Zebda are from Toulouse in the south of France. The name of the group is the Arabic word for butter. It is a play on the use of the word 'beur' in French slang to refer to Arabs, and the French word for butter - beurre. The group consists of seven musicians who met for the first time in 1985. Several of the group's members are of North African descent. Their music is influenced by their roots and is a mix of rock, raï, reggae, rap, funk, and many more styles.
Their lyrics deal with issues affecting the Arab population in France. Their supporters claim that, unlike other immigrant musicians in France, they don't advocate fighting for social equality, but instead doing something about it. In March 2001 their political movement, called Motivé-e-s, won four seats on the city council with 12.38% of the vote.
This is their best known single "Tomber la chemise" - an expression meaning to get ready to work/play hard - hence you remove your shirt as you're going to sweat.
The symbol of the band (which can be seen on the side of the van in the video) is a picture of the French national symbol - a coq (cockerel/rooster) - made up entirely of Arabic calligraphy.
http://www.rfimusique.com/siteen/biographie/biographie_6150.asp
2 Comments
Farhad2000Love this!
And it's on MCM! Oh so many memories!
Dr_QObscure for you, but in France it was a huge success. Just sayin'.
/Upvoting for Jamel Debouzze
Discuss...
Enable JavaScript to submit a comment.