Doc Gynéco
Encyclopedia
Doc Gynéco is a popular French hip hop
artist
of Guadeloupe
an origin. His music is typically characterized as a ragga
/rap style, that has found its fan base in France. Born in Clichy-la-Garenne, France
on July 7, 1974, Beausir's mother was Caribbean
and his father white. The latter left them in 1990, and partly as a result of this, Beausir was poor in his later teen years.
group Ministère AMER
. After this rap group parted, Virgin Records
signed him with the intent of converting his demos into an album in Paris.
This project partially fell through; Doc Gyneco then agreed to leave for Los Angeles
to work with a famous American producer, Ken Kessie. The result of this work would be Première Consultation, released in April 1996, which received large media praise and huge success both in France and the world. Singles from the album include "Est-ce que ça le fait?", "Viens voir le docteur", "Dans Ma Rue", "Passements de Jambes", and "Né Ici".
Two years later on December 1, 1998, his second album appeared in the shops, entitled Liaisons Dangereuses. Although the main single
-- "C'est Beau La Vie" -- created with the help of a politician (Bernard Tapie
) was a flop, the album still sold reasonably well and earned its author even more notoriety.
In the spring of 2001, Doc Gynéco tried to come back at the front of the music scene after a few years of silence with his third creation Quality Street. Guest stars on the album included the Wu-Tang Clan
and Gregory Isaac. However, the single "Caramel", the first release from this new album, met little success.
In August 2002, Doc Gynéco's 4th album, Solitaire, came out. This last realization found its audience and gave Doc Gynéco the "Victoire de La Musique" award for "Best hip-hop/rap album of the Year". Singles included "Funky Maxime", "Frotti Frotta", and "Flash".
A collection of his hit singles since the beginning of his career was released in 2004 (called 'Menu Best-of').
During 2006 the album Homme Nature was released.
Like many French rap artists, his works caused controversy; he was criticized for demeaning the status of women. Not all critics characterized him that way, though; one wrote, "Unjustly attacked for misogyny, he is in fact capable of encapsulating complex poetic emotion into the crude language of a ghetto love song such as 'Ma Salope a Moi' - 'My Slut'." He has also been criticized for promoting drug
use, and dealing with other sensitive subjects (such as suicide
in his song "Nirvana"). He stands apart, however, for rarely promoting violence in his works, something that had become a trademark for rap artists in France
.
He was part of a movement that popularized rap
in the 1990s, along with groups such as 'IAM
' or 'Suprême NTM
' and took it to every home. His laid-back attitude, his style, as well as his appreciation, knowledge and involvement with popular or controversial subjects like football, sex or drugs all strongly contributed to his fame, particularly among France's adolescent population. Riding his popularity, his appearance in French television shows became regular, particularly at the start of the new century, using his appearance and style as a catalyst.
Like "Nirvana", a lot of his songs are very nostalgic and refer to poverty and the poor living conditions in French social housing estates. The reason for this is that he had actually lived in the such estates since birth. His song "Né ici" ('Born here') expresses the perceived lack of social mobility among those living in the projects . He says: “Ma mère est née là-bas, mon père est né là-bas, moi je suis né ici dans la misère et les cris” ('My mom was born over there, my dad was born over there [in the Caribbean] but I was born here [in a Parisian housing estate] amidst all the poverty and pain'). Hence, one principal role for his work is to underline the issues of contemporary society.
Another main theme in his first album is relationships with women. Doc Gynéco is a typical rapper in that he is very misogynist. He actually has a song called “Ma salope à moi” (‘My Slut’) in which he claims that women are all prostitutes.
Also, his name 'Doc Gynéco' was given to him by his "male" friends when he was younger to brag his qualities as a seducer. The name translates as Gynaecology Doctor, which has sexual connotations. Those connotations are to be found in his song: “Viens voir le docteur” ('Come see the doctor') in which he states that he enjoys having sexual intercourse with teenage girls.
Interestingly, Doc Gynéco's style is intelligent rap. Even though he appears as a womaniser, he does not promote violence in his videos and his rap is very laid-back and soft. He disapproves of the acts of violence that occur in the projects. He says that the young people in the projects should not express themselves through violence because it will not improve their situation.
