French hip hop
Encyclopedia
- This article is about hip hop musicHip hop musicHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
from the country of France, and does not cover the hip hop scenes in other French speaking countries like SenegaleseSenegalese hip hop- Brief history of hip hop in Africa : The year was 1982 when the birth of hip hop took place in the country of Senegal. In the early 1980s when hip hop first hit the scene in Africa, it went from merely being a fad, to a more social and political movement. Amongst the most influential leaders of...
, BelgianBelgian hip hopBelgian hip hop music has a few rappers stemming from Africa and Italy. Belgium, like France, controlled African countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Rwanda, and Burundi until the early 1960s...
and Canadian hip hopCanadian hip hopThe Canadian hip hop scene was first established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much more slowly than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely an underground phenomenon until the...
.
French hip hop is the hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
style which was developed in France, and is considered the second worldwide hip hop scene after the U.S.
Many of the French hip hop artists come from the poor urban areas on the outskirts of large cities known as banlieues ("suburbs"). Paris, Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
and Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
have produced various French hip hop artists. The political and social status of the minority groups living in France have a direct influence on French hip hop. Many French rappers are products of the HLM
HLM
HLM , French for "housing at moderated rents" or "rent-controlled housing", is a form of subsidised housing in France. There are approximately four million such residences, housing an estimated 12 million people — nearly one-fifth of the population of France...
rent-controlled housing and draw upon their upbringing in this environment as a source of inspiration for their lyrics. France is the world's second hip-hop producing country after the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The protest at the heart of French hip-hop can be traced directly to the economic boom following World War II. France required manpower to sustain its newly booming industries and the governmental solution was the mass immigration of peoples from regions of past French colonial occupation to fill the gaps caused by shortage in personnel. As early as 1945, l'Office national d'immigration (ONI) was formed to supervise the immigration of new workers. Newly arrived Africans were not given the same employment opportunities as their Caribbean counterparts because they were not citizens and often Africans ended up working as civil servants and menial employees living in dilapidated housing projects. Much of the resistance to social and economic imbalances in French hip-hop relate to this historically unequal situation. This is proved by lyrics of Aktivist's song, "Ils ont", The extract when translated states "Aktivist denounces intolerance to all immigrant fathers/Exploited in France since the 50s-60s/...their bodies are falling apart/And their children are still being judged according to their origins."Beginning of French hip hop
Hip hop first appeared in France in 1979, just as the genre was achieving some success in the United States. In the beginning it was the American rap artists who dominated the hip hop scene in France. Even today French hip hop is still heavily influenced by the rap scene in the United States, particularly the gangster rap scene. Its popularity was due to the presence of a large African community in France. Beyond a simple glance at songs and music, a full understanding of French rap requires a consideration of the political and social status of minorities in France. Indeed the development of rap in this country is directly linked to the postcolonial relationships established with former colonies in Africa and the Caribbean. By 1982, a number of hip hop radio stations had appeared, including Rapper Dapper Snapper and BA Crew, and the future star DJ Dee NastyDee Nasty
Dee Nasty is a DJ, producer, and Hip-Hop pioneer in Paris, France. Dee Nasty, the Parisian father of Hip Hop, is one of Radio Nova’s original DJs. Dee Nasty is best known for producing France’s first Hip Hop record.- Career :...
made his first appearance. That same year saw the first major hip hop concert, the New York City Rap Tour, sponsored by Europe 1
Europe 1
Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio network created in 1955. It is one of the leading French radio broadcasters and heard throughout France...
and featuring Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
, Grandmixer DST, Fab 5 Freddy, Mr Freeze and the Rock Steady Crew
Rock Steady Crew
Rock Steady Crew is a b-boying crew and hip hop group that was established in the Bronx, New York City in 1977. The group was initially formed by b-boys named Jimmy D and Jojo. In subsequent years, Rock Steady Crew became a franchise name for groups in other locations. The Manhattan branch was...
.
