Roi Heenok

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Roi Heenok
Birth name Jean-Marie Beauséjour
Born 1974
Origin Montreal, Quebec
Genres Canadian hip hop
Occupations Rapper
Years active 2003-present
Labels Polydor, Warner Bros. Records

Jean-Marie Beauséjour[1] (born in 1974[2]) and better known by his stage name Roi Heenok ("King Heenok") is a Canadian rapper of Haitian descent from Montreal, Quebec.

Roi Heenok has achieved a certain notoriety in France since 2004 thanks to Internet fame.[3] Henook claims to represent the revival of French rap, and he has performed in Paris on three occasions – November 24, 2005,[3] June 10, 2008 and October 29, 2008.

Lyrical style

Roi Heenok often uses an unusual slang and vocabulary, as well as many recurring sentences in his lyrics. His language is more similar to a pidgin than academic French, mixing accents and expressions from Québec and France. For example, in one lyric he raps "T'entends, jeune pédé ?" ("Ya hear, young faggot?") His raps are particularly hard to translate. Some examples include "Mon médaillon touche à mon pénis" ("My medallion touches at my penis"), "Mon T-Shirt du Pakistan, han ? De la merde Israélite, jeune pédé'" ("My T-Shirt's from Pakistan, eh? It's israelite shit, young fag") and "ça va devenir vrai dans cette pièce pour quelques instants" ("It's gonna get real in this room for a moment"). Most of these expressions are directly translated from English to French, which gives his raps a comic tone in their original language (for example the direct translation of "bitch nigger" to "pute nègre").[4]

Henook uses a lyrical tempo, slower than usual for rap and more like a poetry slam.

Criticisms

Though he has claimed to be famous in Quebec, and French media have believed those claims (the French newspaper 20 Minutes wrote an article about his live show in Paris [5]), his legitimacy as a rap artist has since been frequently questioned.[3] Since his rise to internet stardom, some believe that he is simply a parody.[6][7]

Heenok is known for his provocative statements. He has claimed to admire Osama bin Laden and to be a drug dealer, as well as insulting French rappers like Booba, whom he clashed in a track called "J'garde le Kalashnikov" ("Keeping my Kalashnikov").

Internet fame

Several Heenok videos and interviews are available on video sites such as Youtube and Dailymotion. Heenok's internet fame seems to stem more from his comic antics and statements than from his artistic talent.

His new official website is RoiHeenokMusik.com

Documentary film

On January 21, 2008 Kourtrajmé edited the straight-to-DVD documentary film Les Mathématiques du Roi Heenok ("King Heenok's mathematics"), by Romain Gavras and Mohamed Mazouz. The documentary claims that Heenok "is for French rap what Jean-Claude Van Damme is for cinema""[8] In the film, Heenok describes himself as a "Crazy rapper".

Arrest

On April 17, 2008 Québécois Channel TQS announced that the Montreal Police Department found weapons, ammunition, bulletproof vests and drugs in Heenok's recording studio. Heenok and three of his friends were arrested.[2][9] Heenok was released on April 25, 2008.[10]

Influences

Heenok began in the group Drama Stay Live Entertainment. He then launched another musical group, Gangsters et Gentlemen, with Quebec rappers such as Rap Iso, Kinimod, UgoBoss and Lynn. Heenok claims to be part of the gangsta rap sub-genre.

He claims influences from movies like First Blood and Scarface.[citation needed]

Discography

  • Propagande Américaine : La Dose, La Mixtape, 2005
  • Cocaïno Rap Musique : le CD mixé Styles Libres Exclusifs Volume 1, 2007
  • Cocaïno Rap Musique VOL. 1 le DVD et CD mixé Styles Libres Exclusifs Édition Limitée, 2008
  • Cocaïno Rap Musique Volume 2 : Édition Finale, double album released in December 2009 on Satellite Music.
  • Nouveau Rap Mondial, two free web singles, 2009
  • Sexe Crime & Botanique, with Kamel Le Dentiste & Rhum-Kalash A.K.A. La Jaquette.
  • Rap Capitaliste, announced for 2010 (but apparently cancelled) with Raekwon of Wu-Tang
  • Features on Capitale du Crime Volume 2 by La Fouine, 2009
  • Noirs et Professionnels, released 12/12/12 with participation of Kinimod and Ugoboss, GOD Part III, and Raekwon, Alibi Montana, Green Money, James Lescro and more.
  • Calico Muzik, announced for 2013 with GOD Part III.

Filmography

  • Les Mathématiques du Roi Heenok, a DVD made by Kourtrajmé, published in France in January 2008
  • Cocaïno Rap Musique le DVD, a DVD made by Amine Bouziane and Julien Lafont for Stuff Productions, published in France in June 2008
  • Le Monde selon Roi Heenok, a DVD made by Amine Bouziane and Julien Lafont for Stuff Productions, published in France in February 2011

Clothing line

On December 9, 2007, Roi Heenok announced the launch of his clothing line, Ghetto Elegance.[11] The first shop opened December 28, 2008.

References

  1. ↑ In an interview for 20minutes.fr, he affirmed that Heenok is his real first name. A report for channel TQS stated that his name is Heenok Beauséjour, but a second report speaks of a Jean-Marie Beauséjour, as does an article on Nouvelobs.com. An article on 20minutes.fr alludes to a brother of Roi Heenok named Jean-Marie. In an interview for webzine Bounce2Dis.com, the rapper in question confirmed that his first name is Henook and his brother's is Jean-Marie.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Le Roi Heenok a été arrêté". nouvelobs.com. nouvelobs.com. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Roi Heenok sur canal+/"Tentations 07" sujet de Amine Bouziane
  4. ↑ YouTube - Best of Roi Heenok / Compilation
  5. ↑ Vive le Roi Heenok, futur monarque du rap ("Long live the King Heenok, rap's next monarch") (29 November 2005) sur le site de 20 minutes
  6. ↑ Interview du Roi Heenok sur dMute.net
  7. ↑ Le Roi Heenok en DVD, c'est maintenant, t'entends jeune PD ? - Le blog ciné-télé de Nanarland.com
    | Blog Nanarland | Programmes TV | Bons plans DVD | Blog nanar
  8. ↑ Crakedz
  9. ↑ Arrestation du roi Heenok à Montréal
  10. ↑ Arrestation du roi Heenok à Montréal
  11. ↑ Site internet Ghetto Elegance

External links

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