Unlike many French rappers, he is close to politicians like Jacques Chirac
and Nicolas Sarkozy
showing them his support during their presidential campaigns.
Doc Gynéco is actually helping the French president Nicolas Sarkozy
to wean social housing inhabitants off welfare.
Other rappers have denounce Gynéco as a traitor, not least since his current politics contrast against an earlier stage in his career when he was critical of the French state. “Je kiffe quand les keufs cannent (I get a kick when cops croak it).” “France is a country of cops. There are a hundred on every street corner. To keep order, they get away with murder.”
, but in 2006, he joined the Union for a Popular Movement
and announced his support for Nicolas Sarkozy
in a party meeting in Marseille
.
His support of Sarkozy has been "controversial": Stomy Bugsy
no longer considers Beausir a friend partly because of the support he offered to Sarkozy, and Beausir was booed off the stage in Geneva in August 2007.
French hip hop
French hip hop is the hip hop music style which was developed in France, and is considered the second worldwide hip hop scene after the U.S....
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
an origin. His music is typically characterized as a ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
/rap style, that has found its fan base in France. Born in Clichy-la-Garenne, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on July 7, 1974, Beausir's mother was Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and his father white. The latter left them in 1990, and partly as a result of this, Beausir was poor in his later teen years.
Career
Doc Gynéco launched his career at the age of 19, writing a few tracks for the hardcore rapHardcore hip hop
Hardcore hip hop, also referred to as hardcore rap, is a sub-genre of hip hop music that developed through the East Coast hip hop scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as Schoolly D, Spoonie Gee, Boogie Down Productions, and Kool G Rap, it is generally characterized by anger, aggression and...
group Ministère AMER
Ministère AMER
The Ministère AMER is a French hip hop group from Sarcelles, consisting of the rappers Passi and Stomy Bugsy , DJ Ghetch, and the producer/manager Kenzy. The group is also associated with other major French hip hop artists such as Doc Gyneco and Hamed Daye...
. After this rap group parted, Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
signed him with the intent of converting his demos into an album in Paris.
This project partially fell through; Doc Gyneco then agreed to leave for Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to work with a famous American producer, Ken Kessie. The result of this work would be Première Consultation, released in April 1996, which received large media praise and huge success both in France and the world. Singles from the album include "Est-ce que ça le fait?", "Viens voir le docteur", "Dans Ma Rue", "Passements de Jambes", and "Né Ici".
Two years later on December 1, 1998, his second album appeared in the shops, entitled Liaisons Dangereuses. Although the main single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
-- "C'est Beau La Vie" -- created with the help of a politician (Bernard Tapie
Bernard Tapie
Bernard Tapie is a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Ministre de la Ville in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy, a businessman specializing in recovery for bankrupted companies, among which Adidas is the most famous ; and owner of sports teams...
) was a flop, the album still sold reasonably well and earned its author even more notoriety.
In the spring of 2001, Doc Gynéco tried to come back at the front of the music scene after a few years of silence with his third creation Quality Street. Guest stars on the album included the Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
and Gregory Isaac. However, the single "Caramel", the first release from this new album, met little success.
In August 2002, Doc Gynéco's 4th album, Solitaire, came out. This last realization found its audience and gave Doc Gynéco the "Victoire de La Musique" award for "Best hip-hop/rap album of the Year". Singles included "Funky Maxime", "Frotti Frotta", and "Flash".
A collection of his hit singles since the beginning of his career was released in 2004 (called 'Menu Best-of').
During 2006 the album Homme Nature was released.
Like many French rap artists, his works caused controversy; he was criticized for demeaning the status of women. Not all critics characterized him that way, though; one wrote, "Unjustly attacked for misogyny, he is in fact capable of encapsulating complex poetic emotion into the crude language of a ghetto love song such as 'Ma Salope a Moi' - 'My Slut'." He has also been criticized for promoting drug
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
use, and dealing with other sensitive subjects (such as suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in his song "Nirvana"). He stands apart, however, for rarely promoting violence in his works, something that had become a trademark for rap artists in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
He was part of a movement that popularized rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
in the 1990s, along with groups such as 'IAM
IAM
- Concepts :* Identity and Access Management, a concept that combines business processes, policies and technologies.* Innovation Access Method, a high-performance indexed access-method for IBM's z/OS and OS/390 operating systems that provides a transparent alternative to IBM's VSAM* Indo-Aryan...
