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Moroccan rapper

Taha Fahssi
Morocco
BornTaha Fahssi
طه فحصي
(1996-08-03) 3 August 1996 (age 28)
Casablanca, Morocco
OccupationRapper
Musical career
InstrumentVocals
Labels
Musical artist

Taha Fahssi (Arabic: طه فحصي, born 3 August 1996), known by his stage name ElGrandeToto or Toto, is a Moroccan rapper, typically blending Darija, French, and English into his songs and performances. He was the most listened artist in the MENA region on Spotify in 2021, with more than 135 million streams in 178 countries.

Biography

Having started his career in 2016, ElGrandeToto quickly enjoyed success, especially with his song "Pablo" (2017), which propelled him to the forefront of the Moroccan scene.

In 2018, he released his first EP, entitled Illicit.

In 2020, Taha was the eighth most streamed Arab artist in MENA on Deezer, and his song "Hors Série" was the seventh most streamed song on the platform. In the same year, he won the title of "Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist" in the 2020 African Entertainment Awards USA.

In 2020, Fahssi lost his mother and released the song "Mghayer" in her tribute on 5 January 2021, which is now the most viewed music video on his YouTube channel with over 83 million views.

In March 2021, Toto's debut album Caméléon was ranked among the top six global album debuts worldwide by Spotify, an unprecedented achievement for any Arab singer. In the same year, the artist entered the Forbes list of music stars in the Arab world, which includes the 50 most successful singers and bands of 2021.

In 2021, he was awarded with the title of both most streamed Arab artist and most streamed artist in the MENA region by Spotify.

As Morocco's main sport is football, Toto has found a liking to it, being a supporter of Wydad AC (revealed in "Pablo" (2017), when he says: "Wydadi nebghi l'7amra wakha lwalid farawi").

On 12 May 2022 while performing at the Megarama, Casablanca, ElGrandeToto received his first music recording certification from his collaboration with the Nigerian Afrobeats singer CKay on the remix of his 2021 hit song "Love Nwantiti". It was certified diamond in France by the SNEP with more than 15 million streams from premium accounts, making ElGrandeToto the first Moroccan artist performing in Darija to achieve a diamond certification in France.

ElGrandeToto is currently under an exclusive license agreement with RCA Records, a division of Sony Music France.

Toto's management team includes Anissa Jalab, former manager of Damso, manager of Manal and head of Wagram Belgium.

On June 13, ElGrandeToto announced his full tour schedule on his Instagram (Twenty-Seven Tour), including shows in France (Paris, Lille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nîmes, Lyon, Marseille), Belgium (Brussels), United Kingdom (London) and Canada (Montréal). He also announced dates in the United States, but he wrote on his Instagram story, he had been having troubles with the visas and the concerts in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and New York ended up being cancelled. Before releasing the 27 album on November 24, 2023, Toto released the single "Dellali" featuring the Moroccan-Belgian rapper Hamza, along with a video clip.

The 27 album release appeared in Times Square and on the screen of the Toronto Eaton Center. Toto's second album climbed in the 3rd spot of Spotify's Top Album Debut Global Chart, an incredible achievement for the Casablanca-born star. In only three days, he had 10 million streams and almost all his tracks from 27 were in the Top 50 Spotify Chart. ElGrandeToto's album contains tracks featuring Hamza, Morad, Oxlade, Beny Jr, Unknown T and Rondodasosa. A week later was the concert in Olympia Montréal, on December 1, 2023. ElGrandeToto revealed in an interview on Le Warm Up FM on YouTube that he did not expect the Montréal crowd to know all the lyrics of his entire album within only a week of the release of 27. Taha Fahssi then added more concerts to his tour, such as le Zénith de Paris, le Zénith de Rabat (Morocco) and a concert in Casablanca (Morocco) on April 27.

On December 26, 2023, he shared his new store with 27 merch, including, T-shirts, hoodies and CDs (including bonus tracks "Blue Love" and "Arabia"), which can be accessed on his Instagram. Within a few days, his packs were all sold out and announced on his Instagram story a restocking of everything.

In 2024, ElGrandeToto served as a judge in a national rap competition known as JamShow. This event, recognized for showcasing Morocco's finest rap talents, brought together aspiring artists from across the country. Nezar, a prominent figure in the Moroccan rap scene, ultimately won the competition's top prize.

