Sektor & Wolf, French rappers from Paris and Normandy (in English)
For the attention of Kabuika & Navraaz, Shannon, Jesse and Lady Twist... and all those interested in the whereabouts of "a hip hop dialog" initiated by Vocalo and Radio HDR...
So, the funny thing is that the old French school of rap really has its roots in American rap whereas the new generation of rappers, when referring to their elders as their models, thinks their rap is French and completely obliterates the initial American influence, the now outgrown American origins.
What do you think?
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Comments
MC Solaar's rap is the contrary of angry and negative - but at the same time it became so mainstream in France that he is sometimes not considered genuinely hip hop anymore. He's almost an institution, in a way. But don't ask me what "genuinely hip hop" should mean though, as I think some critics think that hip hop is dead altogether. I suppose the young rappers of today do not refer to him because they consider him not marginal enough, not independent from the of commerce, the market and the media - but that probably that is the fate of rap anyhow, isn't it? Or he already is (already) too old to be hip? Still, I do think that he somehow is representitive of something typically French - the love of words, in particular - and brought to French popular culture in general something really new, proving especially that the "visible minorities" in France have a say, can creatively contribute to the whole picture...
My first experience with French Rap was Guru's use of MC Solaar on Le Bien, Le Mal ( The Good The Bad) on Guru's Jazzmatazz album from 93. That was the first time I heard a french rapper and I thought it was quite slick however sounded like a direct imitation of the lyrical patterns of American rappers. I kept expecting a solo MC Solaar album to break in America but didn't find one, then rap turned angry and negative so I kinda shut it down.
jon 