Coupé-Décalé
Coupé Décalé is a type of popular dance music originating from Côte d'Ivoire and the Ivorian diaspora in Paris, France. Drawing heavily from Zouglou and Congolese rhythms, Coupé-Décalé is a very percussive style featuring African samples, deep bass, and repetitive, minimalist arrangements
While Coupé-Décalé is known as Côte d'Ivoire's definitive pop music, it actually began in Paris, created by a group of Ivorian DJs at the Atlantis, an African nightclub in northeast Paris. These Djs, known as the 'Jet Set' became popular for their flamboyant style, often showing up at the club with large amounts of cash which they would hand out to audiences on the dance floor. Their aesthetic defined the early sounds of Coupé Décalé, apparent in the genre's name. In Nouchi (Ivorian slang) Couper means to cheat and decaler means to run away, so Coupé-Décalé basically means to cheat somebody and run away. The 'somebody' cheated is generally interpreted to mean France or the West/Europe, finding parallels to the idea of "The Man" in American culture. Especially in the beginning, the songs often celebrated those who had used guile to 'make it' abroad.
The genre's first hit, "Sagacité" was pioneered by the late Stephane Doukouré (a.k.a. "Douk-Saga"), a member of the 'Jet Set', during the post-2002 militaro-political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire. The hit became a success in African clubs in Paris and spread quickly among djs in Côte d'Ivoire. According to Siddhartha Mitter of Afropop.
Although arising from this time of political turmoil, Coupé-Décalé lyrically addresses topics such as relationships, earning money and maintaining a good mood or 'bonne ambiance'. Much of its lyrics refer to specific dance moves, often referencing current events such as the avian flu dance or Guantanamo (with hand movements imitating hands raised in chains). These global themes could have helped to make Coupé-Décalé so deeply popular across a politically divided Côte d'Ivoire and spread its influence so far across Africa and the diaspora. Increasingly non-Ivorian artists, particularly in the Congo, are beginning to play and incorporate the musical style. Even outside of African and its diaspora, there has been a growing interest in coupé décalé.