The first major star of French hip hop was MC Solaar
MC Solaar
MC Solaar is a francophone hip hop and rap artist. He is one of the most internationally popular and influential French rappers....
, born Claude M'Barali in Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
. He moved to France in 1970 and lived in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Transport:Villeneuve-Saint-Georges is served by two stations on Paris RER line D: Villeneuve – Triage and Villeneuve-Saint-Georges.-Demography:-International...
. His 1991 Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo
Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo
Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo is French rapper MC Solaar's first album. The title is a pun on the French version of the Biblical proverb "qui sème le vent récolte la tempête" . The song samples Lou Donaldson's One Cylinder...
, was a major hit. The European Music Office's report on Music in Europe claimed that the French language was well-suited for rapping, and that MC Solaar's popularity came about "probably because of his very open and positive attitude, his strong literary talents and humour". He set many records, including being the first French hip hop recording to go platinum. Most artists claim that the French language hip hop style was influenced by Renaud
Renaud
Renaud, born Renaud Séchan, is a French singer, songwriter and actor.Renaud may also refer to:* Renaud , a male French given name* Renaud , a 1783 opera by Antonio Sacchini* Renaud, Quebec, part of Laval, Quebec...
songs.
Following MC Solaar's breakthrough, two broad styles emerged within the French hip hop scene; artists such as Solaar, Dee Nasty, and Doc Gyneco championed a more mellow, sanguine style, while more hardcore performers such as Assassin
Assassin (rap crew)
Assassin is a French hardcore rap group formed in the 18th Arrondissement of Paris. The group was formed in 1985 by Rockin' Squat and Solo. Later, Doctor L joined them, as well as DJ Clyde...
and Suprême NTM
Suprême NTM
Suprême NTM is a French hip hop group formed in 1989 in the Seine-Saint-Denis département. The group comprises rappers Joey Starr and Kool Shen...
assumed a more aggressive aesthetic. Many such artists found themselves at the heart of controversies over lyrics that were seen as glorifying the murder of police officers and other crimes, similar to outcries over violent thuggish lyrics in American gangsta rap
Gangsta rap
Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
. The cases include the notorious Ministère AMER
Ministère AMER
The Ministère AMER is a French hip hop group from Sarcelles, consisting of the rappers Passi and Stomy Bugsy , DJ Ghetch, and the producer/manager Kenzy. The group is also associated with other major French hip hop artists such as Doc Gyneco and Hamed Daye...
's "Sacrifice de poulet", NTM's
Suprême NTM
Suprême NTM is a French hip hop group formed in 1989 in the Seine-Saint-Denis département. The group comprises rappers Joey Starr and Kool Shen...
"Police" and later Lunatic's
Lunatic (group)
Lunatic was a French hip hop duo from Boulogne-Billancourt. The lineup consisted of Booba and Lunatic was a French hip hop duo from Boulogne-Billancourt. The lineup consisted of Booba (Boulogne-Billancourt) and Lunatic was a French hip hop duo from Boulogne-Billancourt. The lineup consisted of...
"Le crime paie".
Influence of American hip-hop
French hip-hop, like hip-hop in other countries, is highly influenced by American hip-hop. Columnist David BrooksDavid Brooks (journalist)
David Brooks is a Canadian-born political and cultural commentator who considers himself a moderate and writes for the New York Times...
writes that "ghetto life, at least as portrayed in rap videos, now defines for the young, poor and disaffected what it means to be oppressed. Gangsta resistance is the most compelling model for how to rebel against that oppression." He argues that the gangster image of American hip hop appeals to poor Muslim youth in France, as a means to oppose the racism and oppression they experience. Jody Rosen counters Brooks' argument, criticizing Brooks makes use of only a few, old samples of potential French gangsta rap that contain violent or misogynistic lyrics. Brooks fails to accurately assess French hip hop's larger scope, and discounts its potential for "rappers of amazing skill, style, and wit."
