I started this blog with the intension of sharing works that I love. I partly wanted to showcase my friends, colleagues, as well as my country. Vive La France – a series of playlists featuring French music by French artists – is how I will achieve that. For the first edition, I showcase 100 French Rap songs worth your time, even if you do not understand them.
I first heard Rap in the ’90s on MTV, various radio stations and in my uncle’s room in our house. My uncle was living with us as well as two of my aunts. Some of the French Rap featured on the playlist reminds me of a lot of family memories from that era. I am mainly referencing Ménélik’s Bye Bye, Bouga’s Belsunce Breakdown and Manau’s La Tribu de Dana. All three tracks are obviously on the playlist.
Later, when I really started to get into Hip-Hop, I was interested in what France had to offer. I was pleased! Unfortunately, today’s French rappers do not impress me as much as the ones featured on Vive La France Pt. I. That is probably because most of the tracks I selected are from the ’90s and ’00s. An era during which lyricism was of high importance.
I know that it might be weird for you to listen to something without understanding it, but please give the playlist a listen. You can still feel the vibe, the energy and the skills of the artists on all 100 French Rap songs I have selected for you. Also, some of the tracks will sound familiar while others will sound pretty unusual.
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Also, some of my ultimate French rap songs aren’t on the playlist because they are not available on Spotify – which is a bummer. However, I will mention those in future posts.