Ray David Grammont (12 October 1967 in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
– 16 February 2021 in
Nancy, France), better known under his stage name Tonton David was a French
Reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
singer born in
Réunion. He was renowned for his
ragga
Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music.
Wayne Smi ...
muffin performances, but used influences of
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
,
gro kâ (from the French West Indies), the Zairian
rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...
.
Biography
Tonton David had a turbulent childhood in a suburb of Paris. He left his family aged 14 and had a successful career in music with songs featuring powerful and political lyrics. In 1990, Tonton David had his big break when he was featured in a TV report about "
Black Paris". Following that performance, Tonton David was signed by the Virgin record label. Shortly after, he recorded "Peuples du monde", which was featured in French rap compilation ''Rapattitudes''.
''Le blues de la racaille'' released on 2 December 1991, was his debut album in which he explored social issues such as unemployment, poverty and racism, becoming a figurehead for a whole generation of disenchanted French youth. In 1991, he performed in front of an audience of 12,000 music fans at the
Fête des Kafs in Saint Denis, La Réunion and in 1992 at Reggae Sunsplash festival in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1993, he released his second album ''Allez leur dire'' recorded in Memphis, Tennessee. "Sûr et certain" taken from the same album was released as a single. 1995 saw his biggest success to date with the release of the song "Chacun sa route", which was used in the soundtrack of the film ''
Un indien dans la ville
''Un indien dans la ville'' (''An Indian in the city'') is a 1994 French film by Hervé Palud. The film had a limited English language release under the title ''Little Indian, Big City''.
Part of the movie was shot in Miami, Florida, United State ...
''. His third album ''Récidiviste'' in 1995 included the single "Pour tout le monde pareil" and featured a collaboration with rai star
Cheb Mami in "Fugitifs". His fourth album ''Faut qu'ça arrête'' was more heavily influenced by Haitian music, after he collaborated with Haitian musician
Papa Jube. Victim of a stroke (CVA) in Metz (France), his death was announced 2 days later in hospital of Nancy, on 16 February 2021.
Mort de Tonton David : un AVC évoqué, une pluie d'hommages
''lintern@ute''. Retrieved on 17 February 2021
Discography
Albums
*1991: ''Le blues de la racaille''
*1994: ''Allez leur dire''
*1995: ''Récidiviste''
*1999: ''Faut qu'ça arrête''
*2002: ''Best Of'' (compilation album)
*2005: ''Babelou, la gagne''
*2006: ''Livret de famille''
*2006: ''Il marche seul''
*2009: ''Ma gouille''
Singles
*1990: "Peuple du monde" (FR #32)
*1994: "Chacun sa route" (with K.O.D.)
*1994: "Sûr et certain" (FR #9)
*1994: "Ma Number One" (FR #17)
*1994: "Il marche seul" (FR #29)
*1995: "Fugitif" (with Cheb Mami (FR #30)
;Featured in
*2005: "La gagne" ( Intouchable feat. Tonton David) (FR #40)
References
1967 births
2021 deaths
French reggae musicians
French reggae singers
Musicians from Réunion
{{france-musician-stub
Réunionnais singers