Rhythm And Poetry.

Most French hip hop artists
come from poor urban areas
outside of Paris known as the
banlieues (including Lunatic,
Mafia K1 Fry, La Brigade,
Secteur Ã?), Lyon, Lille, Le
Havre (La Boussole),
Strasbourg, Toulouse (KDD) or
Marseille (IAM, Fonky Family,
Psy 4 De La Rime, 3ème Oeil,
and others). Many Fren
more

Rhythm And Poetry.

Most French hip hop artists
come from poor urban areas
outside of Paris known as the
banlieues (including Lunatic,
Mafia K1 Fry, La Brigade,
Secteur Ã?), Lyon, Lille, Le
Havre (La Boussole),
Strasbourg, Toulouse (KDD) or
Marseille (IAM, Fonky Family,
Psy 4 De La Rime, 3ème Oeil,
and others). Many French
rappers are products of the
HLM and use their tough
upbringing as sources of
inspiration in their lyrics.

The majority of French rappers
are descended from African and
DOM-TOM immigrants. Even
though some of the pioneers
like Lionel D and DJ Dee Nasty
are not of African descent,
Africans have dominated the
music scene. However, in
contrast to the United States,
France has always featured
numerous racially-mixed
groups. Many of the most
important rappers in France
are Caucasian (including Kool
Shen, of Portuguese and French
descent; Akhenaton, of Italian
descent; Diam's, of Cypriot
and French descent; and Sinik,
of Kabylian and French
descent). Many are also
immigrants from former French
colonies who have moved to
France for education or a
better life. MC Solaar, who
was born in Senegal, released
his first CD in 1991. Within
France, the two cities with
the largest hip hop scene are
Paris (the majority of French
rappers come from the suburbs
of Paris.) and Marseille.

History
Hip hop first appeared in
France in 1979, just as the
genre was achieving some
success in the United States.
Its popularity was due to the
large African presence in
France. By 1982, a number of
hip hop radio stations had
appeared, including Rapper
Dapper Snapper, and the future
star DJ Dee Nasty made his
first appearance. That same
year saw the first major hip
hop concert, the New York City
Rap Tour, sponsored by Europe
1 and featuring Afrika
Bambaataa, Grandmixer DST, Fab
5 Freddy, Mr Freeze and the
Rock Steady Crew.

The first major star of French
hip hop was MC Solaar, born
Claude M'Barali in Dakar,
Senegal. He moved to France in
1970 and lived in
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. His
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'.[citation needed]
He set many records, including
being the first French hip hop
recording to go platinum. Most
artists claims that the French
language hip hop style was
influenced by Renaud Séchan
songs.

Following MC Solaar's
breakthrough, two broad styles
emerged within the French hip
hop scene; artists such as
Solaar, Dee Nasty, and
Alliance Ethnik championed a
more mellow, sanguine style,
while more hardcore performers
such as Assassin and Suprême
NTM 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. The cases include the
notorious following: -NTM's
'Police' -Sniper's 'La France'
-Lunatik's 'Le crime paie'

Through the nineties, the
music grew to become one of
the most popular genres in
France; in 1997, IAM's release
'L'école du Micro d'Argent'
sold more than 1 million
discs, with NTM shifting more
than 700,000 copies of their
final album 'Supreme 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
credible, innovative
independent artists. La Rumeur
and Sheryo, some hardcore
rappers are known for their
reject of mainstream french
rap (more)

Category Music

Tags french, rap, hip, hop, paris, suburbs, riots, NTM, nas, eminem, snoop, dog, doctor, dre, wu, tang, clan, 50, cents, gangsta