French/Arab Hip Hop

[MarkK]

In DC there are a lot of amusing requests for "Arab Music" but there is some good stuff out there. Who are some of the better french/arab rappers? I hear some nice stuff from time to time.

tia

[ December 11, 2003, 09:57 PM: Message edited by: MarkK ]

[C hristian]

you are asking the wrooooooong board for this! (well, maybe those in france can share.)

[David Le C]

There's a pretty large hiphop scene here in Belgium and France... and there are a number of artists that brought out some really raw and decent shit. Here's my shortlist;
_Starflam :
Belgian band, they're bringing out their third record for the moment, centered around Liège and Bruxelles. Highlights are 'ce plat pays', 'Bled runner', 'J'étais-là', 'La Sonora', 'Sous-pression' (nice sample of Metallica's 'One') etc.

_IAm and affiliated artists: (center: Marseille)
Sorta like the french Wutang qua structure and sound, but very versatile and consistent. Maybe they're known in the VS. for their numerous collabs with Wutang members like the Rza, Method Man and other cats like Redman. Most prominent and consistent artists; Shurik'n, Akhenaton, Faf la rage, K-rim le roi and Funky Family.
Iam's album 'L'ecole du micro d'argent' is a true classic, so is Shuriken's 'Ou je vis'. The funky family albums are also worth checking out (especially 'Mystère et Suspense', 'Sans Rémission' etc...)
Faf la rage is known for his story-telling abilities and vivid atmosphere, check out 'La Cavale' (about the bourgoisie hunting humans) and his collab with K-rim le roi 'Le dernier coup' (about a bankrobber's last heist).

_NTM : (center : Paris)
The raw parisiens with madmen like Joey Starr and ragga toaster Lord Kossity, they've spend some time in jail because of the government censorship of some of their lyrics (they made ciphers like 'Nique la police' - fuck the police, a theme from the movie 'La Haine' (Hate))
Highlights are 'Laisse pas trainer ton fils', 'Ma benz', 'St.Denis style'...

_Mc Solaar :
Always trying to bring some knowledge to hiphop, but sometimes tends to be a bit boring... he made a huge amount of albums but IMO went downhill after ending his collab with the producers Boombass and Zdar (La Funk Mob) who later went on to form Cassius...
Highlights from his old period are 'Caroline', 'Qui sème le vent recolte le tempo', 'Nouveau Western' (sampling Gainsbourg), 'La concubine de l'hémoglobine' etc...

_Saian Supa Crew : the french Jurassic 5 is the best way to put it, a talented crew who keep it basic and vivid...

Of course there are numerous other cats on the block like Arsenik, Assasin, CNN-199, etc... The scene around bruxelles is slowly reviving again after the silence following the glory period of the R.A.B. crew (Grazhoppa & Puta Madre), Souterrain squad and 9mm productions.

I hope this helps you on your way... ;)

[Julien Hulk]

Hi!
I'm French, and I'd like to give an advice on the french HH scene. All the artists that David quoted are great. They're all very talented and deserve a worlwide exposition.
But I'm not sure that spinning french hip hop in a club in DC will give a mad success... Most of the good french hip hop is very dark, and I'm sure that the peeps on the dancefloor will be a little bit disappointed. The producers are good, the MC's are good too, but the vibe is pretty sad, and if the people don't understand the lyrics, I don't think they'll get into it.

[Cedric Woo]

Hey mes amis!

Freeman from I Am did some good french hip hop with arabic influences, didn't he?

I was really into French hip hop for a while( S.S.Crew, F.Family, La Rumeur, 3e Oeil,...), but since i moved out of France 4 years ago, I have no idea about the evolution of the scene.

I agree on the fact that if you don't understand the lyrics, French hip hop can be real dark!

Any new names to follow?

Is the new I Am good?