' or 'Suprême NTM
Suprême NTM
Suprême NTM is a French hip hop group formed in 1989 in the Seine-Saint-Denis département. The group comprises rappers Joey Starr and Kool Shen...
' and took it to every home. His laid-back attitude, his style, as well as his appreciation, knowledge and involvement with popular or controversial subjects like football, sex or drugs all strongly contributed to his fame, particularly among France's adolescent population. Riding his popularity, his appearance in French television shows became regular, particularly at the start of the new century, using his appearance and style as a catalyst.
Style
After the release of his first album, his sexual and provocative lyrics provoked discussion and criticism. However, the album sold 800,000 copies and Doc Gynéco became part of the popularising rap movement of the 1990s. His music, a mix of ragga and rap, addresses controversial subjects like drugs, sex, women, racism, and poverty. For example, one of his biggest hit at the time was “Nirvana,” a pessimistic song in which he promotes the use of drugs: “Je veux me droguer aux aspirines façon Marilyn” (‘I wanna pop pills like Marilyn’). In this song he explains how damaged life is in our society and how it pushes him to use drugs and, eventually to commit suicide: “Je veux atteindre le Nirvana” (‘I want to reach Nirvana”).Like "Nirvana", a lot of his songs are very nostalgic and refer to poverty and the poor living conditions in French social housing estates. The reason for this is that he had actually lived in the such estates since birth. His song "Né ici" ('Born here') expresses the perceived lack of social mobility among those living in the projects . He says: “Ma mère est née là-bas, mon père est né là-bas, moi je suis né ici dans la misère et les cris” ('My mom was born over there, my dad was born over there [in the Caribbean] but I was born here [in a Parisian housing estate] amidst all the poverty and pain'). Hence, one principal role for his work is to underline the issues of contemporary society.
Another main theme in his first album is relationships with women. Doc Gynéco is a typical rapper in that he is very misogynist. He actually has a song called “Ma salope à moi” (‘My Slut’) in which he claims that women are all prostitutes.
Also, his name 'Doc Gynéco' was given to him by his "male" friends when he was younger to brag his qualities as a seducer. The name translates as Gynaecology Doctor, which has sexual connotations. Those connotations are to be found in his song: “Viens voir le docteur” ('Come see the doctor') in which he states that he enjoys having sexual intercourse with teenage girls.
Interestingly, Doc Gynéco's style is intelligent rap. Even though he appears as a womaniser, he does not promote violence in his videos and his rap is very laid-back and soft. He disapproves of the acts of violence that occur in the projects. He says that the young people in the projects should not express themselves through violence because it will not improve their situation.
Unlike many French rappers, he is close to politicians like Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
and Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
showing them his support during their presidential campaigns.
Doc Gynéco is actually helping the French president Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
to wean social housing inhabitants off welfare.
Other rappers have denounce Gynéco as a traitor, not least since his current politics contrast against an earlier stage in his career when he was critical of the French state. “Je kiffe quand les keufs cannent (I get a kick when cops croak it).” “France is a country of cops. There are a hundred on every street corner. To keep order, they get away with murder.”
Politics
In 2001 he claimed to be close to the Libertarian PartyLibertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, but in 2006, he joined the Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
and announced his support for Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
in a party meeting in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
.
His support of Sarkozy has been "controversial": Stomy Bugsy
Stomy Bugsy
Stomy Bugsy is a French rapper from Sarcelles.Born of parents from Cape Verde, Duarte helped found hip hop group Ministere AMER, however in 1996 he decided to launch his own solo career...
no longer considers Beausir a friend partly because of the support he offered to Sarkozy, and Beausir was booed off the stage in Geneva in August 2007.