Comfortably seated on the terrace of “Restaurant des Pirates,” just steps from the Pine Forest, Diam’s embodies simplicity. Born on July 25, 1980, in Cyprus to a Cypriot father and a French mother, “La Boulette” (a nickname her friends gave her because she loves to eat) appears in her simplest form, dressed in a very casual style, as she puts it.
With minimal makeup, a casual top, shorts, and flip-flops, Mélanie Georgiades, alias Diam’s, discusses her commitments. “I’m not into politics. I do civic engagement. I was very surprised by how much attention the song ‘Marine’ got.”
What does Diam’s want? To escape stereotypes, even though it’s an impossible mission. “I know that for many, France is all about the baguette and sausage. Mind you, I’m not criticizing people who like baguettes, sausages, and Beaujolais. I’m just saying that the France I know doesn’t look like that.” Additionally, she dismisses the cliché of the suburbs: “We need to stop saying that the suburbs are just about burnt cars and unemployment. On the contrary, it’s a breeding ground. Many youths want to succeed, managing to earn a diploma.”
Reality TV stereotypes will also be critiqued. “People think music is easy. But most of the people I know have struggled. I have too.”
With a cigarette in her mouth, the rapper defends her success as not just because she’s a woman. “That’s yet another stereotype. Rap isn’t a macho world. In ’99, only specialized press was interested in me. I’m known because I’m publicized, but there are many girls who rap. I’m proud to be one of them.”
Yet she acknowledges, “being a girl allows me to explore other subjects: love, infidelity, suicide…” As for changing genres, Diam’s does not consider it. Rapper she is, rapper she will remain. “Rap is rich music, a songwriter’s music, with its own codes, whether you like it or not. Slam? Sure, I could sing my texts a capella. But that’s a different art.”
Music is a long love story. Even though Diam’s does not claim to be a singer. “I love French chanson. I love Aznavour; he’s kind of the grandfather for our generation. Céline Dion will remain the best performer on earth. But, again, it’s a cliché, I don’t listen to Cabrel all day.”
Her lyrics are sometimes violent. Sometimes hard, even raw. For Diam’s, there’s no question of being typecast: “I’m not a bad girl. I’m just a little woman full of contradictions.”
