Adil Takhssait, better known by his stage names Vaï, also Mélo or Mélopsy, is a Canadian

rap 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 ...

and hip hop musician of Moroccan origin. Adil Takhssait was born 24 April 1979 in Paris, France, in a Moroccan family and immigrated to Canada in 1993, and established himself in Montreal. He is an author, composer and performer. He is signed to

K.Pone.Inc KPoneInc also known as KPoneInc Music Group is a music entertainment group established in 2002 by Cyril Kamar better known by his stage name as K.Maro. KPoneInc. Music Group goes into music production, promotion and distribution and has its own re ...

record label.

In LMDS

Adil Takhssait formed in 1994 his first band LMDS abbreviation of ''Les Messagers Du Son'' with his classmate and friend Cyril Kamar (later on

K'Maro Cyril Kamar ( ar, سيريل قمر; born January 31, 1980, in Beirut), known by his stage name K.Maro (; sometimes stylized as K-Maro or K'Maro) is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, producer and businessman of Lebanese origin. He sings in Frenc ...

). Adil took the name "Mélo" (Mélopsy) whereas Cyril Kamar took the name Lyrik. LMDS, Les Messagers du Son, has had two successful albums, ''Les Messagers du Son'' in 1997 and ''Il Faudrait Leur Dire'' in 1999. The self-titled debut album of LMDS ''Les Messagers du Son'' issued in 1997 achieved top positions in the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

charts and the duo appeared at Les FrancoFolies de Montréal music festival in 1999. They followed that by ''"Il faudrait leur dire"'' and a compilation released in France, where both had resided for some time. After the break-up of the group in 2001, both Adil Takhssait and

Cyril Kamar Cyril Kamar ( ar, سيريل قمر; born January 31, 1980, in Beirut), known by his stage name K.Maro (; sometimes stylized as K-Maro or K'Maro) is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, producer and businessman of Lebanese origin. He sings in Frenc ...

have continued with solo careers

Vaï, as a solo act

Soon after the break-up, Adil issued his solo breakthrough album ''Street Life'' through THC Musique with the title track single coming from the album. The song "Street Life" featured

Zaho Zahera Darabid ( ar, زهيرة درابيد ; born May 10, 1980), known by her stage name Zaho (), is an Algerian-Canadian R&B singer. Biography Zahera Darabid was born on May 10, 1980, in Bab Ezzouar, a suburb of the Algerian capital Algi ...

and sampled on "

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is a song by British new wave music duo Eurythmics. It is the title track of their album of the same name (1983) and was released as the fourth and final single from the album in early 1983. The song became t ...

" from

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

. The single "Tous Héros" about violence and boxing gained cult status amongst fans. The song sampled on

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

hit "

It's a Man's Man's Man's World "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song written by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966, in a New York City studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached No. 1 on the '' Billboard'' R&B ...

". His follow-up album ''Ma raison'' in 2008 included the single "Sur ma vie" and the music video featured in the daily Top 5 chart in Canadian French language cable television

specialty channel A specialty channel (also known in the United States as a cable channel or cable network) can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted ...

MusiMax Max is a Television in Canada, Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Remstar Media Group, a division of Remstar. The channel primarily broadcasts entertainment programming, focusing on scripted television series and films. Establish ...

He was also featured in Zoxea's song "Reste calme" and in DJ Blast's "Un homme à part". His "Visages tristes" is about the Arab-Israeli conflict using samplings from the soundtrack of

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film fo ...

Personal life

Vaï is married to a professional photographer and has a son with her. During his hiatus from rapping, he opened a burger business under the name Vaï Burger in

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

and in

Ville Saint-Laurent Saint-Laurent () is a borough of the city of Montreal, Canada, located in the northern part of the island. Although it is no longer an independent city, it is still commonly known as Ville Saint-Laurent (''City of Saint-Laurent'') or by its initi ...

, Quebec.

Albums & EPs

With LMDS

*1997: ''Les Messagers du Son'' *1999: ''Il Faudrait Leur Dire''

As solo act

Singles

With LMDS

*"Cette une belle histoire" (with Jodie Resther) *"Joins toi à la dance" *"Tu me dirais" *"Le bien de demain" *"La Squadra"

As solo act

*"Street Life" featuring

(2004) *"Sur ma vie" (2008) *"Infidèle" (2009) *"À zéro" (2019) *"Corrida" (2019) *"Sous la pluie" (2019) *"Revolver" (2019) *"Suffoque" (2020) *"Namek" (2020) *"HEAVEN" (2020)

References

* *

External links

Vaï YouTube

MySpace site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vai 1979 births Canadian male rappers Canadian male singers French emigrants to Canada French emigrants to Quebec French-language singers of Canada Living people Moroccan emigrants to Canada Singers from Montreal 20th-century Canadian rappers 21st-century Canadian rappers 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians