I hated French rap as soon as it became a thing in the early 90s (derivative beats and lame lyrics) but it has now grown into the most innovative and unexpectedly literate genre in the language. It’s recently started fusing flows well adapted to French prosody and a strikingly rejuvenated sense of imagery on the one hand with a more traditional sense of melody and poetic lyrics on the other. I must admit that I’m still not a great fan, but it’s undoubtedly the most creative scene in the French-speaking world at the moment.
I’m particularly fond of this song, partly because… it’s really good, partly because the lyrics hit so close to home.
Hmmm – perhaps I’d better explain myself here. In France (we vacation there often) rap is pretty pervasive. In a store, a radio in a bar, flicking through channels on the TV…. I’m not a big fan of rap per se, but I am always struck by just how damn well it works in French, sufficiently so to make me stop and listen. But I’m very far from expert.
Hence my comment at the top of this thread. I can read a French newspaper article, or have a simple conversation (if you handle me with care), but no way can I follow a rap lyric. I actually went looking for an example to show how well French rap works, but hesitated to post it because - uh - with rap lyrics in English acceptability is often an issue, so in French… you see where I’m heading?
However, @Moonrise, you appear to be better qualified than I on that score. So here is that example - if you identify a big problem with the lyric, I’ll ask a mod to delete it. (I think it’s about the issues of growing up in a bad/deprived environment).
Before this thread sinks for good, here are a couple of French rap songs that I think showcase the qualities I mentioned above (the first one also strikes way too close to home, like the one in my OP).
Well, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this little thread; and it prompts a question - I was thinking of Moonrise, but I’ll accept education from anyone.
One of the reasons I’m not mad keen on rap is that too much of what I hear (primarily out of the US) is misogynistic, or all about violence, or gang culture, or that sort of thing. Not attractive to me. But I have heard nothing of that (so far as I can tell) in this thread. In fact, I think the closest we got was actually the song I posted, which seems to be bemoaning those things.
So which of these is true?
Am I being unfair to US output (and/or maybe way out of date)?
Am I misunderstanding French output?; or
Have we posted an unrepresentative sample for France?; or
Is French rap significantly avoiding those subjects/attitudes?
I’m starting to think we need to start a thread comparing rap/hip hop in as many countries and languages as we can.
It’s reminiscing about life in Marseille in the early 1980s. It’s not violent (it says that people accuse us of violence but that’s just nonsense talk) or materialistic (they brag about driving Renault 12’s).
Yeah, that song’s lyrics are really funny. It’s a classic from that era, probably the only one that has aged well.
As I wrote above, I’m not a real fan, much less a specialist.
There are some really nasty ones, too but they seem to get less airplay that the “fun” or “sentimental” ones I linked to above. I cannot resist quoting the first one (the bolded part is such a perfect description of my last relationship that it gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it), and offering a more or less literal translation :
… Je te déteste comme cette phrase qui dit “c’était trop beau pour être vrai” (I hate you as much as (I hate) the sentence that says “it was too beautiful to be true”) … On se déteste tellement qu’on refait l’amour
(We hate each other so much that we make love again) … Le problème c’est que ça me rappelle pourquoi je l’aime Je revois le début, les premières semaines On pourrait repartir à zéro Et prendre le premier avion comme dans un film de merde Mais c’est du délire
(The problem is that it reminds me of why I love her
I see the beginning again, the first weeks
We could start all over again
And take the first plane like in some sh*t movie
But that’s nonsense)
Garde le sourire, plus rien est grave Tant qu’il nous reste une seconde de souvenir dans le crâne
(Keep on smiling, nothing matters anymore
As long as there remains a second’s worth of memories in our skulls) … Je te déteste comme cette phrase qui dit c’était trop beau pour être vrai
GRC & Lellouche is in the same vein. The other two less so, but more fun.
