Intik
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Intik (
Founding
The four started rapping after experiencing the violence in Algeria in 1988, specifically at one protest in which the military opened fire on the assembled crowd of Algerians which included the to-be members of Intik. In an interview Youss discusses the moment when he knew he wanted to rap, "Because I saw [the events in Algeria October 5th, 1988]... I was scared I saw virulent violence with a capital 'V'. It was state terrorism as it's called. A military that shoots the people. And I witnessed it. I even have scars from that... I was young in '88... beaten by the police."[2] This state-terrorism inspired Youss to write about the government. He asked questions and he states that “the more you asked questions, the more you discover. And when you didn't ask questions, you discover nothing. As soon as you begin to reflect, you begin to have answers.” It’s from these answers that he got his lyrics from and then expressed it in rap. [2]
The group Intik was founded when Algerian artist
Artistic Output
Youss says the signing of the group Intik with Saint George/Sony records was due to a song he wrote by himself before he had ever met the group. The song is titled, "Va Le Dire A Ta Mere, Va Le Dire A Ton Pere". That was the first song he recorded by himself, and then performed it later with the group. He claims that ultimately, that song is the reason Intik was signed.[2] Youss claims that the group’s music is “a mixture of Chaâbi the traditional Algerian music, of Reggae, a bit of groove, and a bit of Raï too.[1] The group, which fuses Western and Algerian culture, made two albums together, the self titled "Intik" in 1999 and Victoire in 2001, and also performed on a tour. After these accomplishments, Youss “wanted to do his own thing”, claiming that he “couldn’t go and do a third album because it was too draining”.[4] Accordingly, Youcef claims that he was responsible for “everything” involved with putting together the two albums, which included writing the songs and managing the group.[4] Youcef claims that the message of the group is a call to the people for peace.[1]
Resistance
Intik was subjected to some resistance from the Algerian government during their time in Algeria. For example, Youss claims that Intik was “prohibited from appearing on TV for a short while” because some of the songs had lyrics that expressed political opinions that were controversial.[4] Youss goes on to explain that some of these songs “weren’t even put on the album that was released in Algeria” because “the producer was afraid to release them”.[4]
Discography
- Intik (1999)
- La Victorie (2001)
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Intik Interview". 2000-05-10. Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ a b c d e f Meghelli, Samir. “Interview with Youss (Intik).” In Tha Global Cipha: Hip Hop Culture and Consciousness, ed. By James G. Spady, H. Samy Alim, and Samir Meghelli. 656-67. Philadelphia: Black History Museum Publishers, 2006.
- ^ "Africanhiphop.com". Archived from the original on 2008-03-30. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b c d Meghelli, Samir. “Interview with Youcef (Intik).” In Tha Global Cipha: Hip Hop Culture and Consciousness, ed. By James G. Spady, H. Samy Alim, and Samir Meghelli. 656-67. Philadelphia: Black History Museum Publishers, 2006.