Naâman

Born in Mont-Saint-Aignan in 1990 and raised in Offranville near Dieppe, Naâman, whose real name was Martin Mussard, developed in Normandy a repertoire that sits between reggae, roots rockers, ragga, hip‑hop and soul, most often sung in English. Naâman emerged in the early 2010s with the Deep Rockers Crew and quickly shaped his path alongside beatmaker Fatbabs, whom he met in 2011; together they honed a style combining reggae energy, hip‑hop‑inspired phrasing and openness to ska, dub and Caribbean influences. After the Deep Rockers mixtape in 2012, he attracted attention on stage, notably at Reggae Sun Ska, before releasing Deep Rockers, Back a Yard in 2013, partly recorded in Jamaica. He went on to release Rays of Resistance (2015), Beyond (2017), the live album A Live Story (2019) and Temple Road (2022), conceived between France and India. Across these records he collaborated with artists such as Cutty Ranks, Soom T, Nemir, Toots and Dub Inc. A frequent presence at festivals in France and internationally, he also founded the label Big Scoop Records with Fatbabs and Peter Lb. Suffering from a brain tumour, Naâman died in February 2025 at the age of 34.