A few weeks ago, I was doing homework in my dorm while listening to music. I was slowly getting bored of the music I was listening to and thought to myself “I need to find some good music.” I honestly forget how I ended up choosing to listen to French hip hop, but somehow I did.
I originally heard about the French hip hop scene while reading an article a few years ago. Although I don’t remember much about it, I do remember reading that the French hip hop scene was budding and growing by the minute. I felt this was an interesting contrast to the misconceptions I had about French music. Until I read the article, I thought that France was dominated by upbeat pop music made by domestic and American artists. It was cool learning about the French underground culture and how it was breaking into mainstream media.
Maître Gims
The first French rapper that I listened to was Maître Gims. He is a recording artist that was born in the DR Congo. He has a similar style to T-Pain in the sense that they are both considered rappers but are more known for their singing (except Maître Gims sings well). The first song of his that I listened to is titled Brisé. It is a sad love song about a couple who are struggling in their twisted excuse of a relationship. It is a very impactful song that is heavy as well as catchy. Maître Gims has multiple music videos on youtube and his most popular videos have more than 100,000,000 views. He has solidified himself as not only a French celebrity, but an international celebrity as well.
La Fouine
The next, and last rapper I liked is La Fouine. La Fouine takes on the more standard style of rapping. He is known for his deep lyrics and smooth delivery. He holds it down for traditional hip hop fans in a time where trap artists like Meek Mill and Future dominate. Since entering the hip hop scene, La Fouine now owns a record label and runs his own clothing line. He even acted in a few French movies. I found the song “La fin du monde” yesterday (Wednesday). It is a newly released song that is very catchy. A listener who does not know French (such as I) can tell that La Fouine is pouring his soul into his lyrics and that he does not stop working until he is able to create the greatest product he can create. If I had to make a comparison between La Fouine and an American rapper, it would be J Cole. Cole likes to diversify his flow while it seems like La Fouine sticks to one style (which there is nothing wrong about that). But their delivery (voice), beats/song production, and overall style are very similar.
French hip hop (and all European hip hop) is something that has been tarnished over the years, especially since the rise of ISIL. A large population of the French rappers are minorities that were either born in another country or are first generation French. These immigrants and their families are often Muslim to begin with. Their families are poorer and often live in slums, where hip hop culture is known, and sometimes stereotypically, to flourish. But as they get older, their angst about the struggles of live is then turned to religion, where they are radicalized in their faith. One of the assailants in the Charlie Hebdo shootings of 2015, Cherif Kouachi, was an underground French rapper in the early 2000s. In other countries, the infamous Jihadi John was revealed to have been a rapper in the UK. But I do not think that a few individuals and their actions should represent an entire art form. Hip hop is a beautiful art because it allows people to express their feelings and emotions through song, more clearly and impactful than singing a song. Even though there are songs with incredible angst and profanity, it tells a story nonetheless. Despite not knowing French, I absolutely love French hip hop. This is the beauty of hip hop- you do not need to know the language to understand the impact and the beauty of the lyrics and the lyricist.