soleil rare 18 - noir et blanc.

It's time for some French rap. Real recognizes real. 

Mc Solaar - Obsolète. 

The Godfather of French rap. Solaar is a dope lyricist, no doubt, but to a lot of his early fans, he lost his way around the way of fame. Still, his two first albums remain in the must-have. 

"Obsolète" features Jimmy Jay behind the boards and the turntables, and introduced storytelling in the possibilities of French rap. Solaar's rhymes and flow are unforgettable. 1994 surely was a sweet time. Nostalgia. 

Rocé - Il Assume Pas. 

Another one to be ranked as a dope lyricist. Rocé started his career with his brother Ismaël making beats for him. The son of Adolfo Kaminsky, famous resistant and activist, Rocé inherited strong beliefs and a obvious ability to develop ideas, social concerns and political topics. 

Introduced to the audience with two remarkable maxi records, Rocé waited a few years to release his first album, "Top Départ", in 2002. To this day, it's still one of my favorite records. The track "Il Assume Pas" was produced by DJ Ol' Tenzano, the beatmaker of underground group Less' Du Neuf. 

La Rumeur - De L'Eau Dans Mon Vitriol. 

Activism and consciousness are La Rumeur's business. These guys have been talking sense since 1997, when this "Premier Volet : Le Poison D'Avril" hit the crates. Their first efforts were powerful EP's. 

Ekoué's flow on this track had a big impact on the rap scene, along with the production style of the discreet Soul M & Kool G. 

For the story, in 2002, the former minister of interior affairs, Nicolas Sarkozy (now president), took La Rumeur to the courts over an article Hamé, another member of the group, wrote against the police. The litigation lasted 8 years, until Hamé got discharge. Needless to say La Rumeur is still angry. 

Rocca - Le Hip-Hop Mon Royaume. 

From Colombia descent, but made famous in France, Rocca raps in both French and Spanish. He is/was a member of various groups, such as La Cliqua (with Raphael, Daddy Lord C and Kohndo), La Squadra (with Daddy Lord C), Tres Coronas...

This track was featured on a compilation by the label Arsenal Records, which housed one of the finest crews of young rap dogs from the Parisian area. 

Today, Rocca changed a big part of his original formula, which was made of a bass voice, a slow flow and NYC-inspired beats. Too bad... still, his early tracks are classics. 

Fabe - Lettre Au Président. 

If you're looking for a list of French rap best lyricists, Fabe gotta be in it. As a pioneer, Fabe wasn't really recognized as a dope rapper ; he had to sign on a Swiss label, Unik Records. Fortunately, soon enough, heavyweights like Cut Killer and IAM supported him, which resulted in Fabe being played on the radio. 

Produced by DJ Stokfry, this song aims at former French president, Jacques Chirac. The album, "Le Fond Et La Forme", released in 1997, is pretty dope, mellow but lyrically mastered. Fabe then released one album a year, without compromising to mainstream rap. Three years after this album, at the top of his career, Fabe decided to leave it all, dived into religion and quit rapping. The end. 

Passi - Les Flammes Du Mal. 

It's an understatement to say that "Ma 6-T Va Crack-er" was an influential movie in the French rap scene. The casting of the record included the finest French rapstars, and even an American icon, KRS-One. Back then, collaborations between French and American rapstars were rare and always quite an event. 

The soundtrack was cohesive, thanks to the production team, made of the brothers White & Spirit. 

Passi, then a member of Ministère A.M.E.R., used this track to launch his solo career, with success. Good lyrics, nice production. 1997 again, and yes, it was a nice year. 

Sefyu - Sénégalo-Ruskov. 

A former apprentice at the Arsenal football academy, Sefyu found a way into rap thanks to ground-breaking mixtapes and singles such as "La Vie Qui Va Avec" and a rare concept, the "sénégalo-ruskov", hence the title of his song. Mixing his origins and the clichés of Russian coldness, Sefyu step by step became one of the main players in the French rap game. His gimmicks and his constant attitude are his signature. 

It's not the most impressive beat you'll hear in your life, but it's pretty efficient. 

K.Ommando Toxik ft. Oxmo Puccino & Sefyu - Pucc' Fiction. 

This calls for an explanation. "Pucc' Fiction" is one of the ultimate classics of French rap, originally sung by Oxmo Puccino (with a featuring by now top dog Booba), in his Time Bomb era (whoa, this brings back lots of memories). The youngsters of K.Ommando Toxik made a remake out of it, and invited Sefyu to... outshine them. It's not the best move you could make in a career, but Sefyu really stole the track, with his signature voice, flow and gimmicks. Plus, he adopted Oxmo's succulent storytelling, making the track a nice listen. 

Idéal J ft. Démon One & Rohff - L'Amour. 

"L'Amour" is one of these tracks that makes you love an album. Its heady sample and uncommon drum pattern were a good start, thanks to beatmaker Chimiste, then a in-house producer at Arsenal Records, the label that released the album "Le Combat Continue" (and somehow disappeared afterwards). Then come the rappers, each one with his own asset : Kery James brought his lyricism, Démon One from Intouchable brought his unique flow and Rohff put his charisma on the table. Overall, the three rappers brought their A game on a difficult topic, the absence of their respective fathers. 

RIP Mehdi.