French hip-hop

Beginning of French hip-hop: 1970s-1980s By 1982 and 1983, a number of hip-hop radio shows had appeared on Paris radio, including "Rapper Dapper" (hosted by Sidney Duteil) and "Funk à Billy" (hosted by DJ Dee Nasty). In November 1982 the New York City Rap Tour traveled around France and to London 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 as a child to France in 1970 and lived in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. His 1991 album, Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo, was a major hit. The European Music Office's report on Music in Europe said that the French language was well-suited for rapping. He set many records, including being the first French hip-hop recording artist to go platinum. Some artists claim that the French language hip-hop style was influenced by the music of French singer Renaud. Following MC Solaar's breakthrough, two broad styles emerged within the French hip-hop scene; artists such as Solaar, Dee Nasty, and Lionel D 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 Ministère AMER's "Sacrifice de poulet", NTM's "Police" and later Lunatic's "Le crime paie". Influence of American hip-hop French hip-hop, like hip-hop in other countries, is highly influenced by American hip-hop. Columnist David Brooks wrote that "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." He argued that the gangster image of American hip-hop appeals to mostly young & impoverished immigrant minorities in France, as a means to oppose the racism and oppression they experience. Jody Rosen counters Brooks' argument, criticizing that Brooks makes use of only a few, old samples of potential French gangsta rap that contain violent or misogynistic lyrics, and asserting that Brooks fails to accurately assess French hip-hop's larger scope and discounts its potential for "rappers of amazing skill, style, and wit." Francophone rap was given a boost in the early 21st century by a decision of the French ministry of culture, which insisted that French-language stations play a minimum of 40 percent of French-language music during transmission. This makes up one quarter of the radio's top 100, ten percent of local music production and has sold hundreds of thousands of CDs. 1990s-2000s in 1997. The photo by Studio Harcourt alludes to the 1793 painting The Death of Marat. Through the 1990s, 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 moving more than 700,000 copies of their final album "Suprême NTM". The group went their separate ways in 2000. As hip-hop moved into a new millennium, French hip-hop artists developed rapidly, seeing commercial success, and even some international appeal. One of the most influential French hip-hop albums of all time, Cinquième As, was released by MC Solaar in 2001. At the same time, new artists like Sinik and Diam's began to see significant success, as well, bringing a new sound and genre of lyrical prowess to the game. ==Themes==

, a prominent group in French hip-hop. Many of the themes found in French hip-hop deal with societal critique. Artists incorporate humorous, ironic lyrics and adapt cultural elements into their music, such as Soolking who blends traditional Algerian Raï with modern hip-hop. Cultural blending in the genre emerged after a period of influence from American hip-hop elements and aesthetics. Marseille-based band IAM draws from themes and histories rooted the in African continent. French hip-hop deals with topics surrounding the political and social lives of the immigrant groups living in France ==Relationship with Africa and the Caribbean==

When hip-hop reached the European continent in the 1980s Afrika Bambaataa was an early pioneer, and when he came to France he was overwhelmed by the great importance of African culture coming from Africa and the Caribbean. Many French hip-hop artists express strong ties to Africa, though not overtly. Rappers from the 1980s and 90s needed to keep their references to Africa subtle for a few reasons. First, explicitly praising Africa would have been offensive to the many immigrants who fled Algeria and other North African countries because of the economic adversity they faced there, and many rappers probably had parents who had done so. Also, obvious Afrocentrism would have provided the French anti-Maghrebi extreme right with an opportunity to tell Maghrebi immigrants to return to North Africa. And finally, rising conservative Islamism in North Africa would have prevented rappers from being able to imitate their behavior in their native land. The progress of rap in France is associated with the postcolonial relationships founded with former colonies of Africa and the Caribbean. Therefore, the definition of Africa according to French ideas, and the nature of racism in French society is crucial to understanding the reason for the hip-hop and rap sensation in France. Rappers are overwhelmingly of African descent, and in tackling the issue of their invisibility in French society and declaring their origins, they redefine their identity and defy French notions of ethnicity and citizenship. Although many artists that have dominated the hip-hop scene in France are of African descent, themes dealing with the intimate connection between France and various African countries tend not to get much promotion on mainstream radio and even less consideration in scholarly research on the subject. Specifically, IAM incorporates many African-related themes into its music. Their 1991 song "Les tam-tam de l'Afrique" was one of the first French rap hits to deal explicitly with slavery. The African music influences in French hip-hop also extend to the use of African instruments such as the Kora, balafon, and ngoni. Many of the drums played in Africa and the Caribbean music such as "derbuka from North Africa, djembe from Senegal, gwo ka drums from Guadeloupe, bèlè drums from Martinique and Dominica, zouk, bouyon music, etc.). host, and occasional actor of Guadeloupean origin. He is well known in France for his connection with the beginnings of the French hip-hop scene. ==Language==