France is the world's second-largest hip-hop market and the fifth largest global music market, with 7 percent of the world's music sales, but with an unusually high quantity of local product (Negus: 159-60), although the domestic share of the French music market dropped from 48 percent to 44 percent in 1998 (Boehm 1999). Francophone rap was given a boost in the early 2000s by a decision of the French ministry of culture, which insisted that French-language stations play a minimum of 40 percent French-language music during their emissions.
This makes up one quarter of the radio's top 100, ten percent of local music production and has sold hundreds of thousands of CDs. French hip hop, however, is often criticized for imitating American hip hop style. French Rapper MC Solaar agrees sarcastically, saying, "French rap is pretty much a U.S. branch office... we copy everything, don't we? We don't even take a step back."
The 90s and 00s
Through the nineties, the music grew to become one of the most popular genres in France; in 1997, IAMIAM (band)
IAM is a French hip hop band from Marseille, created in 1989, and composed of Akhenaton , Shurik'n , Khéops , Imhotep , and Kephren . 'IAM' has several meanings, including 'Invasion Arrivée de Mars'...
's release "L'école du Micro d'Argent
L'école du micro d'argent
L'École du Micro d'Argent is an album recorded by IAM. The band became famous worldwide with this album, a classic in French hip-hop music...
" sold more than 1 million discs, with NTM moving more than 700,000 copies of their final album "Suprême NTM". The group went their separate ways in 2000.
In the 2000s, similar to developments in the USA, a gap has begun to emerge in French hip hop between artists seen as having sold out, belonging to the mainstream, and more innovative independent artists. La Rumeur
La Rumeur
La Rumeur is a french-language rap group from Élancourt ). Founded in 1997, the group is composed of four rappers, Ekoué, Hamé, Mourad, and Philippe, and two DJs, Kool M and Soul G....
, Rohff, 113, Dosseh, Mister You, LIM, Lunatic, Dicidens, Lino, Kamelancien, L'Skadrille, Le 3ème Œil, Black Marché, Carré Rouge, Expression Direkt, are some hardcore rappers known for their rejection of mainstream French rap, while Casey, Rocé, Médine
Médine
Médine, whose real name is Medine Zaouiche, is a French rapper from Le Havre. He is of Algerian heritage. He is part of the hip-hop collective La Boussole and DIN records since 1996. Practicing Muslim, many of his lyrics deal with the hardships faced by people with low economic level, migrants,...
, Youssoupha, Fonky Family, Sexion D'Assaut, Psy4 De La Rime, Keny Arkana, Mokless, Haroun, Booba, Oxmo Puccino, Sefyu, TLF, Sniper, Arsenik, Dj Azer, Nessbeal, Puissance Nord, Mino, Soprano, L'Algérino, La Swija, Carpe Diem, represent a mix of hardcore or purist rap and mainstream designs.
Music was one way that rappers were able to bring their African heritage into their country. French tracks are often enhanced by recordings of African musical instruments, such as the kora, the balafon, and the ngoni. French rappers incorporate many different drums from African cultures into their hip hop, again installing their African heritage.
Themes
Themes in French hip hop include opposition to the social order, humor and puns, as well as racial and cultural identity. Whereas early French hip hop was seen as mimicking American hip hop in terms of aesthetic appeal, later French rappers added their own cultural and racial identities to the mix. With the rise of IAMIAM (band)
IAM is a French hip hop band from Marseille, created in 1989, and composed of Akhenaton , Shurik'n , Khéops , Imhotep , and Kephren . 'IAM' has several meanings, including 'Invasion Arrivée de Mars'...
's pharaoism, or allusions to ancient Egyptian pharaohs, we see them attempting to negotiate and create a space for themselves in a social scene rife with discrimination and racist ideologies.
