An excellent and groovy album by the Doc of Porte de la Chapelle, Quality Street offers us an intimist and powerful insight into Bruno Beausir’s art.
Still got the groove
Yes, he’s still got it, and it shows with tracks such as Quality Street, Caramel and the Souveraine New-York and Paris mixes. Refined from the Première Consultation era, the sound is still extremely enjoyable, perhaps sometimes even better than his firsts hits Dans ma rue or Né ici.
Lyrics are less consensual though, here the Doc made enemies with his more engaged lyrics, showing disdain for some of his fellow ghetto children brothers who chose the path of evil. Later they took their revenge as time has shown.
Singing with Voulzy ?
No, thank God, but yes, he worked with Laurent Voulzy, and despite my lack of enthusiasm for the man, I must admit the result is very good : Noirs et blancs, a typical French variété ballad is quite enjoyable as a laid back yet socially engaged song on the state of humanity.
More generally, all of the album has a conscious and social tone, the Doc doesn’t want to be a simple gangsta rapper, but a witness of the world he experiences each day around him.
The pain
And what Bruno sees is not only cream and peaches, for his life is now that of a slave to his label, Virgin Records, which he copiously insults all album long.
Through all of the songs, one can feel the anger and sadness of a man being used as a money making machine by the industry. Possibly this is the album’s greatest strength, the prevailing blues tone of a man wearing chains, and the rage of the fighter trying to preserve his integrity, this album is a strong one, and the message is clear : Art shall prevail over money.
