French Rap

The Sound

• Highly influenced by American hip-hop
• Emphasis on both electronic beats and rhyming lyrical content
• Some rappers feature a mellow, sanguine style
• Others assume a more aggressive aesthetic

“The phonetics and inflections of the French language added weight on the mix. If you put the voice of an American beneath the snare drum you can still comprehend the words; it operates like an instrument easy to insert into the mix. However, if you put a French voice below the snare, you can’t make out any words. You are forced to bring it to the fore, and bring the kick and the foot up by as much."
-Jeff Dominguez, prominent hip-hop engineer

French Rap

Banlieues

Middle-class and upper-class residents essentially live in the west of the city, while the northeast has a concentration of residents who are immigrants and who live in poverty.

Life in the Banlieue

• Low-income projects (HLMS) & ghetto high-rises called cites'
• High concentration of black African, Caribbean, and Arab immigrants
• Poor quality housing, economic discrimination, and police brutality
• Clichy-sous-Bois, Bondy, Corbeil-Essonnes
• 80% of the inhabitants of the Paris metropolitan area live outside the city

"...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." - David Brooks

Cultural History

• In 1982, the New York City Rap Tour traveled around France featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Fab 5 Freddy, and the Rock Steady Crew
• The gangster image of American hip-hop appealed to young & impoverished immigrant minorities as means to oppose racism & oppression
• The world's 2nd largest hip-hop market

First major star of French hip-hop was MC Solaar, an immigrant from Senegal, who lived in the banlieue of Villeneuve-St. George

Cultural Themes

• Opposition to the social order
• Humor and puns
• Ethnic and cultural identity
• Pharaoism
• Post-colonial African relationship

NORTH VS. SOUTH

• North: Centered around major cities like Paris, Lille, Nantes, Strasbourg
• South: Cities like Marseilles, Nice, Bordeaux, Lyon
• North: Straight-forward, drug trade, gang wars, ghetto life, clashes with police
• South: More socially conscious, focusing on social justice and discrimination, the "cold reality of life"

Famous French Rappers

• Booba
• 113
• Rohff
• IAM
• Supreme NTM
• MC Solaar

La Haine

Although largely influenced by American hip-hop, French rap has developed its own personality throughout the years drawing influence in its rich African heritage and unique experiences in urban banlieues that has spread throughout the world.