Although America is clearly at the top of the hip-hop food chain, France has always been a fairly close second, with a thriving scene that dates back to the mid-80s. A huge factor in the development of French hip-hop was the TV show HIPHOPaired, which featured music videos and live performances from global rap artists (even Kurtis Blow passed through one time). The show even pre-dated Yo! MTV Raps, suggesting that mainstream French culture was more ready to accept hip-hop than America was at that time.
Like hip-hop across the pond, and most other cultures, it was birthed in France through political movement and was used as a tool to protest the treatment of poverty-stricken citizens in Parisian ghettos and the racial discrimination immigrants and their children faced. It really was (and still is) their one true voice. The scene there has rapidly developed into something incredibly diverse-sounding—political hip-hop is still at the core, but gangsta and jazz-infused rap has also risen to prominence.
Rap evolved in France in a very similar way to what happened in the States but on a slight time delay, as it was the mid-90s where legends really started to be created. Some of this was thanks to the influence of Mathieu Kassovitz's iconic film, La Haine (which is basically a French Do The Right Thing), and its thumping hip-hop soundtrack that included pioneering groups such as Assassin and NTM. The French hip hop scene is still booming today, especially in Paris, which has a fierce underground scene and where most of the country's prominent rappers reside.
Here are 10 French rap acts that you really need to know know.
Assassin
NTM
NTM are the real OGs of the French rap scene, and as their name translates "fuck your mother", they're basically France's answer to N.W.A. Their music possesses an anger and contempt for authority and the police that naturally invites comparisons to Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and co., and it's an apt comparison as both Bruno Lopes and Didier Morville suffered through social inequality and racism and used their musical talents to reflect their reality. The comparisons don't end there, however, as NTM have had numerous legal battles with the law over allegations of incitement of hatred and assault.
It's easy to tell the two men apart: Lopes often features a lot of humour in his lyrics, and is decidedly funkier than Morville who boasts an extremely deep voice and has become synonymous for his lazy flow. Their heyday came and went by the time the millennium came around, but for the best part of a decade, they were the French kings of rap and idols for the legions of French rappers that followed.
MC Solaar
IAM
Rohff
The more astute gamer will remember Rohff and his track "La Resurrection" from the soundtrack of Scarface: The World Is Yours. Originally hailing from Madagascar, it didn't take the rapper long to integrate himself in the Parisian hip-hop scene, and 25 years later, he's still doing big numbers and shows no signs of relenting. Rohff, as some probably won't know, stands for Rimeur Original Hardcore Flow Fluide, which if my mediocre French is correct means he's the original hardcore poet with a fluid flow. With seven albums to his name, Rohff is still one of the most respected names in the whole of France.