Music Genres & List of Artists
French hip hop can be defined by two major categories or subgenres: hip-hop from the north, mainly centered around major cities like Paris and its suburbs, and hip-hop from the south which focuses around cities like Marseille. The different social climates in the regions make the two subgenres distinct from one another. Lyrics from the south tend to be more socially conscious, with content mainly focusing on the fight against discrimination. Rappers from the south of France are known to tell the 'cold reality' of life in France. In the north, however, content tends to be more straightforward, with rappers typically talking about the drug trade, gang wars, ghetto life and clashes with the police.Rappers from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
:
Arsenik, Lino, Booba, Ali, Ekoué, Busta Flex, Casey, Dicidens, Disiz La Peste, Kamelancien, La Brigade, La Rumeur, La Fouine, LIM, L'Skadrille, Lunatic, Mafia K'1 Fry, 113, Kery James, Intouchable, Karlito, Ideal J, Manu Key, OGB, Mister You, NTM, Kool Shen, Joey Starr, Nysay, Salif, Oxmo Puccino, Pit Baccardi, Rohff, Scred Connexion, Haroun, Mokless, Fabe, Sefyu, Sexion D'Assaut, Sinik, Sniper, Aketo, Tunisiano, Diam's, Tandem, Mac Tyer, TLF, Youssoupha, Alibi Montana, Assassin, Beli Blanco, Despo Rutti, Diomay, Doc Gynéco, Ministère A.M.E.R, Stomy Bugsy, Expression Direkt, Iron Sy, Jarod, Kennedy, M. R, Mala, Mo'vez Lang, Nubi, Seth Gueko, Vari, X-Men, Zoxea, Les Sages Poètes De La Rue, Zesau
Rappers from Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
:
45 Niggaz, Al Iman Staff, Black Marché, Bouga, Carpe Diem, R.E.D.K, Picrate, L.O, Reso, Teddy, Carré Rouge, Def Bond, El Matador, Faf Larage, Fonky Family, Ghost Dog, IAM, Akhenaton, Shurik'n, Freeman, K.Rhyme Le Roi, Kamses, Keny Arkana, La Swija, El Sarazino, Diego Moltissanti, Mistral, L'Algérino, Le 3ème Oeil, Le Venin, Liaisons Meurtrières, K-Rlos, Lorenzo, Lygne 26, Mino, Prodige Namor, Namor, Psy4 De La Rime, Soprano, Alonzo, Vincenzo, Puissance Nord, Révolution Urbaine, Zino, Makiavel, Brigante, S.krim, Sale Equipe, Soul Swing, Zephir, 10Kret, Berreta, Kalash L'Afro, Césarë, Chiens De Paille, Costello, Veust Lyricist, Don Choa, Sat L'Artificier, Le Rat Luciano, RPZ, Yak
Rappers from other towns:
Medine, KDD, Abd al Malik
Abd al Malik (rapper)
Abd al Malik, born Régis Fayette-Mikano is a French rapper and spoken word artist of Congolese origin. He took part in the group NAP . In 1999, he converted to Islam. He is married to French Moroccan singer Wallen with whom he has a child...
(Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
), Dosseh, Bakar, Axiom, Casus Belli (Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
), IPM
Relationship with Africa
"Hip Hop and rap music were born in the inner city urban communities of the U.S. at the end of the 1970s and first exported to England, as it was the first natural market for American musical products." When it reached the coasts of other European countries in the 1980s Afrika Bambaataa was the man behind it, and when he came to France he was overwhelmed by the great importance of black culture coming from Africa and the Caribbean.Many French hip hop artists express strong ties to Africa, though not overtly. Rappers from the 1980s and 90s needed to keep their references to Africa subtle for a few reasons. First, explicitly praising Africa would have been offensive to the many immigrants who fled Algeria and other North African countries because of the economic adversity they faced there, and many rappers probably had parents who had done so. Also, obvious Afrocentrism
Afrocentrism
Afrocentrism is cultural ideology mostly limited to the United States, dedicated to the history of Black people a response to global racist attitudes about African people and their historical contributions by revisiting this history with an African cultural and ideological center...
would have provided the French anti-Arab extreme right with an opportunity to tell Arab immigrants to return to North Africa. And finally, rising conservative Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
in North Africa would have prevented rappers from being able to imitate their behavior in their native land.
