What’s going on in the hip-hop press today? Sanaa Roukia, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the “quality blingzine” 33 Carats, is one of the passionate activists who decided to revive it in her own way! And she’s doing it with creative content, positive energy and universal values that are “Peace, Unity, Love and Having Fun.”
As part of the recent release of the sixth issue of 33 Carats, I had the opportunity to speak with Sanaa and the result is very (very) cool: passion, hip-hop, lots of work, and female empowerment. She definitely knows!
Herbby: What is your first memory of hip-hop?
Sanaa: I was 9 or 10 years old and I discovered Yo! MTV Raps on cable TV. I already knew some French rappers and thanks to this show, I quickly understood that it was a whole culture born in the US. The music videos that I caught made a mark on me, including Everything’s Gonna Be Alright by Naughty by Nature for its visual storytelling, but especially the social side and the fact it was transmitting a message.
Sanaa Roukia, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of 33 Carats – Photo credit: @swelly_x on Instagram
H: How did you fall in love with this multimedia culture?
S: I really enjoyed hip-hop as a whole thanks to rap, music videos of the time, female artists and their style like Mary J. Blige, movies… I saw Spike Lee’s movies very early on, without necessarily understanding them, but I knew that they were also part of this movement that interested me. Since my father was into music, I really soaked up that universe.
Sixth issue of 33 Carats magazine – Photo credit: @swelly_x on Instagram
H: You founded the cultural magazine 33 Carats in 2017, and you’re also its Editor-in-Chief. Tell us a little about the origins of this project: the concept, the choice of name, the promotion of hip-hop, the transition from digital to paper…
S: The initial idea was born out of a desire to be part of hip-hop culture in my own way. After my English studies, I went to a business school and during this course, I did an internship in a magazine that had just launched in Paris, seeing as I came from the north of France. At the time, I went to all the hip-hop concerts: DJ Kool Herc, Tony Touch, Wu-Tang… and I even went on stage twice! (laughs) When I went to the Ghostface show, I spotted the Wu’s tour manager, I went and asked him for an internship and that’s how I was able to join his magazine, which wasn’t about hip-hop. And there, I realized that I was working from Monday to Sunday, without being paid, but I was doing something that I loved! At the same time, I was asking myself a lot of questions as a woman who wants to join and contribute to the movement because I felt that it was a very misogynistic environment. So, I put it all aside for a bit; that was in 2004.
Ten years later, after a stay in England, I returned to France and I decided to involve myself fully in hip-hop with the aim of leaving a legacy as a woman in the movement by creating a unique concept. I’m from the ‘digger’ culture: I like digging, talking about things that we don’t see, etc. It all clicked when I was 33 years old, so I named the concept 33 Carats and I started by blogging and writing about fans because I didn’t openly talk about what I wanted to, which was rap. One day, I came across a digital magazine, which you could browse and read online, and I told myself, “that’s exactly what I want to do!” And from there, the two of us started it, Arya Haliba and I, by hand, teaching ourselves as we went. In the end, it worked and we got out the first issue.
On set with Sanaa Roukia, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of 33 Carats – Photo credit: @swelly_x on Instagram
In 2017 or 2018, I left my job and went back to school to research and work on my business model in the press world. The same year, I created the agency, La Zinerie, and I made my first collab with a brand, which led to a magazine that I managed all the interior design, the layout, etc. Fast forward to the lockdown, and I decided to invest the revenues of my services in a paper magazine on the theme of disconnection and with Phone Down by Erykah Badu as the soundtrack In the end, I found myself interviewing Erykah Badu, which helped me when I was thinking of releasing the third issue on paper! And from there, it all came together…
H: Why is it important for you to revive the hip-hop trade press, 20 years after the golden age of Rap Mag, Radikal, Groove, RER, and others?
S: I really consider myself to be at the intersection between the specialized press of the time and modern hip-hop culture, which is mainstream and accessible, while respecting my initial wild idea of “editorial mixtape.” This is really my own means of expression, my own concept: 33 issues of the magazine, collectibles, in French and English.
On set with Sanaa Roukia, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of 33 Carats – Photo credit: @swelly_x on Instagram
H: Among the many interviews you’ve done since the launch of 33 Carats, you’ve had the opportunity to talk with Erykah Badu! Tell us about this experience and the final article (which is available in the third issue of the magazine).
