Soul music dominated the U.S. R&B chart in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop
charts in the U.S., Britain and elsewhere. By 1968, the soul music genre had begun to splinter. Some soul
artists developed funk music, while other singers developed slicker, more sophisticated, and in some
cases more politically conscious varieties. By the early 1970s, soul music had been influenced by
psychedelic rock and other genres. The United States saw the development of neo soul around 1994.
***
Neo soul is a genre of popular music. The term was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar
Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and
contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less conventional sound
than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated elements ranging from jazz, funk, and hip
hop to pop, fusion, and African music. It has been noted by music writers for its traditional R&B
influences, conscious-driven lyrics, and strong female presence.
Neo soul developed during the 1980s and early 1990s, in the United States and United Kingdom, as a
soul revival movement. It earned mainstream success during the 1990s, with the commercial and critical
breakthroughs of several artists, including D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell. Their music
was marketed as an alternative to the producer-driven, digitally approached R&B of the time.
Since its initial mainstream popularity and impact on the sound of contemporary R&B, neo soul has
been expanded and diversified musically through the works of both African-American and international
artists. Its mainstream presence declined during the 2000s, although newer artists emerged through
more independent means of marketing their music.
JAZZ
Jazz is a genre of music that originated in African American communities in the United States in the late
19th and early 20th century. It emerged in the form of independent popular musical styles, all linked by
the common bonds of African American and European American musical parentage with a performance
orientation. Jazz spans a period of over a hundred years, encompassing a range of music from ragtime to
that of the present day, and has proved to be very difficult to define. Jazz makes heavy use of
improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation and the swung note, as well as aspects of European harmony,
American popular music, the brass band tradition, and African musical elements such as blue notes and
ragtime. The birth of jazz in the multicultural society of America has led intellectuals from around the
world to hail jazz as "one of America's original art forms."
As jazz spread around the world, it drew on different national, regional, and local musical cultures,
giving rise to many distinctive styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass
band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. In
the 1930s, heavily arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz, a hard-swinging, bluesy,
improvisational style and Gypsy jazz (a style that emphasized musette waltzes) were the prominent
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styles. Bebop emerged in the 1940s, shifting jazz from danceable popular music towards a more
challenging "musician's music" which was played at faster tempos and used more chord-based
improvisation. Cool jazz developed in the end of the 1940s, introducing calmer, smoother sounds and
long, linear melodic lines.
The 1950s saw the emergence of free jazz, which explored playing without regular meter, beat and
formal structures, and in the mid-1950s, hard bop, which introduced influences from rhythm and blues,
gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing. Modal jazz developed in the late
1950s, using the mode, or musical scale, as the basis of musical structure and improvisation. Jazz-rock
fusion appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s, combining jazz improvisation with rock rhythms,
electric instruments and the highly amplified stage sound of rock. In the early 1980s, a commercial form
of jazz fusion called smooth jazz became successful, garnering significant radio airplay. Other styles and
genres abound today, such as Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban jazz.
HIP HOP
Hip hop is a cultural movement that formed during the late 1960s among African American youths
residing in the South Bronx in New York City. It is characterized by four distinct elements, all of which
represent the different manifestations of the culture: rap music (oral), turntablism or "DJing" (aural), bboying (physical) and graffiti art (visual). Even while it continues to develop globally in myriad styles,
these four foundational elements provide coherence to hip hop culture.
The origin of the hip hop culture stems from the block parties of the Ghetto Brothers, when they
plugged the amps for their instruments and speakers into the lampposts on 163rd Street and Prospect
Avenue and used music to break down racial barriers, and from DJ Kool Herc at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue,
where Herc mixed samples of existing records with his own shouts to the crowd and dancers. Kool Herc
is credited as the "father" of hip hop. DJ Afrika Bambaataa of the hip hop collective Zulu Nation outlined
the pillars of hip hop culture, to which he coined the terms: MCing or "Emceein," DJing or "Deejayin," Bboying and graffiti writing or "Aerosol Writin."
Since its evolution throughout the South Bronx, hip hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban
communities throughout the world. Hip hop music first emerged with Kool Herc and contemporary disc
jockeys and imitators creating rhythmic beats by looping breaks (small portions of songs emphasizing a
percussive pattern) on two turntables. This was later accompanied by "rap", a rhythmic style of chanting
or poetry often presented in 16-bar measures or time frames, and beatboxing, a vocal technique mainly
used to provide percussive elements of music and various technical effects of hip hop DJs. An original
form of dancing and particular styles of dress arose among fans of this new music. These elements were
adapted and developed considerably over the history of the culture.
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What are the themes of their songs?
