Sylvain Richard (born 17 February 1979), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

20syl (pronounced "vain-seel", ), is a French

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

. He is a composer and MC in the group

Hocus Pocus Hocus-pocus is an exclamation used by magicians, usually the magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change. Hocus Pocus or Hokus Pokus or ''variant'', may also refer to: Books * ''Hocus Pocus'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Kurt Vonneg ...

, member of beatmaker collective of DJs C2C, one half of the Hip Hop/Electronic duo AllttA and quadruple world champion DMC Team. He published his first EP, ''Motifs'', in 2014, followed by ''Motifs II'' in 2015. During his career, he also produced for artists and groups such as Diam's,

Disiz Sérigne M'Baye Gueye (; born 28 March 1978), better known by his stage name Disiz, (pronounced "This is", formerly Disiz la Peste and Disiz Peter Punk), is a French rapper and actor. Born to a Senegalese father and Belgian mother, he grew up ...

Kohndo Kohndo (also known as ''Doc Odnok'', full name ''Kohndo Assogba'') is a French rapper and producer born on June 17, 1975, in Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris. Kohndo is known as one of the best lyricist in french rap. He gained recognition as a ...

, Slum Village, Fabe, Scred Connexion, Nakk, Sully Sefil, and is involved in projects such as ''Just Us vol.1'' or ''Original Bombattak''.

Biography

Richard, originally a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for publishe ...

, graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Nantes Métropole. He began his musical career in his bedroom at his parents' house in

Rezé Rezé (; br, Reudied, Gallo: ''Rezae'') is a commune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Loire-Atlantique department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It is a southern suburb of Nantes. It was also called ''Ratiate'' in ...

. In 1995, Richard and Cambia released their first mixtape, ''Première Formule.'' Recorded in a makeshift studio, the first self-produced cassette was sold in the courtyard of their school. In 1997, they associated with DJ Greem, a high school friend of Richard's, to form the group

, and released their first album as a trio, ''Seconde Formule'', in 1998. Hocus Pocus mixes elements specific to hip-hop (scratches, samples, rap) to an instrumental sound influenced by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

and funk. Alongside Hocus Pocus, they created in collaboration with DJ Atom and DJ Pfel, a group called C2C (also known as "Coups2Cross"). C2C was the world champion DMC team four years in a row from 2003 to 2006. They found the collaboration of two

MCs Music * Motion City Soundtrack, a pop punk / rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota Science and technology * Matrix cable system, submarine communications cable connecting Indonesia and Singapore * Megawatt Charging System, electric vehicle cha ...

and a DJ did not work on stage and went their separate ways; Richard continued his production as 20syl and DJ Greem invested specifically in C2C. In 2001, Richard worked again with DJ Greem and Cambia on stage as Hocus Pocus. The same year, they created the label ''On & On'' and released the maxi ''Sick'', which sold around 4000 copies. Three years later, they released the album ''73 Touches'' (in reference to the number of piano keys). Largely influenced by jazz, they refer to

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

. Mathieu Lelièvre on keyboard, Hervé Godard on bass and David Le Deunff on guitar complement the trio. The same album was reissued in 2006 with a new version of ''Sick'' and six new titles. 20syl&DjGreem

The album ''Place 54'', released in October 2007, increased their willingness to create acoustic hip-hop. For this album, they signed with the label Motown France to promote and distribute it. The album was well received and attracted interest from mainstream TV and radio. In 2008, Hocus Pocus was nominated for a

Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

award in the category "Urban Music Album of the Year". Richard published his first solo EP, ''Motifs,'' on the 9 June 2014; the sit
sourdoreille.net
considers this EP as "a real gem" whils
wordplaymagazine.com
praises Richard's style as "frankly remarkable". His second EP, ''Motifs II'', was published on 11 May 2015. Regarding the cover of ''Motifs II'' Richard explains: "For the first volume, I played on the contrast between the zebra and the checkerboard. For this one, I wanted another animal. I like animals with a solemn air, which release an aesthetic force. When I came across this owl, I found him mysterious and chic. I also chose the motif of the opposition in the checkered plumage. It is a way to symbolize the two aspects of my music: electronic and organic. This refined and enigmatic image raises questions." In July 2015 in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabit ...

, Richard presented the U, an interactive musical

skateboard ramp A vert ramp is a form of half-pipe used in extreme sports such as vert skating, vert skateboarding and vert BMX. Vert ramps are so named because they transition from a horizontal plane (known as the flat-bottom) to a vertical section on top. ...

