Ärsenik
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with ArsenicArsenicArsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
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Ärsenik is a rap group based in Villiers-le-Bel
Villiers-le-Bel
Villiers-le-Bel is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the center of Paris.-Transport:...
, France
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...
, founded in 1992, and made up of two brothers, Lino (Gaëlino M'Bani) and Calbo (Calboni M'Bani), whose family is originally from Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
. Until 1997, the group also included Tony Truand, a cousin. In 1998, their first album "Quelques gouttes suffisent" went double gold. A new album was planned for 2005, but the two brothers instead decided to concentrate on solo albums. Lino released "Paradis Assassiné" en 2005, which was the name of a solo song on the group's second album.
In 2007 the group released a disc titled "S'il en reste quelque chose," which included the most popular songs from the two brothers, such as "L'enfer remonte à la surface", "Rime & chatiments" and "Sexe, pouvoir & biftons."
In the late 1990s, Lino and Calbo teamed up with a group of rappers who were also second-generation Africans, on a collaborative project called Bisso Na Bisso
Bisso na bisso
Bisso Na Bisso is a music collective of rappers and singers with origins from Congo Brazzaville formed in 1999. The group consisting of Ben-J , Lino and Calbo , Doc and G Kill , Mystik and the only female M'Passi was put together by French rapper Passi.The group created an album called Racines...
, an expression which means 'just between ourselves' in lingala, the most commonly spoken language in the Congo region. Part of this group were Ben-J (from Les Neg'Marrons), Passi (from Ministère A.M.E.R.), twin brothers Doc and G Kill (from 2Bal), and Mystik and his female cousin M'Passi. The group embarked on a collective return to their African roots, featuring music with an innovative fusion of styles, that mixed modern hip-hop and zouk
Zouk
Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
sounds with traditional Congolese rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...
.
Revered as one of the original rap groups, their music voices the disaffection of the French underclass, combining African and Arabic melodies and beats with French lyrics. French rap is filled with slang that is hard for even French-speakers to understand; whole songs are delivered in Verlan, the ingenious, dizzying slang in which words are reversed or recombined. Like France's chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
tradition, French rap is also famous for emphasizing lyrics, and the rappers are widely viewed as heirs to the chansonniers.
Popularity
The French hip hopFrench 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....
scene has been the world's most vibrant outside of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, yet it has been almost completely ignored by the American music press. 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....
artists happen to be masters—rappers of amazing skill, style, and wit. Within France
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...
, especially among ten to twenty year-olds, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
is attracting more and more fans, and generating a lucrative market - France
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...
has become the second biggest homeland for hip-hop culture after the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. French legislation on quotas, which obliges radio stations to broadcast a minimum 40% of French songs, has helped the spread of rap's popularity, bringing it out of the ghetto culture of the 1980s. Now that France
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...
has accepted hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
and the culture surrounding it, with the aid of hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
magazines and festivals that display the diverse facets of hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
(dance, film, graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
, etc.), the audience is no longer confined to just France
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...
. Its inspirations, Arabic and African melodies and beats, have enabled it to seep back into the African continent, the Middle East, and virtually conquer the world, where its vitality, diversity, and originality of rhymes and rhythms are embraced and appreciated.
Group and solo Albums
- Ärsenik - Quelques gouttes suffisent... (1998, Hostile records) 1st album
- Bisso Na Bisso - Racines (1999, Issap prod.) collectif regroupant Passi, Mystik, Ben-J (Nèg Marrons), 2Bal, Arsenik, M'Passi (Melgroove)
- Ärsenik - Quelque chose à survécu (2002, Hostile records)
- Lino - Paradis assassiné (2005, Hostile records) 1st solo album
- Noyau Dur - Noyau Dur -album du collectif regroupant Arsenik, Neg' Marrons et Pit Baccardi. Date 26.12.05 (2005, Hostile records)
See also
- French rap
- French hip hopFrench hip hopFrench 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....
- List of French hip hop artists
- Secteur ÄSecteur ÄSecteur Ä was a famous 1990s French rap association based in Sarcelles, France and named after a sector in the region. This music collective was created by the Ministère AMER and artist Kenzy became its producer-manager....
- Stomy BugsyStomy BugsyStomy 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...
- Lunatic
- M.DiaM.DiaM.DIA is a footwear trademark founded in 1999, in suburbs of Paris , by Mohamed Dia.The Dia signed a license with NBA and created a textile collection NBA by Dia. Previously the brand was spread by Secteur Ä the rapper crew .In 2005, Mohamed Dia created his own record label called Dia Entertainment...