AFRICAN IDENTITY
“Our music is rooted in Africa and we believe it is a way to link generations and pass skills,
knowledge, history, and a sense of lineage. We’re not coming from “nowhere” — we have
our roots here. It is very important to write down and pass along our stories for the
preservation of our history”.
“Our group name is ‘Les Nubians’ and it’s deeply rooted in African pride. We link to the
Diaspora and show that it and the Continent are one. When you know more about who you
are and you carry it with pride and openness, you know where you’re going and can interact
with other communities without prejudice”.
Les Nubians
A common theme that runs through each of their albums is a sense of pride in their African heritage.
Les Nubians, about their album Nü Revolution
“Your hair is a statement of who you are and how you live with your true nature. That’s
why since the first album we insisted on bringing back natural Black hair by using
traditional braids and hair-dos and dreadlocks, because we need to embrace ourselves to
the fullest. Our mother always said ‘natural is beautiful’ but it’s not easy to cope with
everyday! And, yes, it is a political statement saying who we are and that we will not
compromise. This message has been used the same way during the 70’s as a symbol
of liberation, destruction of the old establishment, and affirmation of identity.”
Célia Faussart
The track “Afrodance” from their Nü Revolution Album, expresses this reality by celebrating hairstyles as
Les Nubians,
aboutstyle
their
album
Nüidentity.
Revolution
an expression
of personal
and
cultural
“Africa is our past, present and future. The song ‘Africa For The Future’ is about accepting
and rejoicing through our body and mind that Africa is vibrant and 10,000,000 times
ALIVE! Africa FOR the future also to say that we have to prepare the future of the
continent. It’s in the NOW that we create the future. ACTION time is NOW!!!”
Les Nubians
The sisters embrace the essential idea of representing the African diaspora as one entity in the 21st
century. Their songs reflect the African diaspora that technically speaking expands from Europe to Latin
Lesthe
Nubians,
about
albumStates.
Nü Revolution
America,
Caribbean
and their
the United
Other songs, such as "Saravah" and "Immortel Cheikh Anta Diop" talk about African heritage and
embracing African myths, in the hopes that they will stay alive.
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WORLD CITIZENSHIP
Although they cherish their African heritage, Les Nubians also value the idea of being a citizen of the
world. In broad usage, the term “world citizenship” typically defines people who place their identity
with a global community above their identity as a citizen of a particular nation or place. The idea is that
one’s identity transcends geography or political borders and that the planetary human community is
interdependent and whole; humankind is essentially one.
Les Nubians’ album Nü Revolution embodies, both through music and lyrics, a true sense of this concept.
Rather than promote nationality, the Faussart sisters indeed advocate being a "citizen of the Earth."
They best express this on the song “Voyager,” when they sing, "Je me déclare citoyenne universelle" (I
am a universal citizen), and "Je m'offre le passeport de Terrien" (I carry an "Earth" passport).
They want to communicate the message that as world citizens we have a responsibility for others, and a
need to treat everyone equitably irrespective of sex, skin color, or race.
”Nü Revolution: Nü for New Universe, this new world as World Citizens that we are. In
Revolution, in motion. In the word Revolution, there is Rêve which in French means
Dreams. The Evolution of the Dream, of our Dream for a better world, a better Self.
Les Nubians, about their album Nü Revolution
Les Nubians, by promoting cross-cultural collaboration and alternating between singing in English,
Spanish and French, as well as in a Cameroonian dialect, completely disregard the boundaries of culture
and language, skipping from English to French within the same sentence. The blending of the languages
brings home the theme of “universality” of their songs.
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Voyager – Lyrics
Voyager
Sous un soleil entêté
NDjaména-la-Belle est réveillée
Le muezzin interpelle les fidèles de sa voix de miel
Remerciant le Très-Haut de sa bonté.
J’emporte dans ma mémoire
Les saveurs de ces heures,
Les chants et les voix, les douleurs et les pleurs
Là-bas, j’ai vu la guerre et l’espérance mais,
Ailleurs, on fait mieux la différence.
Traveling
Under a blazing sun
N’Djamena-la-Belle is woken
The muezzin calls to the faithful with his sweet voice
Thanking the Almighty for His kindness.
I hold in my memory
The essence of these hours,
The songs and voices, the sorrows and tears
There, I saw war and hope but,
Elsewhere, it’s easier to tell the difference.
Partir loin et découvrir
Quel air l’humanité respire
Comment nos contemporains vivent
Sous d’autres lumières.
Voyager
Traveling far and wide and discovering
What sort of air humanity breathes
How our contemporaries live
Under other lights.
Traveling
Voyager, rien ne m’est plus essentiel
Plier bagages, en quête d’autres images plus réelles
Que celles des vitrines actuelles,
Miroirs d’ignorance et de suffisances extrêmes.
