Marsaud discovered
slam poetry in 2003 and started writing poems. On 23 October that year, he made his first appearance as a slam artist in a bar at the
Place de Clichy in
Paris, where he recited his first artistic piece entitled "Cassiopée". It is at that point he chose his
stage name, Grand Corps Malade (GCM). He then took part in numerous poetry slam events with Collectif 129H and with his friend John Pucc'Chocolat. In 2004, GCM led "Slam'Alikoum", a monthly feature at the Café Culturel de Saint-Denis with Pucc'Chocolat. He co-founded "Le Cercle des Poètes sans Instru" ("The Circle of Poets Without Instruments"), a group of seven slam artists that includes John Pucc’, Droopy, Techa, 129H members and himself. Grand Corps Malade gained increased fame in slam circles in 2005 through his appearances at Reservoir, a club that featured upcoming artists, including those of
Jamel Comedy Club show, which filmed its episodes there. GCM
opened for
Cheb Mami at the
Stade de France, and for Mouss and Hakim at the "Boule Noire". That same year, his friend
S Petit Nico offered to record a musical
track to accompany his poetry. GCM signed with the
AZ label, and on 26 March 2006 released his debut
studio album,
Midi 20, which became one of the top ten selling albums of the year in France. To promote the record, he went on tour, doing 120 shows, including two sold-out concerts at the
La Cigale theater in Paris and a performance at the
Les Francofolies de La Rochelle festival. In 2007, Grand Corps Malade won two
Victoires de la Musique awards for 'Album revelation' and 'Stage artist stage revelation'. He appeared on numerous television shows and in
Édouard Baer's
Grand Cabaret. In 2008, GCM released his second album,
Enfant de la ville. The same year, he performed at the
Festival d'été de Québec, gaining in popularity throughout the
French-language speaking world. He also conducted workshops to introduce youngsters in his community to slam poetry in Saint-Denis and elsewhere. The result was the
Génération Slam album, released in November 2008 by a diverse group of amateur slam artists. The year 2010 saw the release of Grand Corps Malade's third studio album,
3ème temps, featuring collaboration with
Charles Aznavour and a
Shakespearean adaptation, "Roméo kiffe Juliette", a song in which two adolescent lovers living in a Paris
banlieue faced a religious divide between Juliette's Jewish and Roméo's Muslim families. The song's
video clip choreography was arranged by
Bintou Dembélé, a pioneer in French
hip hop. In 2011, GCM released the "
Inch'Allah" single featuring
Reda Taliani; it became his most successful single to date. In 2013, Grand Corps Malade released his fourth studio album,
Funambule, after quitting the
AZ label to work with the independent Believe Recording and Anouche Productions labels. His fifth album,
Il nous restera ça, was released in 2015. GCM's first feature film,
Patients (2016), based on his own
eponymous
autobiographical novel describing his accident and
rehab, was released commercially in 2017. He
co-directed with Mehdi Idir, and filming took place in the institute where GCM did his physical therapy. The movie was a success in France and garnered four
César Award nominations. In 2018, Grand Corps Malade released his sixth studio album,
Plan B, with producer Jean-Rachid. It was the first in which he sang, and also his first to top the French
SNEP albums chart. On 19 June 2020, GCM released the lead single from his upcoming seventh album: "Mais je t'aime" (But I love you), a duet with
Camille Lellouche, for which he would receive a
Victoires de la Musique award the following year. The single became his highest-ranking song on the SNEP singles chart to date, peaking at number nine. His
Mesdames (Ladies) album, a tribute to women, was released on 11 September 2020 and includes collaborations with
Véronique Sanson,
Louane,
Suzane,
Laura Smet, Camille Berthollet and her sister Julie, as well as Manon, Amuse-Bouche, and Alicia.
Mesdames reached number 1 on both French and Belgian albums charts, and was certified triple platinum in France. ==Artistry==