(in collaboration with the collective Herrmutt Lobby)
herrmuttlobby.com
says regarding U "The skater is the musician and the ramp is the instrument. He composes and decomposes the rhythm, he breaks down initial binary arrangements, making the digital human again for a moment." In September 2015 The Apple Keynote used a piece of Richard's music to promote the functionality of

Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer ques ...

on the Apple Watch in thei
"Choose Colorfully"
advertisement. In late 2015, Richard published a remix of the PLPS song ''How I Feel''. In January 2016, he published his first year production entitled ''Inertia''. Also in January 2016, he published a remix of the song ''Walk Walk'' by

Yael Naim Yael Naim ( he, יעל נעים, born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "New Soul" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song p ...

In 2015 he formed the group AllttA (A Little Lower Than The Angels) with the Californian rapper Mr. J. Medeiros. Their debut album, titled ''The Upper Hand'', was released on February 17, 2017. Their sophomore album, titled ''Facing Giants'', was released on December 1, 2017.

Discography

Singles

* 2014 : ''Ongoing Thing (feat. Oddisee)'' * 2021 : ''Bagarre''

EPs

* 2014 : ''Motifs'' * 2015 : ''Motifs II''

Album(s)

* 2020 : ''36'' (''Beats & Types'')

Remix album

* 1999 : ''20Syl's Remix Tape''

Collaborations and remixes

* 2002 : 20syl - ''On and On'' (track 13 on the mixtape ''1son2rue'' by Cut Killer) * 2006 : Sixième Sens - ''Herbes de Provinces'' (feat. 20syl, Prince d'arabee, Orelsan, Gringe) * 2007 : ''Amelie'' ( Mr. J. Medeiros feat. 20syl) * 2012 : ''Pale Blue Dot'' ( Mr. J. Medeiros feat. Shad (20syl Remix)) * 2012 : ''Le sucre pimenté'' (Remix) ( Oxmo Puccino feat. Orelsan, Greg Frite, Busta Flex, Grodash, Youssoupha, Dabaaz, 3010 & 20syl) * 2013 :

Kraked Unit ''Kraked Unit'' is a French based band founded in 2000 by French composer and DJ Loïk Dury in collaboration with other musicians and composers. They focus on the creation of music for films, including films by Cédric Klapisch: '' L'auberge espa ...

- ''Chinese Puzzle'' (20syl Remix) * 2013 :

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to t ...

- '' Stay'' (20syl You Can't Be Serious Remix) * 2013 : Gush - ''Sieblings'' (20syl Remix) * 2013 : Moongaï - ''Cosmofamille'' (20syl Remix) * 2013 : ''Game, Set & Match'' * 2013 : Electro Deluxe - ''Devil'' (20syl Remix) * 2013 : Blitz the Ambassador - ''Respect Mine'' (feat. 20syl, Emicida, Y'akoto) * 2013 : Elodie Rama - ''City of Hope'' (20syl Version) * 2013 : Dtwice - ''Devil's Tune'' (20syl Remix) * 2013 :

Misteur Valaire Valaire, formerly known as Misteur Valaire, are a French Canadian electropop group based in Sherbrooke, Quebec and later Montreal. History The five members of Misteur Valaire met in elementary school. They all had classic jazz musical training bef ...

- ''Don't Get Là'' (20syl Remix) * 2013 : ''Room Bang'' ( Grems feat. 20syl) * 2013 : ''My Heart'' (Letters to the Sun feat. 20syl) * 2014 :

Gregory Porter Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He has twice won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album: first in 2014 for '' Liquid Spirit'' and then again in 2017 for '' Take Me to the Alley''. Early ...

- '' Liquid Spirit'' (20syl Remix) * 2014 : 20syl & Kafutchino - ''Kouign Amann'' (La Fine Equipe album ''La Boulangerie, Vol. 3 - La Fine Equipe & Friends'') * 2014 :

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

- '' Thinking Out Loud'' (20syl Remix) * 2014 : Shuko - ''The Same'' (feat. CL Smooth & 20syl) * 2014 : Yelle - ''Complètement fou'' (20syl Remix) * 2014 : ''Game Set & Match II'' (created for the ''

2014 BNP Paribas Masters The 2014 BNP Paribas Masters was a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 42nd edition of the tournament, and part of the 2014 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Par ...

'' international tennis tournament) * 2014 : ''V052 V1M'' (Jakarta Records album ''Summer In Jakarta'') * 2014 : Coin Banks - ''Thomas Lawrence'' (feat. 20syl, Tab-One, Anders & The Ruby Horns) * 2014 :

Pigeon John John Kenneth Dust (born John Kenneth Dunkin: November 30, 1972), better known by the stage name Pigeon John, is an American rapper based in Los Angeles, California. He is a former member of L.A. Symphony. Early life Pigeon John claims that his ...

