Even though the beginnings of hip-hop in France were a direct result of the rise of hip-hop in the United States, the way it has developed as a music for the oppressed is quite different, because of its specific sociopolitical conditions.
SHORT HISTORY OF FRENCH HIP-HOP
Hip-hop in France became somewhat popular in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until 1991, with MC Solaar’s Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo, that the genre really took off. His album was the first hip-hop album to go platinum, and set many other records in France. That album, in terms of style, was very different from the popular rappers in the United States at the time (e.g. N.W.A., Public Enemy). It was overall very mellow, quite humorous and literary, in stark contrast with the very aggressive and politically-charged rap of the USA.
However, after MC Solaar’s album, came other artists who followed the new genre of aggressive political outcry against injustice. For example, Ministère AMER’s song, « Sacrifice de poulet » deals with the same themes as NWA’s « Fuck the Police ». « Sacrifice de poulet » was released as part of the soundtrack of Matthieu Kassovitz’s La Haine (1995), a seminal French movie about marginalized youth and the aftermath of a riot caused by the shooting of a young Arab in Paris’ banlieues.
After MC Solaar, IAM’s 1997 release L’école du Micro d’Argent became another huge hit, and several current rappers cite IAM among their influences. Their music was also distinctly politically engaged, although not as aggressive as other groups like Assassin and Supreme NTM. The last song on that album, a 9-minute long song called « Demain C’est Loin », was particularly well-received.
Early French hip-hop was, unquestionably, heavily influenced by American hip-hop. However, it also evolved quite distinctly because, while its preoccupations were often similar, the people who are oppressed and marginalized were simply part of a different reality.
FRENCH MINORITIES
Indeed, France was an important colonial force, and had several colonies in Africa and the Caribbean. As a result, many people from those countries (e.g. Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Senegal) came to France for various reasons; better economic opportunities, escape from wars, etc.
Those communities were, and still are, marginalized and oppressed in France. They are therefore the ones who have tended to adopt hip-hop as a means of resistance, just like in the United States. Much like in the United States, they tend to be grouped in ghettos, usually in the form of low-income housing projects; however, rather than being in the inner-city, they tend to be on the outskirts of the city, in the suburbs (banlieues).
The history of oppression that gave rise to hip-hop in both countries are therefore quite different. In the United States, hip-hop came about because of difficult socio-economic conditions caused by systemic and institutional racism against black people, the roots of which came from slavery.
In France, hip-hop came about because of difficult socio-economic conditions imposed on several ethnic minorities who were in France as a direct result of colonialism. Those minorities are also systemically and institutionally oppressed as a result of colonial attitudes.
ISLAM AND HIP-HOP
Due to the fact of colonisation, many minorities in France are Muslim. In the West in general, Islam is often used as a tool for othering, and France is a particularly salient example of this fact. The fear of Islam by the West has been instrumentalized as a way to perpetuate fear and intolerance of minorities and immigrants. The government has passed several discriminatory laws against the practice of Islam, and there are frequent controversies about Islam in the media. I will not talk about those directly, because Medine addresses many of those in his songs, so I will discuss this in the direct context of his songs.
Because Islam is being used as a tool for oppression by the dominant culture, Islam has increasingly become a common topic in French hip-hop: many rappers are Muslim themselves, and for many rappers specifically addressing Islam is a contemporary conduit for talking about political injustice and social change.
This situation is very specific to France. In the United States, Islam is not a very common theme addressed by rappers, although there certainly are rappers who do talk about it.
KERY JAMES, A MUSLIM RAPPER
Perhaps one of the first mainstream advocates of Islam in hip-hop was Kery James. Kery James, along with MC Solaar and IAM discussed above, is one of the pioneers of French rap. At just 13 years old, he released an album as part of a group called Ideal J. The album was extremely aggressive and angsty. « Hardcore » is a very well-known song off that album.
However, in 1999, Kery James’ close friend was shot and killed. This led him to convert to Islam, and pursue a solo career.
In 2001, he released his first solo album, Si C’était à Refaire, an extremely personal album, that deals with his violent, gangbanging past and his regrets, but also with several contemporary social issues. Interestingly, as much as « Hardcore » was a virulent and angry critique of society, his new album preaches, quite literally, peace and love.
In « 28 décembre 1977 », he directly attributes this change to his religious conversion.
Today, Kery James is seen as perhaps the most major figure in the French ‘rap conscient’ scene, and is highly respected. He is still active and has released several albums, all with usually very positive and uplifting messages, actively trying to encourage marginalized youth to reach higher rather than to retreat into victimization.
Médine very much comes out of this tradition of ‘rap conscient’: he considers Kery James to be one of his « artistic fathers » (Link; at 14:58), and now the two of them often collaborate on songs.
Médine, in 2015, released a song, called ‘Ali X’, as a homage to Kery James. The name of the song is a contraction of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, which creates ‘Ali X’, and makes reference to Kery James’ real name, Alix Mathurin. On top of being a pretty clever title, the name, of course, refers to Kery James’ Muslim faith. The song is more of a general homage, not specifically referring to Kery James’ Muslim faith, but the title of the song makes it clear that Médine inscribes Kery James, along with Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, within the realm of the Muslim figures who influenced his life.
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Divagations et élucubrations. 