Grand Corps Malade
Fabien Marsaud, better known by his stage name Grand Corps Malade, is a French slam poet and lyricist, known for his low voice and for releasing songs and albums on which he slams over music.
His stage name means "Tall Sick Body" in French, a reference to his height and to a spine injury that forces him to walk with a crutch, due to a 1997 accident that originally had doctors tell him he would never walk again.
Biography
His father Jacques Marsaud was a regional functionary and general secretary of the commune in Noisy-le-Sec and Saint-Denis and later on director general of services at Conseil général du Val-de-Marne and later in la Communauté d'agglomération Plaine-Commune. His mother was a librarian. They lived in Saint-Denis.Fabien excelled in his classes, particularly in literary courses and in sports, with sports becoming a passion of his, particularly playing basketball. He received offers to be on the youth development team of Toulouse, but preferred to stay in Saint-Denis. After playing in basketball teams in Nanterre and Saint Denis, he signed with a basketball team based in Aubervilliers, a northeastern suburb of Paris that had a team playing in Division 3 French basketball.
After his secondary education and baccalauréat, he got his Diplôme d'études universitaires générales in "Sciences et techniques des activités physiques et sportives".
On 16 July 1997, during a sports camp where he was a supervisor, a diving accident in a swimming pool caused him to displace his spine; he was later told he would never walk again. However, in 1999, after a year of intensive treatment, he regained the ability to walk, although he usually has to use a crutch.
Career
Young Fabien started writing poetry at the age of 15. He made his first appearance as a slam artist in a bar at place de Clichy in Paris on 23 October 2003, where he recited "Cassiopée" his first artistic piece. Choosing the alias Grand Corps Malade, he took part in many slam events with Collectif 129H, and with John Pucc'Chocolat. In 2004, he conducted"Slam'Alikoum", a monthly feature at the "Café Culturel de Saint-Denis" with his friend John Pucc' He co-founded " "Le Cercle des Poètes sans Instru" that included 7 slam artists including John Pucc’, Droopy, Techa, the 129H members and himself.
He gained more fame in slam circles in 2005 through appearances at Reservoir, a club that featured upcoming artists like Jamel Comedy Club. He opened for Cheb Mami at Stade de France and for Mouss and Hakim at the "Boule Noire". Also in 2005, S Petit Nico, a friend of his, offered to make a musical track to accompany Marsaud's poetry.
Fabien Marsaud signed with AZ, the French label on which his debut album, Midi 20, was released on 26 March 2006 becoming a top 10 selling album for the year in France. He also started a grand tour with 120 dates to promote the album, including two sold-out concerts in La Cigale in Paris. Based largely on this success, on 10 March 2007, he won two Victoires de la Musique awards. He also appeared in many television shows and in Edouard Baer's Grand Cabaret.
In 2008, he released his second album Enfant de la ville. The same year he performed in the Festival d'été international de Québec, that signified his recognition and appeal throughout the French-language speaking world.
He also conducted many workshops to introduce youngsters in his community to slam poetry in Saint Denis and elsewhere. The result was a release of Génération Slam, a 9-track album in November 2008 by a diversified set of amateur slam artists.
2010 saw the release of his third studio album, 3ème temps with the song "Roméo kiffe Juliette", an adaptation from Shakespeare, with the two adolescent lovers transposed into a suburb of Paris, and the family divide transformed into a religious divide between a Jewish Juliette and the Muslim Roméo. It is the Hip Hop dancer Bintou Dembélé, one of the pioneer figures of Hip Hop in France, who makes the choreography of the video clip of "Roméo kiff Juliette". In 2011, he released his single "Inch'Allah" featuring Reda Taliani, becoming his biggest successful single.
In 2013, he released his fourth, 13-track studio album Funambule after quitting his former label AZ and working with the independent label Believe Recording and Anouche Productions.
In 2017, his first film PATIENTS, co-directed with Mehdi Idir aka Minos has been a success in France and has been nominated for 4 Cesars
In 2018, he released with his producer Jean-Rachid is new album by themselves with Caroline International, he is now on tour with this album and his second movie with Mehdi Idir will be released by the end of the year.
Discography
Albums
Others- 2009: Midi 20 / Enfant de la ville
Singles
Year | Single | FR | Album |
2018 | "Plan B" | 137 | Plan B |
2018 | "Acouphènes" | 180 | Plan B |
Non-charting singles
- 2006: "6e sens"
- 2008: "Les voyages en train"
- 2009: "Enfant de la ville"
- 2009: "Je viens de là"
- 2010: "Education nationale
- 2010: "Roméo kiffe Juliette"
- 2010: "Définitivement"
- 2006: Song "Les trompettes de la renommée" as cover of Georges Brassens in the album Putain de toi
- 2007: Song "Juste une période de ma vie" as duo with Rouda in the album Musique des Lettres
- 2007: In two songs "Le Retour de Joe" and "Thème de Joe" on French band Dionysos album La mécanique du cœur
- 2008: In "Je m'écris" by Kery James featuring Grand Corps Malade & Zaho in Kery James' album À l'ombre du show business
- 2009: Co-wrote "L'ombre et la lumière" with Alana Fillipi on Calogero's album L'Embellie and appeared on a duet of the song with Calogero on the album
- 2010: In "Una Terranova" in duo with I Muvrini in the latter's album Gioia
Filmography
- 2017 : Patients
- 2019 : School Life
Awards
- 2007: Victoires de la musique
- *Won "Album revelation of the year"
- *Won "Artist stage revelation of the year"
- *Nominated: "Artist revelation of the public"
- 2007: Nominated for Félix Award for "Francophone artist most illustrious in Quebec" at the ADISQ gala
- 2008: Named "Chevalier" at the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France
- 2009: Won Felix Award for "Francophone artist most illustrious in Quebec" at the gala of ADISQ
- 2017: Named "Commandeur" at the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France
In popular culture
- In 2003, he took part in the Manuel Schapira short film Décroche where Grand Corps Malade does the introductory music and appears as himself.
- In 2007, in voiceover of an episode in the TV series Moot-Moot
- In 2007, French hip hop / jazz band Hocus Pocus mentioned him in the track "Place 54" on their similarly titled album Place 54.
- In 2007, French parody rap group Fatal Bazooka mentioned him in their album T'As Vu ? in a slam or in the track "Crêpes au froment" in which they parody his name by saying "Vas-y dis leur toi aussi Grand Cul Malade!"
- In 2010, made voice of the character Rictus in the film Toy Story 3
- In 2010, French singer Dorothée in her show at l'Olympia in Paris introduced her song "Valise 2010", a slam, by giving her songwriter and friend Jean-Luc Azoulay the nickname "Grand Cerveau Malade" in reference to Grand Corps Malade
- His adopted name is used in parodies of paronymes and antonymes, like what happened in the program Groland in its parody "Petit Corps Normal", or by Fabrice Eboué in Jamel Comedy Club talking about Amelle Chahbi calling her "P'tit corps salade". He is also parodied in les Guignols de l'Info broadcast on Canal+