[David Le C]

Like mentioned above, french hiphop is pretty narrative and dark, no real party anthems and the lyrics are very important so if you don't understand them you're missing like 70% of the value. However, there is a trend towards more party productions, cf. the new Iam single with Method Man & Redman is a party banger, and so was the 'Saian' single from the Saian Supa Crew with Rza and Ghostface...
The 'dark' vibe could be described as the same vibe Mobb Deep and early Wutang productions (Iam have the same shaolin monk kinda vibe) brought. Or early Nas is even more suitable...

[MarkK]

Thanks everyone. This is exactly what I wanted.

Yeah I am not a DJ, I was asking only for my personal information. My wife is French so I go there 2-3x per year. I do understand some of the lyrics but not that much.

Anymore input is welcome.

[David Le C]

For arabic influences, dj Mehdi (member of Iam) released a solo album a few years ago with mostly instrumental hiphop cuts with influences from north-african music (Raï etc..)

Also typical about the groups I mentioned is the very good live reputation... I've seen Starflam, FF, Iam and Saian Supa crew and they all set the place on fire with a cool type of underground vibe...

[Julien Hulk]

DJ Mehdi member of I Am?????????? Where have you seen that?

[socratez]

Does anyone know the Dutch Arab mc named Sala Edin??

He's dope check him out

[MarkK]

Not quite Christian!



Originally posted by C hristian:
you are asking the wrooooooong board for this! (well, maybe those in france can share.)

[simon b]

My favorite French hip hop group is actually from Montreal, they're called Muzion and rap in a mixture of Haitian Creole, Quebecois French and mixed local slang. The group is made up of two male and one woman MC. Wyclef Jean is also a huge fan/supporter of the group.

Their song "La Vie Ti Neg" is a guranteed party starter here and is one of my favorite locally produced records ever. It's a really warm, but lively track that talks about their everyday struggles with a chorus that claims that "life is not easy, that's why we get together..." positive stuff.

[David Le C]

Originally posted by Julien Hulk:
DJ Mehdi member of I Am?????????? Where have you seen that? Woops, I meant Dj Kheops... sorry 'bout that, carry on... ;)

[Julien Hulk]

Okay, David! Kheops is great. I just LOVE his tracks. And do you have heard him in the mix, playing old school funk joints? "La classe!!!" graemlins/grinyes.gif

[David Le C]

Mos def, Kheops rips it... some of the hiphop heads on here should check this shit out. Maybe I should do a mix with only french cuts... graemlins/alc.gif

[D J 1 3 8]

As a life-long hip hop fan, I've never been able to get in to foreign hip hop. No dis intended, it's just that hip hop is about lyrics, and if I don't speak the language, then I have no basis on which to judge if the MC has skills or not, so I can't like it or dislike it. I remember when Solaar first blew up, all these kids were telling me there's this new French MC who's got skills and I was like "how the fuck can you tell, you don't understand French?"

I wish I could speak more languages, believe me.

[David Le C]

Well, if you want some introduction and I'm in a very generous mood, I'll send you some anthems and slip in a translation... but you'll have to ask nicely... ;)

[C hristian]

a pleasant surprise.

times they are a changing

[D J 1 3 8]

Originally posted by David Le C:
Well, if you want some introduction and I'm in a very generous mood, I'll send you some anthems and slip in a translation... but you'll have to ask nicely... ;) I appreciate the offer. Translations would help, I suppose, but lyrics are all about flow. Reading something on paper doesn't really give you the full picture. You gotta FEEL dat shit.

[Cedric Woo]

Originally posted by David Le C:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Julien Hulk:
DJ Mehdi member of I Am?????????? Where have you seen that? Woops, I meant Dj Kheops... sorry 'bout that, carry on... ;) </font>[/QUOTE]I think you actually meant IMHOTEP ( another I AM member, sounds provider ) when you talked about instrumental hip hop with arabic influences.
That album was real nice!

DJ Kheops is dope though, even if too r'n'b sometimes.

C.