ALIVE & POPPIN'
Date Posted:   February 22, 2009
BY: JEWELZ for iFLOW Magazine International

*** En ce moment, il n'y a pas d'article on-line en français****
(No articles are available online in French at this time)

It is unimaginable to how much hip hop has spread and became its own sub culture within many primary cultural environments.  In the United States alone, there are artists who spit fire by ways of Reggaeton; a Hispanic/Latino format that contains individual portions of hip hop flavor, Caribbean undertones, and the flow of the artists.  It is not surprise that American music has influenced artists on an international scale, but in the US, how many of these artists are allowed the lee way to flow on American soil the same way US artists travel abroad and share the stage with many well-known’s in the world.  

The deeper we dig into the music game and speak with artists with various cultural backgrounds; we become more educated to how eclectic hip hop really is.  French mainstream artists, like multi-platinum artist,  MC Solaar and the group113 (has released albums under Sony BMG- Europe) out of Paris, France has experienced an extensive career and continues to work hard in the game we call hip-hop.  With the population of Haitian-Americans in the United States, it puzzles me of the lack of demand and the difficulty to obtain French hip hop music to suit the general public that are of these traditional cultures. Many attempts have been made to purchase music from musicians abroad and iFLOW has come up short until the wonderful world of downloadable music of iTunes.  Additionally, there are artists like Assassin, Suprême NTM, Ministêre AMER, Lunatic, and Yannick that also combine their environmental experiences over a track; some lyrics may remind us of the American gangsta rap with a Caribbean flavor while speaking the French language. 

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"Comme un oiseau sans ail.... Je vole vers le ciel,

 mais j'sais que le vie est belle" ~MC Solaar

(Like a bird without wings... I fly towards the sky, but I know that life is beautiful)

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In Europe, a strong liking has been taken to MC Solaar because of his lyrical flow.  If MC Solaar’s flow can be equivalent to any American artist, it would definitely be a combination of Eminem with a Twista spin to it. MC Solaar has the ability to twist French words and on an extremely smooth flow. Songs like “La Vie est Belle” can have a fluent French-speaking person reading along with the lyrics just to catch up to what he is saying.  Considering that MC Solaar has been in the mainstream scene since approximately 1990, it is definitely no surprise that he had time to mature as an artist and put out what is believed to be his seventh “Chapitre 7”album in 2007.  In addition to Solaar, the group 113 has gained a huge interest on the European streets of France as their music takes us to where it began for them from West Africa to their urban roots in the projects of Paris.

The formats hip hop used  in Europe are highly influenced by the American artists they listen to and admire.  To establish a flow that works in another language that is not traditional to the American roots can be deemed difficult, but workable if it is accepted by those who are willing to listen. While understanding how hip hop began, we can also generate and understanding to why it continues.  A statement has once been made in a song by Nas that hip hop is dead. But on the contrary, hip hop is growing.  What may not be happening in America, it is definitely happening in Europe and with their own success stories, their own artists and French hip hop radio stations that do not mind sharing the airwaves with both the French artists and their American counterparts.  

Some how, many formats of hip hop should be brought together under one roof so that the world can really see how big the variety really is. 

Peut-être une jour ce’st possible
(Possibly one day, maybe).

www.solaarsystem.net
(site available in french only)

www.rapartists.com/artists/113/

Suprême NTM on Youtube.com

www.itunes.com