Je me déclare citoyenne universelle
Je m’offre le passeport de Terrienne,
Décide que toute terre sera mienne.
Rio, Yaoundé, Paris c’est la même.
Chacun son karma, le mien d’être nubienne.
Traveling, nothing is more important to me
Packing my bags, in search of other, realer images
Than those of the present shop windows,
Mirrors of ignorance and extreme smugnesses.
I declare myself a universal citizen
I give myself a Woman of the World's passport,
Decide that all the world will be mine.
Rio, Yaounde, Paris, they’re all the same.
Everyone has a destiny, mine is to be Nubian.
Partir loin et découvrir
Quel air l’humanité respire
Comment nos contemporains vivent
Sous d’autres lumières.
Loin d'ici
Traveling far and wide and discovering
What sort of air humanity breathes
How our contemporaries live
Under other lights.
Far from here
Voyager.
Aller loin, aller toujours plus loin.
Traveling
Go far, always go further.
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Interview with Les Nubians
Artist to artist: Les Nubians – Revolutionary sisters of soul
Soultrain.com - june 14, 2011
SOULTRAIN.COM: Your music defies genre, because each of
your songs contain so many diverse elements. How did you
create this hybrid signature sound?
HÉLÈNE: It’s really the music—the way we hear it, feel it, and sing
it. It comes from our musical heritage, growing up between
Europe and Africa. And we grew up listening to so many different
kinds of music. Our music expresses that blend; we do it quite
naturally.
CÉLIA: For us it’s very important to create music freely, to create
music that comes through our heart and soul. It can be reggae, bassa nova, and vocal improvisation. We
listen to so many kinds of music and we want people to experience the diversity of our identity as Black
people. We like to work with other artists, to bring other artists into genres they’re not used to and also
challenge ourselves to do the same. It’s an adventure.
SOULTRAIN.COM: Your native language is French, and on each of your albums you sing in English as
well. Your debut single “Makeda” (Princesses Nubiennes) is entirely in French. When you first began
performing before American English-speaking audiences, did you sense any disconnect because of the
language barriers?
HÉLÈNE: No, because when we recorded the first album we wanted to do it in French—it’s the language
of the heart. We now have more confidence singing in English because of the amazing relationship
we’ve developed with English-speaking audiences over all these years. It’s easy to sing a different
language and hide behind those words, but you have to feel it. What is in English [on our albums] came
naturally in English, and what came in French came naturally in French.
CÉLIA: We have a beautiful relationship with our American audience, who doesn’t necessarily
understand everything we say. And it doesn’t seem to bother them. We do the same—if you hear us
singing a Michael Jackson song you will laugh, because we’re picking out syllables and it doesn’t always
make sense. Music is its own language.
SOULTRAIN.COM: Tell us about some of your musical influences. What kinds of music did you grow up
listening to?
HÉLÈNE: We listened to artists like Miriam Makeba, Fela Kuti, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, and Louis
Armstrong. From our cousins and younger relatives, we got into Prince, James Brown, Kool and the
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Gang. We grew up listening to a lot of African American music that came through Europe. From our
father’s French side we got Edith Piaf, and also Celia Cruz and different kinds of Caribbean music. Our
mother used to sing African spiritual music to us.
SOULTRAIN.COM: On One Step Forward, you collaborated with Talib Kweli for the song “Temperature
Rising.” On Nü Revolution you’ve added an impressive arsenal of guest artists, including Eric
Roberson, as well as artists who may not be as familiar to American audiences like Freshly Ground
(from South Africa) and MC Blitz (who is Ghanaian-American). How did these creative partnerships
come to be?
HÉLÈNE: They come from chance encounters, a “natural magnet effect.” We listened to Eric Roberson a
lot and love his song writing and his voice and his independent career. We connected with him in Paris,
and we were able to work together. We met Blitz the Ambassador in NYC—he’s from Ghana but based
in Brooklyn—and he represents this revival of hip-hop. He’s got an amazing flow, and his message is
similar to what we stand for.
SOULTRAIN.COM: A common theme that runs through each of your albums is this undeniable sense of
pride in your African heritage. Is this something you intentionally set out to do with your music?
HÉLÈNE: Yes! Our music is rooted in Africa and we believe it is a way to link generations and pass skills,
knowledge, history, and a sense of lineage. We’re not coming from “nowhere”—we have our roots here.
It is very important to write down and pass along our stories for the preservation of our history.
CÉLIA: Our group name is “Les Nubians” and it’s deeply rooted in African pride. We link to the Diaspora
and show that it and the Continent are one. When you know more about who you are and you carry it
with pride and openness, you know where you’re going and can interact with other communities
without prejudice.
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