France’s most prominent hip-hop DJ is ready to bring his unique blend of influences to Southeast Asia.

Retaining one’s love for the streets. Keeping it real. Evoking the hard-knock life. All three are usually prerequisites for anyone hoping to forge a career in the hip-hop industry. Which is why DJ Cut Killer’s honesty about his upbringing in Paris is refreshing.

“I grew up in the suburbs, it was a little quiet. My family was middle-class, we weren’t rich but we lived alright,” says the man commonly regarded as France’s pre-eminent hip-hop DJ.

The young Parisian of Moroccan origin grew up surrounded by an eclectic mix of music, from the excited, sexual yelp of James Brown to the traditional, deep lustre of Oum Kalsoum, the Egyptian songstress known as ‘the star of the East’.

But it was after bearing witness to a Sunday afternoon TV show called H.I.P H.O.P in 1984 that the then-13-year-old begun the transformation that would see him emerge as Cut Killer.

“It was only a 20-minute show but it was where we learned how to breakdance and DJ,” remembers Cut Killer. “It was huge in France and when the show stopped, the only chance to feel the hip-hop movement was on the streets with DJs like Dee Nasty [the Parisian ‘godfather’ of the genre], or by going to the mythical club called The Globo.”

During his visits to The Globo, the aspirant star witnessed hip-hop luminaries such as Public Enemy and Cash Money first-hand and decided to form his first DJ crew: Incredible Zulu B-Boy. During a trip to New York in 1989, Cut Killer noticed the influence that DJs such as Funkmaster Flex were beginning to have as tastemakers for the music industry. “I came back to Paris with the motivation to be one of the most hard-working DJs in France,” he says. “That meant having a radio show, throwing a lot of parties, doing a lot of mixtapes…”

Two decades later, he has been true to his word. Cut Killer has released more than 50 mixtapes and 20 albums and been at the decks for two of P. Diddy’s notoriously decadent birthday parties (“It was so crazy living with Diddy day and night. It’s just insane, the guy never sleeps, he’s like a human energy drink”).

He has also become something of a champion of French hip-hop, introducing entire new continents to the sound through his exhaustive touring schedule.  “French hip-hop grew at the same time that the US hip-hop movement took hold in France,” says Cut Killer. “We learnt lots from American rappers, but French artists  wanted to do things their own way as well.

A lot of them focused on originality and good lyrics. There is now a bunch of artists with different styles, even smooth jazz-rap music blended with hardcore lyrics about the police threat and the political system.”