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Bio:
Born in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Raised in Peckham, London
Maintains pride in his heritage. Omo Frenchie’s parents ensured that Congolese music and culture remained embedded in him:
“On Saturdays, every weekend morning, there was Congolese music, Congolese praise and worship first of all, that we’ll play in the morning.
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Tri-lingual artists from London:
Different people try to box him into one genre. Hiphop, Grim, or Afro beats, but Omo Frenchie does not want to be boxed into one genre:
“I may be classed as an Afrobeats artist, not personally, maybe for argument’s sake. I’m just an artist in general because I like to appreciate all types of music, when it comes to expressing myself, I’m from African heritage
How Does the artist represents both their country and the Diaspora in their music?
He represents both his country and the diaspora by integrating a change in language and production in his music. He switches between English, French and Lingala. He combines elements of Afrobeats which is an umbrella term for contemporary pop music made in West Africa and the diaspora; with Drill a popular sub genre of hiphop in London, based out of the slums. Drill music inspired modern day New York underground artists like Pop Smoke and Sheff G. With English being his first language, the vernacular from Peckham, London rubs off and sometimes intertwines with his French.
Representation connects meaning and language to culture.
An essential part of his music is the diasporic production and the exchange between different pieces of his various cultures. In terms of representation, he is able to appeal to multiple cultures while still staying unique. He represents his London background through his use of Grime and he represents his Congo background by including AfroBeats in his music. Omo Frenchie uses language to represent the parts of the world that he is from to other people.
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Quote:
“some of the songs you might hear a bit of patois, you might hear a bit of Nigerian lingo, Ghanaian lingo – because at the end of the day, I’m expressing myself and I express my experiences. The part of London I’m from, there’s not a lot of Congolese people in the community I grew up in. It’s predominantly Nigerians, Ghanaians and Jamaicans – those three nationalities to be specific, is what I’ve grown up around. And I’m a person – I’m always interested in other people’s culture – so if I’m showing interest from young and Jamaicans are teaching me about patois, how to pronounce certain things then I’m going to put it in my songs – it’s what I know, it makes me who I am today.”
African Diaspora is the term commonly used to describe the mass dispersion of peoples from Africa. With this in mind, Omo French epitomizes diasporic music by being a reflection of two hiphop subgeneres (one from Africa and one from Europe).
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