The progress of rap in France is associated with the postcolonial relationships founded with former colonies of Africa and the Caribbean. Therefore, the definition of Africa according to French ideas, and the nature of racism in French society is crucial to understanding the reason for the hip hop and rap sensation in France. Rappers are overwhlemingly of African descent, and in tackling the issue of their invisibility in French society and declaring their origins, they redefine their identity and defy French notions of race and citizenship.
Some black French hip hop artists have used their music to address challenges and issues that cause poverty in African nations. The French hip hop group Bisso Na Bisso's song "Dans la peau d'un chef" refers to the corruption of African heads of state. Though their music and the issues they cover focus more on their home country, the Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, all member of Bisso Na Bisso live in France and rap in French. Although many artists that have dominated the hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
scene in France are of African descent, themes dealing with the intimate connection between France and various African countries tend not to get much promotion on mainstream radio and even less consideration in scholarly research on the subject. While the popularity of nationally grown rap in France grew with the presence of MC Solaar
MC Solaar
MC Solaar is a francophone hip hop and rap artist. He is one of the most internationally popular and influential French rappers....
, his involvement in the overall French hip hop subculture is non-existent as many consider his work to be in the traditional vein of French pop and not of the politically-minded, mostly African-influenced hip hop aesthetic of France.
Specifically, IAM
IAM (band)
IAM is a French hip hop band from Marseille, created in 1989, and composed of Akhenaton , Shurik'n , Khéops , Imhotep , and Kephren . 'IAM' has several meanings, including 'Invasion Arrivée de Mars'...
incorporates many African-related themes into its music. Their 1991 song "Les tam-tam de l'Afrique" was one of the first French rap hits to deal explicitly with slavery. This particular track "focused on the plunder of Africa, the abduction of its inhabitants, the Middle Passage
Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of people from Africa were shipped to the New World, as part of the Atlantic slave trade...
, and the plantation system in the Americas." It uses a sample from a Stevie Wonder song called "Past Time Paradise", which, appropriately, touches on race relations and slavery as well. Many other French hip hop artists made similar statements through their music, by collaborating to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in France in 1998. In order to mark the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
(which is an overseas department of France in the Caribbean), on May 22, Paris's Olympia
Paris Olympia
The Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....
theater hosted a concert that opened with "drummers chained together" and featured performances from "rappers of African descent such as Doc Gyneco
Doc Gynéco
Doc Gynéco is a popular French hip hop artist of Guadeloupean origin. His music is typically characterized as a ragga/rap style, that has found its fan base in France. Born in Clichy-la-Garenne, France on July 7, 1974, Beausir's mother was Caribbean and his father white...
, Stomy Bugsy
Stomy Bugsy
Stomy Bugsy is a French rapper from Sarcelles.Born of parents from Cape Verde, Duarte helped found hip hop group Ministere AMER, however in 1996 he decided to launch his own solo career...
, Arsenik
Ärsenik
Ärsenik is a rap group based in Villiers-le-Bel, France, founded in 1992, and made up of two brothers, Lino and Calbo , whose family is originally from Congo. Until 1997, the group also included Tony Truand, a cousin. In 1998, their first album "Quelques gouttes suffisent" went double gold...
, and Hamed Daye."
IAM also incorporates images associated with ancient Egypt. Several group members assumed names reflective of this influence. For example, IAM member Eric Mazel goes by the name Kheops, the name of the builder of the Egyptian pyramids.
The African music influences in French hip hop also extend to the use of African instruments such as the Kora, balafon, and ngoni. Many of the drums played in Africa and the Caribbean music such as "derbuka from North Africa, djembe
Djembe
A djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....
from Senegal, bèlè drums from Martinique and Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
, gwo ka
Gwo ka
Gwo ka is both a family of hand drums and the music created with them, which is a major part of Guadeloupean folk music. There are seven rhythms in gwo ka, which are embellished by the drummers...
drums from Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, etc.). The mixture of the diverse traditional African, Caribbean, and other instrumentals is what produced the French hip-hop and made it distinct. It does not necessarily represent the French inside France, but rather the minority within France that has its own origins and African connection. The majority of the most influential rappers are from African and Caribbean origins like MC Solaar, Passi
Passi
Passi is a French hip hop artist who became famous in the mid-1990s with the group Ministère AMER, which included himself and Stomy Bugsy. He is most widely known, however, as a solo artist, as well as a participant in many other groups, such as Bisso Na Bisso and Dis l'heure 2 zouk.- Biography...
