Akhenaton (rapper)
Encyclopedia
Philippe Fragione better known by his stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 Akhenaton (born September 17, 1968, in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

) is a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 rapper
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...

 and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 of French hip hop
French hip hop
French hip hop is the hip hop music style which was developed in France, and is considered the second worldwide hip hop scene after the U.S....

. He has also worked under the alias
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

es Chill, AKH, Sentenza, and Spectre. He became famous as a member of the group IAM
IAM (band)
IAM is a French hip hop band from Marseille, created in 1989, and composed of Akhenaton , Shurik'n , Khéops , Imhotep , and Kephren . 'IAM' has several meanings, including 'Invasion Arrivée de Mars'...

, and has since made a number of records, both with IAM and as a solo artist.

Akhenaton has also worked as a producer, producing songs for several French rappers and groups such as Passi
Passi
Passi is a French hip hop artist who became famous in the mid-1990s with the group Ministère AMER, which included himself and Stomy Bugsy. He is most widely known, however, as a solo artist, as well as a participant in many other groups, such as Bisso Na Bisso and Dis l'heure 2 zouk.- Biography...

, Stomy Bugsy
Stomy Bugsy
Stomy Bugsy is a French rapper from Sarcelles.Born of parents from Cape Verde, Duarte helped found hip hop group Ministere AMER, however in 1996 he decided to launch his own solo career...

, Chiens de Paille, Fonky Family
Fonky Family
La Fonky Family are a French hip hop group from Marseille. They are composed of four rappers, Le Rat Luciano, Menzo, Don Choa and Sat, the producer Pone, DJ Djel, the dancer Blaze, the singer Karima, Flex Nandell, and manager Fafa.Fonky Family made their first appearance on the French hip hop...

, Freeman
Freeman (rapper)
Malek Brahimi better known by his stage name Freeman is a French hip hop artist and breakdancer. He is a member of the successful hip hop group IAM together with Akhenaton, Shurik'n, Khéops, Imhotep, and Kephren. He has also worked as a solo artist and an actor...

 (a fellow member of IAM who has since made his break as a solo artist), La Brigade, Le 3ème Œil, etc. He is the creator of the record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 Côté Obscur, the publishing house La Cosca, and the vinyl record label 361.

Biography

Akhenaton was born Philippe Fragione in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

 on September 17, 1968, and spent his youth in Plan-de-Cuques
Plan-de-Cuques
Plan-de-Cuques is a commune northeast of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France.-Population:The inhabitants are called Plan-de-Cuquois.-References:*...

, a small village on the outskirts of the city. In 1981, he discovered hip hop music and started traveling frequently to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 where he received the nickname "Chill Phil." At about the same time, back in Marseille, he met Éric Mazel, a DJ who would later be known as Khéops
Khéops
Khéops is a French DJ, and a member of the French hip hop group IAM. He has also a prolific solo career, and runs his own record label, Sad Hill Records, with Def Bond....

. Mazel and Fragione started working together to advance the cause of French hip hop.

In 1988, Fragione debuted as a hip hop theorist, publishing the essay La deuxième génération du hip-hop (The second generation of hip-hop) in the fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...

 . The same year, he appeared on the B-side of the US rapper MC Choice's single "Let's Make Some Noise". Having returned to Marseille, he met Geoffroy Mussard (Shurik'n
Shurik'n
Shurik'n Chang-Ti is a French hip hop artist from Marseille, born in 1966. He is one of the members of the highly successful group IAM, as well as a major solo artist. With his brother Faf Larage , he also is a member of the group La Garde.Mussard was born in Marseille on 11 March 1966, with...

) and Malek Brahimi (Freeman
Freeman (rapper)
Malek Brahimi better known by his stage name Freeman is a French hip hop artist and breakdancer. He is a member of the successful hip hop group IAM together with Akhenaton, Shurik'n, Khéops, Imhotep, and Kephren. He has also worked as a solo artist and an actor...

). Fragione became known as Akhenaton, and together with Khéops and Shurik'n formed the group B.Boys Stance, renamed IAM
IAM (band)
IAM is a French hip hop band from Marseille, created in 1989, and composed of Akhenaton , Shurik'n , Khéops , Imhotep , and Kephren . 'IAM' has several meanings, including 'Invasion Arrivée de Mars'...

 in 1989. The group was later joined by Freeman, Imhotep and Kephren.

Four of the six members of IAM chose ancient Egyptian names as stage names. Akhenaton also converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 from Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

. Musicologists argue that Akhenaton and the other members of IAM index the modern Arab world through the use of their names. Instead of overtly pointing out North African countries and the turmoil that has surrounded the contemporary Arab community, the Egyptian names allow the audience to covertly draw parallels between IAM and North Africa.

Instead of focusing on violence and rebellion like many other French rappers, Akhenaton and IAM remain true to their hometown, Marseille. Violent protests, arson and looting have been prominent among French youth, but in Marseille rap has remained fairly peaceful. Akhenaton explains that rappers in Marseille are more socially conscious than most hip hop artists because they feel a strong sense of community.

After IAM's first three albums' success, Akhenaton released his first solo album, Métèque et mat, in 1995. The album sold 300,000 copies, and it was followed by Sol Invictus in 2001. He began to delve into his other projects, such as producing Passi
Passi
Passi is a French hip hop artist who became famous in the mid-1990s with the group Ministère AMER, which included himself and Stomy Bugsy. He is most widely known, however, as a solo artist, as well as a participant in many other groups, such as Bisso Na Bisso and Dis l'heure 2 zouk.- Biography...

's album Les tentations (1997) and the 2001 film Comme un aimant
Comme un aimant
Comme un aimant is a 2000 French film by Kamel Saleh and Akhenaton. It depicts eight young people living in the district of Panier, in Marseille. It stars Akhenaton, Saleh, Brahim Aimad, Freeman, Houari Djerir, Kamel Ferrat, Titoff and Sofiane Madjid Mammeri...

. He continued working with IAM, releasing the album Revoir un printemps in 2003 and Saison 5 in 2007.

Discography (solo)

  • 1995: Métèque et mat
  • 1998: Taxi, original soundtrack
    Soundtrack
    A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

  • 2000: Comme un aimant
    Comme un aimant
    Comme un aimant is a 2000 French film by Kamel Saleh and Akhenaton. It depicts eight young people living in the district of Panier, in Marseille. It stars Akhenaton, Saleh, Brahim Aimad, Freeman, Houari Djerir, Kamel Ferrat, Titoff and Sofiane Madjid Mammeri...

    (The Magnet), original soundtrack
  • 2000: Electro Cypher, compilation
  • 2001: Sol Invictus
  • 2002: Black Album
  • 2006: Soldats de fortune
  • 2010: La face B - La bande originale du livre
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