Laylow is bringing the future right on time
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN FRENCH ON YARD.MEDIA
In music more than in any other field, timing is everything. The key is to leave your mark, ensuring you don’t end up in the history books as someone who was only known for fleeting moments of brilliance or temporary success. No one aspires to be "out of their time." No one... except for the overachievers. Those who have it all in the present—records that sell effortlessly, packed concert venues. When it’s time to justify their triumphs, they tell anyone who will listen that they’re not of their time. They’re ahead. They’re in the future. “Where those bastards won’t go,” french rap superstar Booba sang on the eponymous track of his album Futur.
Laylow doesn’t see it that way. He prefers the Murciélago to the DeLorean, fueled by gasoline rather than plutonium. His music triggers the time travel, with "futuristic" being one of the most common adjectives for it. On the ten tracks of his latest release, dropped on July 4, his voice rises, deepens, and then tears apart on hybrid, disjointed beats, with basslines purring like a sports car engine. Digitalova is a slow, lingering melancholy in a vehicle speeding at 230 km/h. And, according to listeners, it’s what tomorrow is supposed to sound like.
Before taking the second exit on the highway to the future, Laylow’s trajectory was quite conventional. The difference is that each step of his journey seems to have been made in Dragon Ball’s Salle du Temps, where years are measured in days and hours in minutes. The first chapters of his story were written with the help of an older brother—one of the familiar figures in rapper storytelling—who introduced him to the craft at an early age. The young artist stumbled through his first rhymes within a collective, which slowly narrowed down to focus on two key members: Laylow and Sir’Klo. “I was very focused on making music early on. I’m not like those guys who get into the scene, mess around with sound, and at 20 say, ‘Okay, now I’m an expert at rap, let’s go.’ No, I started when I was bad. Like... really bad,” he admits with clarity. It was the period when an artist is searching for their voice, exploring, experimenting, testing their limits. But for him, this led to a major label signing with Barclay. Too soon?
If you pay attention to the stories often told about how the industry work, then major labels can be terrifying for two young talents from the provinces. You can almost picture the remnants of failed hype and lost careers piling up outside their doors. But Laylow only took positives from the experience. Although it didn’t serve as the launchpad he hoped for, it became a vital learning experience. It taught him the ins and outs of the business. As a keen observer, he paid close attention to how his EPs Roulette Russe and 310 (released in 2012 and 2013) were developed and marketed. “It’s super interesting to sign with a major to understand all of this. There are different stages, and you’re right there. So if you’re smart, you pay attention to those stages. And you think, ‘Hey, I could get my friend to be the project manager. He’s more dedicated, he knows me better…’ Then you do the same for the marketing guy, and slowly but surely, you start building your own team.” So when his contract with Barclay ended, Laylow knew exactly what he wanted. His future would be “away from the record labels, close to my informed audience,” as Belgian rapper Damso would say. The internet has shifted the balance of power, returning it to its rightful owner: the public. That’s the digital age in a nutshell. Laylow surrounds himself with fresh talent, starting with directors TBMA, and reshapes his image, sound, and identity. Confident in his strengths, he embraces independence, just as the movement is gaining momentum, with Jul and PNL leading the charge.
The timing is perfect, and Laylow knows it. It’s not just the business that he’s studied—he’s also analyzed rap itself. When I ask why French rappers seem sadder than ever, he responds that, in fact, the sounds have never been so joyful or danceable. Which is true to some extent. Although Laylow admits he doesn’t always feel "at home" in the French scene, he doesn’t look down on it either. He doesn’t think his peers are particularly behind, even though people often say he’s "ahead of his time." That’s why he regularly shares their tracks on social media. It’s also why he enjoys collaborating with them. “When I was younger, I loved features. But as I got older, I realized why there are so few: ego problems, all that. But I don’t care. I’m free in my head, so it doesn’t bother me to invite someone.” Laylow is driven by passion.
When I ask him about his songwriting, he goes off on a tangent, talking about God and the Tower of Babel, about putting his soul into his word choices. It’s hard to follow. “That was technical, wasn’t it?” he chuckles. For Laylow, being misunderstood isn’t a problem. It’s not the words that matter, but how they’re delivered. Interpretation, attitude, emotion—that’s what he loves about hip-hop. “I make music because I want to be free. Not to follow rules, man. Otherwise, I’d become a banker or a trader. I’d probably make more money. That ‘I don’t care’ attitude is what everyone loves about rap. When you’re in your car, listening to an intense track, it puts you in a different state of mind. You’re not passive. And I’m never passive. Even in front of the photographer, you saw I wasn’t passive.”
It’s also this constant pushing of boundaries that leads listeners to project Laylow into the future. When part of the audience appreciates an artist’s work despite the fact that they haven’t yet gained the recognition—or audience—they deserve, the easiest explanation is to call them avant-garde. Meaning: other listeners aren’t ready for it, they can’t grasp the genius. Don’t expect Laylow to hide behind that excuse. “I’m not saying, ‘Yeah, people are behind.’ No, no, no. You’re crazy! Others have done even crazier stuffs, and it worked. If you ask me, I feel like the audience is ready. But yes, there is timing in music. I believe in that, and that’s why I keep going.” If Laylow really is the future, he’s ready to wait patiently for his time. That doesn’t stop him from thinking ahead. While he’s vague about what comes after the digital age, he assures me that his second album will drop in 2017. At least the world will have an idea of what tomorrow sounds like.