, Lady Laistee, Hamed Daye and many more. Also the immigrants in the French community are not separated like some of the black communities in the United States. "Blacks, Arabs and Whites living together in a social systems where they were all going to school and also to university with more equal chances — and therefore more integrated into society".
Islam in French Hip Hop
A large number of the hip hop artists in France are children of North and West African Muslim immigrants. This multilayered identity presents itself in the content of their music and Islamic ideals are ever present in their music. In the current atmosphere of distrust of Islam, Islamic hip hop has become an art of protest especially in the post 9-11 world. Muslim hip hop artist and groups such as IAM have utilized their art to address these social issues.In France today the Arab community has an enormous participation in the hip hop scene and fuels much of its growth. Despite the fact that much of their work is discounted by the traditional French audience, Arab rappers use their work to explore issues surrounding this sense of exclusion and tensions in the community. The Arab community has made a major contribution to French hip hop by discussing the difficulties that they go through everyday in France as a minority group via their music.
The youth of the Arab community, like the children of immigrants to Britain, struggles to find their identity in these colonial countries where much of the older, French generation thinks of the music listen to by the younger generation (like reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and hip-hop) to be "noise", not art. As a result, most artists incorporate their roots into the present by fusing hip-hop with the music listened to by their parents (African, or North African music). Instead of this fusion being celebrated, it is looked down upon, and is often unacknowledged. Hip-hop, known as a powerful instrument of protest and rebellion draws in French minorities that are frequently disrespected in French society. This is one of the reasons that hip-hop in France is readily dismissed as "other" and associated with immigrants.
One of the most prominent Islamic hip-hop artists is the rapper Akhenaton from the group IAM. Akhenaton was born Philippe Fragione, to Italian immigrants and converted to Islam despite his family ties to Catholicism. His stage name "Akhenaton" was chosen after the first monotheistic pharaoh in Egypt. The goal of Akhenaton's music is to represent the spiritual Islam which is tolerant and mystical in order to loosen the high tension in France due to the prejudice against Muslim immigrants. The group IAM is an anti-establishment group as they want "nothing to do with the state", thus actively rejecting the way the French government is handling the tensions in the country. The group IAM spreads positive messages about Islam and tolerance, a philosophy revealed by the group's multi-ethnic make-up including members that are "Madagascaran, Senegalese, Algerian, Spanish, and Italian plus one white French Native". Muslim hip hop artist and groups such as IAM have utilized their art to address social issues as well as religious ones. Many scholars and Muslim clerics have studied whether hip-hop and music in general is permissible (Halal) in Islam. There have been many different opinions and controversy regarding this subject: "But for some conservative Muslims this verges on blasphemy; they say music is "haram" - or not allowed - in their strict interpretation of Islam". Thus, there are clearly two opposing sides within Islam on the subject of hip-hop not only in France but around the world. However, regardless of whether conservative Islam permits hip-hop or not, Islamic influences on hip-hop continue to shape the future of Hip Hop globally, as it speaks to the more than 1 billion believers in the religion.
