Planet Hip Hop: How French rappers continue to raise their voices for justice and identity

Samuel Lamontagne: 113 is an important group, especially because they’re made of three rappers who all come from different backgrounds within the French African diaspora. Rim’K is from an Algerian background from North Africa, AP is from Guadeloupean background, so the West Indies, Caribbean, Mokobé is from a Malian background, so West Africa. So they all grew up in the same city, which is Vitry-sur Seine and they bonded over hip-hop. So in a way, they kind of exemplify the relationship between hip-hop and postcolonial youth in France, which is a great place to start. Another thing is that the album sonically moved away from American hip-hop influences by strongly blending in dance music sensibilities. And that’s because the album was produced by DJ Mehdi, who passed away and who’s a legend in French hip-hop because he revolutionized the French rap sound by bridging French rap with Daft Punk, if you will.

So, when hip-hop culture arrives from the US, it quickly became a medium of expression for French racialized people to to see themselves in a way they couldn’t before, and hip-hop allowed to bring race and racial politics in the public consciousness, in the public debate in France, in a way that wasn’t possible before. So this is the power of hip-hop, you know, through music, sounds, fashion, dance. This is much more, you know, deeper meaning and dynamics going on.

Yeah, well, as a Black kid, you know, growing up in France, there was no space for me to see myself in the public sphere, in the media, in the public space. And so hip-hop was the only space where I could see myself and where I could imagine and feel as a Black French person, as you know, and growing up Black in France, that was the only space where I could see myself. 

Women are just as essential as men in hip-hop culture and history. You know, they’ve always been present and active as participants, organizers, supporters. So from the earliest times, you know, I’m thinking of somebody like Queen Candy, for example, who in Paris had a leading role in the Paris chapter of the Zulu Nation all the way to Diam’s, or Casey or Shay. Women have always been part of the culture and their involvement is generally erased in the way that hip-hop history is being written. So we have to be better in including their contribution to the culture and to the history.

She’s from a Martinique background, and my family is from Guadeloupe and Martinique, so that song is special to me because she talks about Martinique, which is to this day, still under French rule. So in this song, she talks about the history and the culture of the island, her personal relationship to it, and, you know, breaks down the politics, too.

I think the first thing to say is that these communities are French communities, you know, they are French people who happen to be Muslim and happened to come from an African or Caribbean background. So there are communities that live the banlieues, so, surrounding Paris, are socially marginalized neighborhoods. And so the 2005 protests were a response to state violence and abandonment. So what really sparked things off in 2005 was the death of two teenage boys from Clichy-sous-Bois who got scared and ran away from the police and tried to hide in an electrical station but got electrocuted and the cops were let off, you know, no sanctions, no nothing. So people from the neighborhood and other banlieues started revolting. The other thing, too, is that, you know, the 2005 protests are usually framed as this, like, exceptional special event, but those kinds of protests in banlieues have been happening regularly since the 1970s. And rappers, you know, were definitely speaking on those frustrations and breaking everything down from police brutality to racism’s link to colonialism, to social exclusion and formulating critiques from their experiences.

So, that’s a big question because, you know, hip-hop and rap music are now part of the mainstream in a similar way that they are in the US. So hip-hop is an integral part of French culture, and even it transformed the meaning of what it is to be French. And what I love about some of the more recent music is that they blend together influences from all over the diaspora, like rap with Afro-pop, with zouk, with soukous, with compas. Hip-hop remains a medium of solidarity and of communication within the diaspora and beyond.

The last song I chose [“Bosseur feat. Tiakola]” is just a song that I love, you know, just younger generation rappers coming up right now. And, you know, they’re really blending different sonorities together. And every year, new artists come up with new ways to keep that conversation going. And I just think this song is a good representation of that, and again, just like with 113, it’s just a good song, you know?