Born in Noisy-le-Sec, where he grew up and still lives, Ahmed Mazouz was already crazy about music at the tender age of eight, watching music videos and the Top 50 non-stop on TV. At that time, he was influenced as much by New Wave music as the Arabic music of his parents. At the age of 12, he discovered the group Run DMC, which turned out to be a real revelation. From then on, he and his brother Mohamed, two years his senior, became hip-hop purists and tried their hand at creating their own sound in Noisy. “We both eventually developed a real passion for ‘freestyling’,” Ahmed admits, so much so that they began to structure their music on samplers and tour with their group, La Caution, playing suburban venues, all while pursuing their studies – Ahmed has a four-year university degree in economic sciences. “Little by little,” he explains, “we were invited to contribute to rap compilations until the Assassin Production label signed our first album.”

After an extended tour, the two brothers created their own label, Kerozen Music, as an outlet for their music, which has its own idiosyncratic style, rich in studied alliterations and original rhythms. Their first album, Asphalte Hurlante, created quite a stir in the music world. There was a general consensus that they had made an important contribution to the renewal of rap. Between their concerts in France and throughout Europe, they participated in various projects. Steven Soderbergh used one of their titles, “Thé à la Menthe”, in his feature film, Ocean’s 12, and the Kourtrajmé collective asked them to produce the soundtrack for Sheitan, their first film, planned for 2006. Songwriter-composer-performer Ahmed and songwriter-singer Mohamed then came up with an idea for a new album, to be titled Peines de Maures/Arc en Ciel pour Daltoniens. Their artistic standards were so high that the album took two years to produce.

Achievements since winning the grant
In Sophia-Antipolis, Ahmed Mazouz led a rap workshop (showcase, introduction to rap writing, etc.) with the other members of his group for the Fête le Mur’s kids. “For sure, these kids will remember,” noted Ahmed Mazouz when the workshop ended. His second (and double) album, entitled Peines de Maures / Arc en Ciel pour Daltoniens, (Kerozen Music), recorded with his group La Caution, has hit the stands. This is the work for which he received a grant last year. By the end of September 2006, Ahmed Mazouz released Quinte Flush Royale, the first album of the Cautionneurs, the La Caution crew, composed of Hi-Tekk & Nikkfurie, on the shoulders of Saphir, Izno & 16S64.
La caution also componed music for Sheitan and Paris, je t'aime.
Ahmed Mazouz, lead a music workshop in a class of high school in Seine-Saint-Denis, as part of  the educational experiment launched by Sciences-Po.

To see the page of this experimentation, please click here

www.la-caution.net
www.myspace.com/lacaution


AGE: 29 I PASSIONS: hip-hop, music in general and music from Asian films in particular, especially from Hong Kong. I  PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE: to try to do as few bad things as possible. I GOALS: to see our group, La Caution, follow its artistic approach to its logical conclusions; to continue to innovate with our rap sound; to compose for movies; and to expand our commercial sound identity activities. I FAVOURITE MUSIC GROUPS: Run DMC, Organized Confusion, Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, Red Man, Busta Rhymes (all American) and Nass El Ghiwan (Moroccan).