Language
Although hip hop in France has been greatly influenced by American hip hop culture, the lyrics remain typically in French. Other than English, other language influences are based on oral traditions such as African griots, "talk over" of Jamaica and the blues. French music lyrics typically feature puns, play on words and suggestive phonetic combinations. Such artists as Boby LapointeBoby Lapointe
Robert Lapointe was a French singer, noted for his humorous texts, alliterations and plays on words.He was born in Pézenas, in the Hérault département of France...
often use alliterations, onomatopoeia and puns or double entendre lyrics. The dialect of choice for many hip hop artists in France is verlan
Verlan
Verlan is an argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words...
which is based on the inverse of original French words. In some cases artists rap in several different languages on a track including Arabic, French and English. The purpose of the lyrics, no matter the language, is "to popularize and vent the anger and frustrations of many disadvantaged and sometimes mistreated individuals, and to defend the cause of the poorest and least socially integrated segment of French society".
French hip hop stands out for its "flowing, expressive tones of the language [that] give it a clear identity within the rap world." In many French rap songs Verlan
Verlan
Verlan is an argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words...
is used which is a slang that twists words by reversing and recombining them. This makes it difficult for even French speaking listeners to understand what the MC is saying. Even though it is difficult at times to understand completely the lyrics that are being said rappers still get the heat for causing violence and disturbance within society because of their intense message of rebelling against the system.
It is said that one of the most interesting points about French rap is the idea that "poetry and philosophy are greatly esteemed in France, and that they're even more greatly esteemed in French." It is general knowledge that the French love lyrics, and it seems as though no other European national is as committed to the proliferation of its mother tongue.http://www.yolala.org/ In fact, French law states that radio play must contain at least 40% French-language material.
David Brooks
David Brooks
David Brooks may refer to:* David Brooks , American actor and stage director and producer* David Brooks , Australian author of short stories and co-editor for Southerly...
claims that French rap is a copy of American gangsta rap of the early 1990s. However, his position was attacked by Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen is an American journalist and author. He is the music critic for the online magazine Slate, and the author of White Christmas: The Story of an American Song....
in her article which debunks Brooks's belief that the French hip hop scene is no more than a carbon copy of earlier American work.
Like much of the Hip Hop from the United States, many French hip hop artists use the genre to address pressing social issues. The authors of the "Arab Noise and Ramadan Nights: Rai
Raï
Raï is a form of folk music that originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s....
, Rap, and Franco- Maghrebi Identity" state that The French rappers rap about "the history of slavery, humanity's origins in Africa, Europe's destruction of African civilizations and the independence struggle led by the Front De Liberation Nationale." The components of their music are mostly influenced by the American rappers, but they also have their own style such as having their culture's tune in the beat. And they rap in their language and their phonetic sounds differ in time to time.
As France has embraced hip hop, they put a huge emphasis on the lyrics. The love to sing about love and poetry, and they also love to rap in French dialect. No other European nation is as committed to rapping in its mother tongue. The French government has a mandate that 40 percent of the music played on the radio must be in French. This has inspired lyrical expression in the French language. Hip hop is a way for artists to express these feelings. In the nineties hip hop became the sound of Paris as well as suburban and provincial France for that matter. More precisely, a hip hop built of French language lyrics laid on top of traditional break beats and elaborate samples. France used American hip hop as a base and then made its own flavor of hip hop based on the use of French lyrics.
Influence on pop culture
The image of the banlieue, comparable to what, in the states would be called one's "hood", has propagated itself into French pop culture in the form of clothing, accessories, attitude and of course the hip-hop music it yields. This fascination with the banlieue image has also found its way into the big screen with the movie B-13District B13
District 13 is a 2004 French action film directed by Pierre Morel and written and produced by Luc Besson. It has also been released as District B13 and Barrio 13 It has also been known as B13 on French posters used to advertise the film.The film is notable for its depiction of parkour in a number...
. This action/martial arts film depicts a somewhat exaggerated view of what one of the worst suburbs (which is what banlieue means, roughly translated) would be like 6 years in the future. Ironically, one finds within this move almost every iconic paradigm inherent to the gangster image in the U.S. We have a plethora of drugs and guns. We have a Don Corleone/Scarface figure who, under the influence of enough of his own product, considers himself invincible. There is, of course, a general disdain for corrupt police and politicians, and last but not least, there is the unfair imprisonment of the protagonist. The aforementioned traits contained the sub-plots of Juice
Juice (film)
Juice is a 1992 American crime drama film that stars rapper Tupac Shakur and Omar Epps. Additional cast members include Jermaine "Huggy" Hopkins, Khalil Kain, Samuel L. Jackson, and features cameo appearances by Queen Latifah, EPMD, Special Ed, Ed Lover, Doctor Dré, Flex Alexander, Fab Five...
