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Around the world · France · since 1990

1990
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Paris

France
Banlieue realism · jazz-literate French · cloud rap
Ride the roster1:40
Story, bloodline and 7 names

France is the second-largest rap market on earth. It started with MC Solaar's wordplay and NTM's fury from the northern suburbs, and it never stopped — today French rap outsells French pop, and Marseille (IAM, Jul) is a whole second capital.

Bloodline · 1 stop from The Bronx
  1. 1973The Bronx
  2. 1990Paris

TransferDowntown Manhattan

The 1982 New York City Rap Tour played Paris with Bambaataa, Fab 5 Freddy, the Rock Steady Crew and a graffiti writer painting live. French kids saw the whole culture arrive in a single night, and took the language part personally.

Next stopsDakar, Madrid & Barcelona

Suprême NTMIAM92iQLF
Roster
1991
MC Solaar

Made French sound purpose-built for rhyme; a genuine national star.

YTW
1991
Suprême NTM

Saint-Denis. Rage, riot and the founding French rap group.

YTW
1991
IAMdeep cut

Marseille's Egyptology-obsessed collective; L'École du Micro d'Argent is the canon.

YTW
1998
Oxmo Puccinodeep cut

The "black Jacques Brel" — French rap's great lyricist.

YTW
2002
Booba

The most commercially dominant French rapper of the century.

YTW
2015
PNL

Corbeil-Essonnes brothers; cloud rap with no interviews and no press.

YTW
2015
Nekfeudeep cut

1995 crew; the technical peak of the current generation.

YTW

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