- ''Boomerang'' (feat. 20Syl) * 2014 : ''Bet Dap Goom Bown'' (BoomBap Festival Beat) * 2014 : ''The Drops - Atalante'' (20syl Remix) * 2014 : ''Obsession'' (Fixpen Sill & 20syl) * 2014 :

Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...

- ''The Purge / Rapfix Cypher'' (20syl Remix) * 2014 : Kyla La Grange - '' Cut Your Teeth'' (20syl Remix) * 2014 : ''10YRS'' (Hip OPsession 10th Anniversary Track) * 2014 :

Seinabo Sey Seinabo Sey (born 7 October 1990) is a Swedish singer and songwriter best known for her international hit song "Younger". Early life Seinabo Sey was born in Södermalm, Stockholm, on 7 October 1990. She is of both Swedish and Gambian ancestry. ...

- ''

Younger Younger or Youngers may refer to: People * Younger (surname) * List of people known as the Elder or the Younger Arts and entertainment * ''Younger'', an American novel by Pamela Redmond Satran ** ''Younger'' (TV series), an American sitcom base ...

'' (20syl Remix) * 2014 :

King Krule Archy Ivan Marshall (born 24 August 1994), also known by his stage name King Krule, among other names, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, rapper and record producer. He began recording music in 2010 under the moniker Zoo Kid. The fol ...

- ''Easy Easy'' (20syl Remix) * 2014 :

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

- ''Sing that Shit'' (20syl Juicy Remix) * 2015 : Moar & Sarsha Simone - ''Gonna Do Me'' (20syl Remix) * 2015 : Ibrahim Maalouf - ''Red and Black Light'' (20syl Remix) * 2015 : PLPS - ''How I Feel'' (20syl Remix) * 2016 : Yaël Naim - ''Walk Walk'' (20syl Remix) * 2016 : ODESZA - ''It's Only (feat. Zyra)'' (20syl Remix) * 2016 : The Geek x Vrv - ''I Don't Wanna Know'' (feat. Mirror Signal) (20syl Remix) * 2016 : Everydayz, Phazz - ''Almeria'' (20syl Remix) * 2016 : 20syl - ''Inertia'' (charity compilation ''AMAL'') * 2018 : AllttA - ''Bucket'' (20syl Remix) * 2018 : Electro Deluxe - ''Keep my Baby Dancing'' (20syl Remix) * 2018 : Inüit - ''Tomboy'' (20syl Remix) * 2019 : La Fine Équipe, Grems & 20syl - ''Nobu'' * 2019 : Electric guest - ''Dollar'' (20syl Remix) *2020 : AllttA - ''Ampersand'' *2020 : Thaïs Lona - ''Best Part (Daniel Cesar cover)'' (20syl Remix) *2021 : Brent Faiyaz - ''Circles'' (20syl Remix) *2022 : La Chica - ''Agua'' (20syl Remix) *2022 : Too Many T's & 20syl - ''Roots'' *2022 : Beyoncé - ''Break my Soul'' (20syl Remix) *2022 : Thaïs Lona - ''B.N.D'' (20syl Remix)

Collaborative albums

* 1996 : ''Première Formule'' (mixtape, with

) * 1998 : ''Seconde Formule'' (self-produced album, with

) * 2001 : ''Flyin' Saucer'' (with C2C) * 2002 : ''Flyin' Saucer II'' (with C2C) * 2002 : ''Acoustic HipHop Quintet'' (maxi, with

) * 2002 : ''Conscient'' (maxi, with

) * 2002 : ''On and On Part II'' (maxi, with

) * 2003 : ''Flyin' Saucer III'' (with C2C) * 2005 : ''73 Touches'' (with

) * 2007 : '' Place 54'' (with

) * 2010 : ''16 pièces'' (with

) * 2012 : ''Down the Road'' (EP, with C2C) * 2012 : ''

Tetra Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA; formerly known as Trans-European Trunked Radio), a European standard for a trunked radio system, is a professional mobile radio and two-way transceiver specification. TETRA was specifically designed for use by ...

'' (LP, with C2C) * 2016 : ''Touch Down, Pt. I'' (EP, with AllttA) * 2016 : ''The Woods'' (EP, with AllttA) * 2016 : ''AllttA'' (EP with Mr. J. Medeiros) * 2017 : ''The Upper Hand'' (LP, with AllttA) * 2017 : ''Facing Giants'' (LP, with AllttA)

References

*http://earmilk.com/2016/03/24/saga-blu-and-20syl-get-up-without-the-happy-pills-premiere/ *http://djbooth.net/artists/20syl *http://www.tsugi.fr/magazines/2016/06/29/20syl-j-medeiros-hip-hop-allttarnatif-17896 {{Authority control 1979 births Living people