. Although hip-hop in France has been greatly influenced by American hip-hop culture, the lyrics remain typically in French. Other than English, other language influences are based on oral traditions such as African griots, "talk over" of Jamaica and the blues. French music lyrics typically feature puns, play on words and suggestive phonetic combinations. Such artists as Boby Lapointe often use alliterations, onomatopoeia and puns or double entendre lyrics. The dialect of choice for many hip-hop artists in France is verlan which is based on the inverse of original French words. In some cases artists rap in several different languages on a track including Arabic, French and English. The purpose of the lyrics, no matter the language, is "to popularize and vent the anger and frustrations of many disadvantaged and sometimes mistreated individuals, and to defend the cause of the poorest and least socially integrated segment of French society". In many French rap songs, verlan is used which is a slang that twists words by reversing and recombining them. David Brooks claims that French rap is a copy of American gangsta rap of the early 1990s. However, his position was attacked by Jody Rosen in his article which debunks Brooks's belief that the French hip-hop scene is no more than a carbon copy of earlier American work. The components of their music are mostly influenced by the American rappers, but they also have their own style such as having their culture's tune in the beat. And they rap in their language and their phonetic sounds differ in time to time. As France has embraced hip-hop, they put a huge emphasis on the lyrics. They love to sing about love and poetry, and they also love to rap in French dialect. The French government has a mandate that 40 percent of the music played on the radio must be in French. Hip-hop is a way for artists to express these feelings. More precisely, hip-hop built of French language lyrics laid on top of traditional break beats and samples. == Influence on pop culture==

The image of the banlieue, comparable to what in the United States would be called one's "hood", has propagated itself into French pop culture in the form of clothing, accessories, attitude and of course the hip-hop music it yields. This fascination with the banlieue image has also found its way into the big screen with the movie B-13. This action/martial arts film depicts a somewhat exaggerated view of what one of the worst suburbs (which is what banlieue means, roughly translated) would be like 6 years in the future. One finds within this movie almost every iconic paradigm inherent to the gangster image in the U.S. We have a plethora of drugs and guns. We have a Don Corleone/Scarface figure who, under the influence of enough of his own product, considers himself invincible. There is, of course, a general disdain for corrupt police and politicians, and last but not least, there is the unfair imprisonment of the protagonist. The aforementioned traits contained the sub-plots of Menace II Society, Juice, Boyz n the Hood, Belly and New Jack City among other movies considered pivotal to gangsta rap culture. The obvious parallels seen in the glorification of the banlieue and that of one's "hood" is not one to overlook. The commonalities in the two cultures are indicative of the fact that a.) almost every hip-hop movement was bred from necessity and from rebellion. The guns, drugs and money of the hood are typically not the aftermath of an easy life but the result of a struggle whether it is as a hustler or as a gangbanger. Hip-hop provides an outlet for people in the struggle to lash out at the powers that be, and to rebel in some small way against the life they're stuck in. b.) the glorification of the banlieue also reminds us that there will always be a consumerist market of people, not in the struggle, who will take advantage of the allure of the image without totally understanding it. Such as much of the rap and hip-hop in the United States talks about money, women, guns, etc., rap in France is also somewhat following this path. Yet, many artists still rap about their ties to Africa, culture, and sending out important messages. However, hip-hop in France is taking on the same image as hip-hop in the United States. It's changed to talking about gang-banging and other illegal activities. Not only in France, but in many African countries, French hip-hop is played and heard. "The images, modes and attitudes of hip-hop and gangsta rap are so powerful they are having a hegemonic effect across the globe." ==Breakdancing==

The break-dancing scene in France is widespread, and some French B-boys are well known for taking part in competitions such as BOTY. Two of the most well-known crews from France are the Vagabonds and the Pockemon, as both of them won the BOTY. ==References==