SIKA RLION

Sika doesn't force maloya (Reunion's equivalent of blues) into her recognizable voice. Like Davy Sicard or Danyèl Waro, she naturally carries this insular, anti-establishment musical genre, which she blends to perfection with other styles, often relegated to the sidelines, such as Jamaican dancehall or rap. Reunionese music was her daily life, and her voice is her heritage. The influence of Sizzla, Capleton, transpires in his tracks, but we also find old school rap flows and quite a few tempo variations, specific to the urban movement of the moment. Sika's blend of technicality and musicality is very much in evidence, and she's happy about that, because it's what characterizes her. The prerogative of Jamaican toasters (such as Lady Leshurr), combined with the French language, Reunionese Creole and well-chiselled punchlines, is what you'll find in her tracks. Her writing is very instinctive.

Her career began with lyrics packed with strong themes, in an era marked by artists such as Kaf Malbar. The musical genre of the time required musicians to deliver messages, to make a mark on the audience with committed lyrics. Sika makes it a point of honor to preserve this. She sprinkles her songs with encouraging, positive thoughts, without hiding her flaws, her dark side and her deep commitments. Her rebellious side, ready to go to the front, can never be erased. A normal thing for a young woman who had to make her mark among a myriad of male artists in Sound Systems and Open Mics of all kinds.

If you'd like to discover her world by ear, she naturally recommends Crois Mwin or Turn Over, which offer a very "old-school" dancehall architecture, on which she sings, raps and presents herself, assuming her undisguised ambition: to bring her style and her island back to the forefront. Thing she will do even more in the summer of 2024, on the stages of Europe's biggest festivals, including Paléo (CH), Rototom (ES) and Garorock (FR).