S: It was really an unforgettable moment! For me, Erykah Badu is an icon and an inspiration, first and foremost. I never thought I’d be able to interview her so early on in this project. Basically, I wanted to talk to illustrator Jackie Musial who worked with her and one day the stars aligned! (laughs) I was about to interview Jackie and she told me she had to ask for permission. She came back to me and told me that it’s OK to talk about the projects she’s doing with Erykah Badu and that she’s even ready to participate in the video, if necessary… We’re in lockdown – Jackie’s in Toronto, Erykah’s in Texas, I’m in Île-de-France – and we’re doing this unforgettable interview! Since Erykah Badu does very few interviews, I didn’t send a press kit, she didn’t know me… Sometimes I still think it’s a joke! (laughs)
The interview was mainly about her relationship with the fashion world and her influence in it. It was in 2020, and three years later, she made the cover of VOGUE, which is a leader in this medium. In the end, we saw the strength of digging and it’s funny to think that we could get her and promote this part of her career before VOGUE.
Visual of the Voilà Coco x 33 Carats t-shirt via @33caratsmagazine on Instagram
H: You recently released the sixth issue of 33 Carats as a limited edition. Can you tell us about it, without spoiling our readers too much? How can you get it?
S: So, without too many spoilers, we’ll make it simple. The cover is an exclusive photograph of Aaliyah taken during her visit to Paris in October 1996, by photographer Pascal Sacleux, for RER magazine. On the back cover, we pay tribute to the music video Pour Ceux by Mafia K’1 Fry, with the famous leather jackets of the time worn by a group of young female artists: “Pour Celles”! Inside, the overall theme is “the new female era”, so we made sure to highlight more women in this issue, hence the choice to mark the occasion with a female artist cover.
The magazine is available on the 33 Carats website, at the Palais de Tokyo, at the Grand Jeu in Paris, at the Cornbread restaurant in Marseille, and at the independent label Banc Public in Vienna, Austria!
Cover of the sixth issue of 33 Carats via @33caratsmagazine on Instagram
H: As you said, there’s an exclusive photo of the R&B singer Aaliyah in Paris on the cover of the magazine. Can you elaborate on the cultural and artistic heritage of this icon today?
S: To begin with, her music catalog is finally available on streaming platforms so her name and art are part of the news. Then, for me who experienced her presence in the landscape, I greatly appreciated her work with Missy Elliott and Timbaland, her R&B and hip-hop side that developed strongly in the industry during the 2000s and her multidisciplinary talent, especially in cinema, fashion, etc. It perfectly embodies the current return of the 90s in hip-hop around the world. We also worked with Maxime Delcourt, author of the book The Neptunes & Timbaland: the Beatmakers who Revolutionized Pop Music, in a column where she talks about the influence of Aaliyah in R&B today.
Fourth cover of the sixth issue of 33 Carats via @33caratsmagazine on Instagram
H: On the fourth cover, it’s the turn for the new generation of female hip-hop artists to shine, wearing the famous leather jackets worn by Mafia K’1 Fry. I’ll ask the same question that I did about Aaliyah: can you elaborate on the cultural and artistic heritage of the Mafia?
S: Ultimately, it’s a very personal issue because for me because French rap is Ideal J! It’s thanks to the album The Fight Continues that I learnt about and followed Mafia K’1 Fry. Their impact is clearly still visible today, starting with French rap music videos, and the ubiquity of members like Rim’K or Kery James. Finally, the Mafia is still around!
I always thought I’d do an editorial on them but my challenge is always to do original things. I’m happy with the concept “Pour Celles” with the crew’s iconic leather jackets and I still have to thank Papou who designed them: I’ve already worked on other projects with him, and he trusted us for this campaign! It also happened at the same time as the leather jackets were reissued in limited edition for the 20 year anniversary. We knew that it was important for us not just to do a lifestyle editorial but to promote young female artists who have been and are still inspired by Mafia K’1 Fry.
Preview of the sixth issue of 33 Carats via @33caratsmagazine on Instagram: PJ9
H: For you, what does “She Knows” mean?
S: For me, “She Knows” highlights the knowledge and influence of women in hip-hop culture, which translates in various, different ways: musically, stylistically, conceptually… She knows, she inspires and she influences in all areas!
Sanaa Roukia, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of 33 Carats – Photo credit: @swelly_x on Instagram