, Boyz n the Hood
Boyz N the Hood
Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American hood film written and directed by John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Angela Bassett and Regina King, the film depicts life in poor South Central Los Angeles, California and was filmed and released...
, Belly
Belly (film)
Belly is a 1998 film, the film directorial debut of music video director Hype Williams. Filmed in New York City as an urban drama, the film stars rappers DMX and Nas, alongside with Taral Hicks, Method Man dancehall artist Louie Rankin, R&B singer T-Boz...
and New Jack City
New Jack City
New Jack City is a 1991 crime film starring Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Mario Van Peebles, Judd Nelson, and Chris Rock. Snipes stars as Nino Brown, a rising drug dealer and crime lord in New York City during the crack epidemic...
among other movies considered pivotal to gangsta rap culture. The obvious parallels seen in the glorification of the banlieue and that of one's "hood" is not one to overlook. The commonalities in the two cultures are indicative of the fact that a.) almost every hip hop movement was bred from necessity and from rebellion. The guns, drugs and money of the hood are typically not the aftermath of an easy life but the result of a struggle whether it is as a hustler or as a gangbanger. Hip-hop provides an outlet for people in the struggle to lash out at the powers that be, and to rebel in some small way against the life they're stuck in. b.) the glorification of the banlieue also reminds us that there will always be a consumerist market of people, not in the struggle, who will take advantage of the allure of the image without totally understanding it.
Such as much of the rap and hip hop in the United States talks about money, women, guns, etc., rap in France is also somewhat following this path. Yet, many artists still rap about their ties to Africa, culture, and sending out important messages. However, hip hop in France is taking on the same image as hip hop in the United States. Its changing to talking about gangbanging, raping, and other illegal activities. The scene is moving away from its origins to send a message. Not only in France, but in many African countries, French hip hop is played and heard. "The images, modes and attitudes of hip-hop and gangsta rap are so powerful they are having a hegemonic effect across the globe."
Breakdancing
The break-dancing scene in France is widespread, and some French B-Boys (see B-boyingB-boying
B-boying, often called "breakdancing", is a popular style of street dance that was created and developed as part of hip-hop culture among African Americans and Latino youths in New York City. The dance consists of four primary elements: toprock, downrock, power moves and freezes...
) are well known for taking part in competitions such as BOTY. One of the most well known crews from France are the Vagabonds and the pockémon , both of them win the BOTY .
External links
English language links:- Feature article exploring the French rap scene of 2006.
- Yo La La! An English language podcast on French hip-hop.
- SonDelaZone.fr A French Rap Video, Radio, Community & Webradio Site Community rap multilanguage
French language links:
- NEVERSLEEP TV A French Rap Video Site - interviews, fresstyle, DJ set
- ClipDeRap.com A French Rap Video Site - All About Classics
- A French Hip Hop Site banlieue-connexion.com
- A French Hip Hop Site booska-p.com
- A French Hip Hop Site rap1pulsif.com
- Rap Francais French Rap Site.
- ecoutelaruemarianne.fr French Hip Hop Site.
- RapFrancais.com A Web-Radio with French rap.
- RAP2K.COM A French Rap and Hip Hop resource
- ABCDRduson A French magazine about of Hip-hop.
- 90BPM A French magazine about of Hip-hop.
- A French magazine about of Hip-hop
- BBoyKonsian Webzine Hip-Hop & Reggae Undacover - Purists Only - News
- 13OR-du-HipHop Webzine French Hip Hop News
- SonDelaZone.fr A French Rap Video, Radio, Community & Webradio Site Webradio Rap & Rap mp3
Russian language links: