For SessionLab, Hortense Volle met Benjamin Epps, the Gabonese who aims to change the game of francophone hip hop. A highly rapological podcast. Listen to headphones (3D audio).
KesstateEpembia, whose real name is, is 25 years old. He was born and raised in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, and has been rapping since the age of 10.
Installed in France since 2015, “ the last of the pygmies »Delivered, under the name of Benjamin Epps, his first EP in December 2020 (The future), then a second a few months later (Ghost with driver). Since then, he has worked collaboratively with Dinos, Sam’s, Selah sue or Vladimir Nightmare.
From the outset, in a period when part of the rap audience is rather accustomed to trap or UK drill sounds, the “rookie” stood out with boom bap prods. A devastating egotrip too. Benjamin Epps did not hesitate to announce loud and clear his ambitions, necessarily disproportionate:
“Good news, the best rapper in France is black
Bad news, the best rapper in France is me “(Folded in 5)
or :
“ Booba released the last album, that’s it now I can take the throne “(Notorious).
Benjamin Epps even claims to be ” the future “. Intrigued, I wanted to know what the future looked like. So I went to meet ” the best rapper in France »Just before his concert at the Cartonnerie de Reims, in eastern France, during the Gibberish festival.
I was not disappointed with the trip: from the Bellevue district (Libreville, Gabon) where he grew up, to the city of Bar-le-Duc (France) where he lives today, we made a detour to the South from Africa and France where he studied. And, to spoil nothing, a blind test prepared especially for this hip hop enthusiast gave us the opportunity of A / R between the two shores of the black Atlantic. Be warned, beyond the technique, of punchlines and provocation, there is in Monsieur Epps a sacred cogit.
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Titles broadcast:
• Extracts from the EP Ghost with driver (Mocabe Nation – 2021): Notorious ; Goom ; God bless the children ; Kennedy in 2005
• Extracts from the EP The future (Mocabe Nation – 2020): Folded in 5 ; Samba the balls ; Kennedy in 2005 ; The nation ; The pips ; Late at night ; Relax pt1 ; Ingots part2 ; God bless the children ; The biggest
• Under the name of Kesstate with Syanur, extracts from the album OETLB (We are ALL the best): OETLB (feat. Koba Building)
• And also, in blind test : Back to the Pyramids (X Men) ; Family affairs (Arsenic), NY state of mind (Nas); Hookah feat. Tyga (Young Thug); Future (Kennedy)