DJ Pone

DJ Pone, real name Thomas Parent, born on 8 April 1978 in Meaux, in Seine-et-Marne, is a French disc jockey, composer and producer. He has collaborated and worked with numerous French rap groups such as Svinkels, NTM, Casseurs Flowters, Gringe, Triptik, Les Rieurs, TTC, Birdy Nam Nam and Scred Connexion.

As a DJ, he took part in Cut Killer's album Double H DJ Crew in 1999, before joining the turntablism collective Skratch Action Hiro, which led to the creation of Birdy Nam Nam in 2002. He has won numerous awards in competitions, both as part of a group and individually. In 2005, he contributed to Kim Chapiron's film Sheitan.

Biography: Thomas Parent was born and raised in Meaux, in Seine-et-Marne. As a teenager, he most often mixed in his bedroom after school. He completed a BTS in design in Blois but focused mainly on DJ competitions, including a French DMC final which he won during his time there.

The Beastie Boys were his entry point into rap. He owes his attraction to the turntables to DJ Damage, whom he met when: "I answered a rap question on the local radio station of the time, RM7, on which DJ Damage was mixing. It was a very specialist hip-hop show. I was allowed to visit the radio station, square de la Beauce, in Beauval. And that's where I fell for DJ Damage's skill."

In 2000, he became European solo champion and world team champion at the Disco Mix Club (DMC). In the early 2000s, he formed the group Birdy Nam Nam with Crazy B, Little Mike and DJ Need. Their name was inspired by Peter Sellers' 1968 film The Party. The group won the DMC in 2002 before setting out to record a first studio album, but without DJ Pone, who was unavailable due to individual competition commitments. Their first album, also titled Birdy Nam Nam, was released on the Uncivilized World label in 2005, and blended jazz, funk and downtempo sounds. Also in 2005, DJ Pone contributed to Kim Chapiron's film Sheitan, released that year.

In 2014, he released his first solo EP, titled Erratic Impulses. Also in 2014, he founded a new project called Sarh with José, singer of Stuck in the Sound. In an interview, he explained that "Sarh is the name of the town where José's father was born." He scratched on the ending of Nekfeu's video for TIME B.O.M.B, released in 2014. He toured with Casseurs Flowters for their two tours, in 2014 and 2016. On 28 February 2016, he played on Novorama radio. On 21 October 2016, Radiant, his first solo album, was released. On 8 June 2017, DJ Pone reunited with Svinkels for a concert at the New Morning. Gérard Baste announced on this occasion that the group would play at the Olympia in April 2018. In 2018, he appeared as a featured artist on the track Paradis Noir, on Gringe's first solo album, Enfant lune. He accompanied Gringe on stage for his tours in 2019 and 2024/2025.

In November 2019, he appeared on stage for the last two concerts of Suprême NTM at Bercy, which later resulted in the live album La Der. L'Ultime Concert à l'Accorhotels Arena (2021).