Early life Claude M'Barali was born in
Dakar, Senegal, to parents from
Chad. When he was six months old, his parents immigrated to France where they settled in the Parisian suburbs; initially in
Saint-Denis, subsequently Maisons-Alfort and finally
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. When he was twelve, he went to live with an uncle in
Cairo, Egypt for nine months where he discovered the
Universal Zulu Nation and became fascinated with the rapping styles of
Afrika Bambaataa. Upon his return to France, he passed the
baccalauréat. The constant support from his mother was one of the reasons that he was able to pass the baccalauréat and still make music. He coined the stage name "MC Solaar" during his adolescence from his graffiti tags "SOAR" and "SOLAAR". Nevertheless, the song went platinum in France and reached number 5 on the national chart.
1991–1997: Early success and Prose Combat breakthrough After the success of "Bouge de là", Solaar went on to support the American rap group
De La Soul when they performed at the Olympia in Paris in September 1991. At the close of 1991, Solaar released
Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo which went on to sell over 400,000 copies in France. MC Solaar released
Prose Combat in 1994. It sold 100,000 copies in the first week of being released and became a bestseller in 20 other countries. In February 1995 he received an award for Best Male Singer of the Year at the 10th edition of the French "Victoires de la Musique" awards. Also in 1994, MC Solaar appeared on the
Red Hot Organization's compilation album,
Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the
AIDS epidemic in relation to the
African American community, was heralded as Album of the Year by
Time. Solaar returned to the studio in 1997 with longtime friend and producer Jimmy Jay to record his third album,
Paradisiaque. The album was another success, which led to an extensive European tour starting on 9 January 1998 at the
Zénith in Paris. MC Solaar toured internationally, including Germany, Japan and the United States. He was included as a guest on American rapper Guru's "
Jazzmatazz" project and one of Solaar's songs was included in the Tommy Boy rap compilation in the United States. In 1998, MC Solaar embarked on a tour beginning at the
Zénith de Paris. The concert he presents is a show with DJs and dancers (as the hip-hop dancer
Bintou Dembélé) which overpasses the musical frame. The cover of
Cinquieme As depicts Solaar topless, and draws comparisons to captives about to be taken onto a
slave ship. However, a look at the inside cover reveals Solaar to be in a wrestler's costume, along with the other men in the picture. As Veronique Helenon discusses in her article concerning the French hip hop scene, references to Africa and "blackness" are a very important part of Solaar's music. Solaar recognises and pays tribute to the African presence in France by using boxing and wrestling references. Senegalese boxer
Battling Siki is referenced in the album's booklet. Although Siki won the light heavyweight boxing championship in 1922, he still faced racism from journalists. MC Solaar is one of the few French rappers having success in the English-dominated American hip hop culture. American rapper
will.i.am admitted he prefers MC Solaar to American rapper
Tupac Shakur. ==Personal life==