RFI Musique: Were you under any kind of pressure when it came to recording your third album?
Sinik: Honestly, the only pressure involved was me trying to up my game artistically. The biggest challenges I faced on this album were trying to inject an element of surprise, coming up with good themes for my songs and making the instrumentals better. Those were the three main objectives for me this time round. I felt it was important to strike a balance between classic rap themes and a few novelty ideas, between hardhitting tracks like Représailles and more personal songs like Daryl. At the end of the day, I guess this album’s a bit less loud and in-your-face than Sang-froid!

And what about Je réalise, a song on which you team up with British pop star James Blunt?
Ah, well, that’s just one of the surprises in store! This is my third album so I felt I could try something a bit different now. I’ve always been into James Blunt’s stuff and we happen to be on the same record label, so I put in a pretty classic kind of request to work with him. It turns out that the guy’s really passionate about music and he was as interested as I was in working with someone who’s in a completely different musical sphere to him. We hooked up, hit it off and things worked out very naturally from there. All I can say is Je réalise was a genuinely collaborative effort.

There’s another track on Le toit du monde where you talk about having been ‘mis à l’épreuve, jamais mis à l’amende’ (having been put to the test, but always getting off without a fine)…
Whether you’re talking about rap or about life in general, there’s always been this thing about people wanting to know whether I’ve got it in me, you know, chucking a few spanners in the works to see how I’d react. But whether I’ve been faced with the justice system or faced with the rap world, I’ve always pulled through in the end. I guess this is my way of saying that no-one’s ever made it easy for me - despite what some people might think! I’ve pulled through it all, though, and made my own way.

Your recent clash with fellow French rapper Booba received massive coverage in the media.* But the feud seems to have been stopped dead in its tracks now. What happened?
Two things basically. First up, everyone was waiting for Booba to retaliate but when he did it wasn’t a big deal. I can honestly say what he said about me was water off a duck’s back! Secondly, there was the problem of the negative spin the whole thing was putting on rap. It honestly got to the point where I felt like I was in over my head. I was amazed at how the whole thing got blown out of all proportion. I considered that I’d retaliated to Booba’s initial attack in an appropriate way and while I was waiting for him to kick back I’d prepared another track which was actually a lot tougher than L’homme à abattre (Sinik’s first salvo). But then when Booba hit back with his retaliation I found myself like a complete idiot with this track that was totally over the top. We felt it just wasn’t reasonable to release it. At the end of the day it just wasn’t worth it. The only thing it would have done is encourage people to keep on dissing rap - and sold more newspapers!

And what about the song Rue des bergères? What’s that about?
It’s a sort of sequel to Une époque formidable. The 2008 version of it, if you like. I’m always really nostalgic about what life was like in the neighbourhood where I grew up. I think I will be for the rest of my days! I’m convinced that the best moments are the ones we’ve already lived. I know it sounds cynical, but I really am nostalgic for my childhood years, all those crazy things we got up to as kids and those football matches we played that seemed to go on in the sun for ten hours at a stretch. I look back on all those things I don’t do any more with great fondness. I really enjoy talking about life in the good old days. It does me good. Talking about life in my old street, Rue des bergères, has become my trademark now.

A lot of French rappers have refused to grow old behind the mike. What’s your take on the age thing?
Well, one thing’s for sure and that is that I’m convinced you shouldn’t push your luck! It’s like in the boxing world. Mike Tyson fucked up his whole career fighting too many matches he shouldn’t have - and at the end of the day that’s all he’ll be remembered for! I’ve always said that after four albums, I’m going to stop and take stock of the situation and see whether I’ve got anything left to offer.

I’ve got this young rapper in my crew right now called Cifack. I’m going to start producing stuff for him and I’m not worried about the idea of moving to the other side of the studio wall one day. I’m not saying that in a tongue-tied politician way either. I’m in the music business and I want to stay in the music business. So when I stop rapping, what better option could there be than producing stuff by young up-and-coming talents and teaching them what I’ve learnt? I know the whole fame thing is going to end one day, but I’m going to be the one to call it quits. This is a combat sport and everyone knows it. There’s a competition and everyone’s got to slug it out and give it his best shot. But at the same time competition is really healthy. So long as there’s a spirit of rivalry in rap, there’ll be good albums!