The world of French rap was built with its revolutions, its cult figures and its voices which have marked several generations. And among them, JoeyStarr has established himself for more than 40 years as an essential personality in the industry, with his raw energy and his outspokenness. Behind this image of a confident artist lies a man who also evokes deeper wounds, linked to his family history, but also doubts which have never completely left him. In the new episode of Petits Papiers on Gossip Room by Officielles, available on YouTube since this Sunday, JoeyStarr opens up about his childhood complicated and on the quest for his Martinican origins, a journey which has largely influenced his personal and artistic construction. In this same interview, he also addresses a more intimate and surprising feeling: that of still suffering from “imposter syndrome”, despite a career spanning several decades.
JoeyStarr: “imposter syndrome” even after years of career
In 1988, alongside Kool Shen within NTM, JoeyStarr was one of those who opened the way for a rap that was still little-known and widely despised. An era without benchmarks, without a framework and without real recognition for this movement that is being born. “Today I see extracts from old interviews, I say to myself: ‘but how people talk to us!'”, he says, remembering the beginnings where everything was done on instinct: “No one gave us the instructions at the time.”Despite the decades and a career well established, JoeyStarr assures that he never completely got used to the notoriety: “I didn’t apply for that at the start.” And he says it clearly: “I don’t think it’s good for one man’s head.” A discomfort that he says he still feels today, even after music, theater or cinema, where he was seen notably in Polisse or The Replacement, and which he sums up bluntly: “I still have imposter syndrome which hangs around in me.”
The rapper without tongue in cheek on social networks today
At its beginnings, a different era requires, no social networks or surge of online comments like today. So how does JoeyStarr live in this new era where everyone can judge behind a screen? Facing Fiona Deshayes, he recognizes an element of self-deprecation and the fact of being able to put things into perspective when the exchanges remain respectful. But with his frankness like a “real Parisian behind the wheel”, he blurts out: “I want to insult everyone.” Overall, he prefers not to dwell on the critics and those who “invent a proximity” to him without really knowing him. Often targeted by comments or controversies, he insists on the fact that things are sometimes interpreted without knowing everything: “The debate is not very high. (…) “You hit a hostess, you hit a monkey… yeah, that just happened like that, of course.” To discover all of his secrets, go now to our YouTube channel:
