French hip hop
|
|
Template:Frenchmusic Most French hip hop artists come from poor suburbs of Paris, Strasbourg, Toulouse or Marseille. Unlike African Americans who live in urban ghettos in the United States, the birthplace of hip hop, France has had a much wider social safety net, meaning that poverty has rarely been as extreme in France's North and West African immigrant communities (where most of the artists come from) as it has been in African American ghettoes. There are, however, ethnic French rappers, such as the Breton Manau or Lionel D, one of the pioneers of French rap.
Hip hop first appeared in France in the early 1980s, just as the genre was achieving some success in the US. Paname City Rappin (1984, by Dee Nasty) was the first album released, and the first major star was MC Solaar, whose 1991 Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo, 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 became the spokesman of a whole generation - not only of the immigrant communities but also of the White middle class teens — who could not find itself neither in romantic stories nor in pure aggressiveness" [1] (http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/MIE/Part2_chapter08.html).
The majority of French rappers are originally from Africa. Even though some of the pioneers like Lionel D and DJ Dee Nasty are not of African descent, immigrants from Africa dominated the music scene as well. Many are Africans from former French colonies who have moved to France for education or a better life, or are the children of African immigrants. MC Solaar, who was born in Senegal, released his first CD in 1991. More African -born French rappers include:
- Stomy Bugsy (Cape Verde)
- Red One (Morocco)
- Le Specialist (Madagascar)
- Bisso na Bisso (Democratic Republic of the Congo/Republic of Congo), Passi's group
- INTIK (Algeria)
- Bideew Bou Bess (Senegal)
- Taj Kul B (Morocco)
- M.A.M. (Côte d'Ivoire)
- Kaysha (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Tana-Cergy (Madagascar)
Hip-hop groups from Africa also tour in France and other parts of Europe.
Today, French hip-hop has come full circle and back to a more "ghetto", African-American flavor. A new group of artists, among them Ol Kainry and Disiz la Peste, are very close to contemporary American rap music.
See also
Template:Worldhiphopde:Französischer Hip Hop
fr:Rap français