His new nickname following his recent project is now Es el EGT de BNJ pronounced in Spanish. Es el EGT (standing for ElGrandeToto) de BNJ (standing for Benjdia, the neighbourhood in Casablanca where Taha Fahssi grew up in) means "It is the ElGrandeToto from Benjdia".

Controversies

In October 2022, Taha Fahssi publicly apologized after sparking a controversy about cannabis consumption during a festival's press conference in September 2022, where he defended his recreational use of the drug as following: "I smoke hash -- so what? ... It does not mean I set a bad example".

Following these events, The rapper was taken into custody after complaints were filed by "three artists, a journalist, and a policeman". An investigation is yet to be made by the authorities focusing on all his publications, digital content and statements "likely to contain elements punishable by law". Taha's lawyer stated that his client should not be used as a tool to "settle political scores".

Later, most complaints were withdrawn, and the public prosecution office in Casablanca decided to release the rapper with a 20,000 MAD bail. On 18 January 2023, A court in Casablanca sentenced Toto to serve an 8-month suspended prison sentence, in addition to paying a fine of MAD10,000.

On July 20, 2023, a concert in Madrid turned controversial when El Grande Toto had a strong negative reaction to a fan's act of cultural appreciation. According to a tradition in Morocco, fans typically express admiration for shickats, traditional dancers and performers, by tucking currency notes onto their clothing. However, when a fan performed this gesture by placing 20 euro notes onto El Grande Toto's shirt, the rapper interpreted it as a humiliating act. In response, he launched into a tirade of vulgar language directed at the audience.

In September 2024, during a party youth congress, former head of government Abdelilah Benkirane sparked controversy and backlash by criticizing El Grande Toto and calling him a "scum", after his songs were played in the opposing, currently ruling, Rally of Independents (RNI) youth congress. To which Toto responded, declaring he has no affiliation with any political party, and including the word "SALGOAT" in his Instagram description, which is a play on the word GOAT colloquially used as an acronym for Greatest Of All Time, and the Moroccan Arabic word for "scum" used by Benkirane.

Discography

Albums

  • Illicit (2018)
  • Caméléon (2021)
  • 27 (2023)
  • SALGOAT (2024)

Singles

  • "7elmet Ado" (2016)
  • "Haribo" (2017)
  • "Invalide" (featuring Drizzy) (2017)
  • "SMOU7AT" (2017)
  • "Pablo" (2017)
  • "9awdooha" (feat. Lferda) (2017)
  • "Loco" (2017)
  • "7elmetado 2" (2018)
  • "Apache" (2018)
  • "Versus" (2018)
  • "Piccola" (2018)
  • "Jme3 O Twi" (2018)
  • "7elmetAdo3" (2018)
  • "Bidaoui" (2019)
  • "Groupies" (2019)
  • "7elmet Ado 4" (2019)
  • "Hors Série" (feat. Khtek, Don Bigg & Draganov) (2020)
  • "VitamineDZ" (2020)
  • "Confiné" (2020)
  • "Haram (Pablo II)" (2021)
  • "Salade Coco" (2021)
  • "7elmet Ado 5" (2022)
  • "Salina (c'est La Rue)" (with Tagne and Draganov) (2022)
  • "Comforter" (ft. Ayra Starr) (2022)
  • "Gueule tapée" (2022)
  • "Silhouette" (2022)
  • "7elmet ado 6" (2022)
  • "Low" (feat. ASHE 22) (2023)

Appears on

  • Nharzin (by A.L.A feat. ElGrandeToto) (2017)
  • Bavra (by ISSAM feat. ElGrandeToto) (2018)
  • Machakil (by Tagne feat. ElGrandeToto) (2018)
  • Tcha Ra (by Shayfeen feat. Ouenza, ElGrandeToto, Madd & West) (2018)
  • Enemyz (by Madd ft. ElGrandeToto) (2018)
  • Slay (by Manal feat. ElGrandeToto) (2018)
  • Games (by Madd ft. ElGrandeToto) (2018)
  • Kennedy (by Bezza ft. ElGrandeToto) (2019)
  • Mira (by Anas ft. ElGrandeToto) (2019)
  • Chiico (by Dollypran ft. ElGrandeToto) (2019)
  • Og Love (by Piketao feat. Tukko21 & ElGrandeToto) (2020)
  • Ddd (by Don Bigg X ElGrandeToto) (2020)
  • Criminel (by Fays & ElGrandeToto) (2020)
  • Love Nwantiti (by CKay featuring ElGrandeToto) (2021)
  • La Rue (by Maestro feat. ElGrande Toto) (2021)
  • Msh Khalsa (by Wegz featuring ElGrandeToto) (2021)
  • Ok Wait (by OUENZA feat. ElGrandeToto) (2021)
  • DNT (by Nouvo feat. ElGrandeToto & Draganov) (2021)
  • PAPA (by Tiiwtiiw feat. ElGrandeToto) (2021)
  • How High (by Skizo featuring Moro & ElGrandeToto) (2022)
  • Fumigène (by Seven binks ft. ElGrandeToto, Bolémvn, Koba LaD) (2022)
  • Casablanca (by Demi Portion ft. ElGrandeToto) (2022)
  • Hola Ouais (by Yanso ft. ElGrandeToto) (2022)
  • Gova (by marouane feat. ElGrandeToto) (2022)
  • Ojos sin ver (by Morad feat. ElGrandeToto) (2023)
  • Qui sait (by Niro feat. ElGrandeToto) (2023)
  • Comforter (by AYA feat. MIMI, ElGrandeToto) (2024)

Leaked songs

  • "Indomie" (produced By Hades) - 2019
  • "Alcoolique" (by Hades) - 2019
  • "Cinema" - 2019
  • "Piano" (produced by West) - 2019

References

  1. "Spotify: ElGrandeToto, l'artiste le plus écouté au Maroc et dans le monde arabe". ledesk.ma.
  2. Sandran, Aravin (11 October 2022). "Who is ElGrandeToto? – 9 Things to Know About the Moroccan Rapper". GQ Middle East. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  3. Mughal, Waqar. "ElGrandeToto - The Celebrity List: Arab Music Stars 2021".
  4. "AEAUSA | Awards". Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  5. ElGrandeToto - Mghayer (Prod. By Ysos), retrieved 23 January 2023
  6. Moroccan rap blossoms thanks to social media - Africanews (2021)
  7. "The Year in Spotify". Campaign Middle East. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  8. "Les certifications". SNEP (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  9. "ElGrande Toto". Sony Music Entertainment France (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  10. "Anissa Jalab, la Marocaine qui gère la carrière du rappeur belge Damso". Telquel.ma (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  11. "El Grande Toto et Dizzy Dros têtes d'affiche de Jam Show, la première émission dédiée au rap". Telquel.ma (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  12. "Jam SHOW -Prime 1: Dizzy Dross et ElGrande Toto à la recherche de nouvelles pépites du rap… Replay". 2M.ma (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  13. ALM (24 April 2024). "«Jam Show» sur 2M : elGrandeToto et Dizzy Dros président le jury". Aujourd'hui le Maroc (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  14. "Dizzy Dros & ElGrande Toto, jury de choc pour "Jam Show", le télécrochet dédié au rap, mardi à 22h00". 2M.ma (in French). Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  15. "حفلة موسيقية في المغرب تنتهي بأعمال عنف". BBC News عربي (in Arabic). Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  16. "Moroccan rapper ElGrande Toto says sorry for cannabis comments". France 24. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  17. "Maroc: le rappeur ElGrande Toto, "mal compris", s'excuse après des propos controversés sur le cannabis". TV5MONDE (in French). 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  18. "Moroccan rapper ElGrande Toto in custody after cannabis controversy". France 24. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  19. ""الكراندي طوطو": مغني الراب المغربي الشهير يواجه تهما بالقذف والتهديد ومنعا من السفر". BBC News عربي (in Arabic). 26 October 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  20. "Suspended prison sentence for rapper ElGrandeToto". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  21. Kasraoui, Safaa. "Moroccan Rapper ElGrande Toto Receives Suspended Jail Sentence". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  22. "El Grande Toto Rages in Madrid: A Misunderstood Gesture Stirs Controversy". The Moroccan Times. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  23. News, Adil Faouzi-Morocco World. "'Disgrace, Scum': Benkirane Slams ElGrandeToto for Destroying Moroccan Values". www.moroccoworldnews.com. Retrieved 29 September 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  24. News, Safaa Kasraoui-Morocco World. "'ElGrande Toto' Responds to Abdelilah Benkirane's 'Scum' Label". www.moroccoworldnews.com. Retrieved 29 September 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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