Flashmag August 2020 www.flashmag.net
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And anyway, I didn't want to do solely Zouk. But however, at one point I wanted to make an exclusively Zouk album; but a Zouk tinged with my RnB tendencies, just as my RnB has always been tinted with Afro-Caribbean music.
When I released the album "Elle et Moi" there were two sides. A very RnB part, and the last tracks about 4 or 5 announced that I was going to make a Zouk album. And then there was “Ile et moi” which even if it was not produced by the same label, materialized the idea of this Zouk album that wanted to make. The song “ je te promets” (I promise you) with my cousin Thierry Battery released in May 2007 at Warner, was a prelude. I thought this album on my own, although of course I had my Aztec music Label with me.
There was a 4-year long hiatus, and I really had a lot to say. I wrote or co-wrote all the songs on "Ile et moi" there were a lot of titles in Creole because I can often express myself better in Creole. I had so much to say because when we write, often we also talk about our love life. So much to say, that very passionately the ink flowed. I worked on everything including the album cover, where I represent an African statuette. Nude and made of ebony. As it was my first full album, I had to talk about both the West Indies and Africa because I had traveled so many times in Africa. This ocher-red side, on the cover, is the color of the earth that can be seen in Africa as well as in the West Indies; as well as the green which represents the vegetation. For me it's my best album, my greatest pride.
The bulk of your fan base is from Africa, why do you think Africans have such a special attachment to Afro-Caribbean?
Lynnsha: It is true that my fan base is in Africa why? I do not know. But I know I have a very strong connection to Africa. You know in France when you go to Africa it is often the Maghreb first, Morocco, Algeria, and so on. But the first time I went to Africa was in Côte d'Ivoire, and that's why I have a special affection for Côte d'Ivoire. There was an RnB Hip Hop festival, and I was there to back vocals for a rapper named Donya. And I loved it, and why did I love it? In fact, I realized that there are places in Ivory Coast that look like Martinique. So, I actually ended up at home. So, I said to myself, I'm home. After I did a song where I say “Je suis chez moi” (I'm home) I actually thank Africa.
Why this particular attachment? In my case, I think people can feel that I am real, sincere, about my attachment to Africa. And that necessarily reflects on how they appreciate what I do in my life as an artist.