Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo
MC Solaar
1991
Album Summary
Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo is the debut studio album by French rapper MC Solaar. The album title is a pun on the French version of the Biblical proverb "qui sème le vent récolte la tempête" (he who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind, Hosea 8:7). It was released in 1991 and gained considerable success. "Bouge de là" was the album's first single, which was hugely successful in France and went on to kickstart Solaar's career there. The song is based on a sample of "The Message" by 1970s English band Cymande. The title song "Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo" samples Lou Donaldson's "One Cylinder". Other popular singles from the album are "Caroline" and "Victime de la mode".
WikipediaThis is some of the best rap that I didn’t understand a word of lol. Honestly, if I spoke French, this could possibly be a 5 depending on the lyrics. But man, this guy flows so nice, and the beats are delightful.
Surprisingly diverse sounds that pump in African, Jazz, Rap, and plenty others to make a strong record.
Loved it loved it loved it. Everything sounds cooler in French. The beats are tight and so far beyond the rest of 1991, and even though I only understood every 10th word, the flow was gorgeous. Tres bien, j'adore!
Definately better than expected. Mix of funk, jazz and hiphop. No idea what the lyrics are about, but they have a really nice flow.
9/10 I don’t understand what he’s saying, but who needs to when the vibes are this good 😎
Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo by MC Solaar (1991) Cet album est fascinant, en raison de sa fusion de hip hop, jazz, reggae et funk. Pour les anglophones, le fait qu’il soit composé et interprété dans Français n’est pas vraiment un obstacle au plaisir. Il est particulièrement remarquable pour avoir été produit en 1991. C’était assez tôt pour avoir une influence significative sur les rappeurs britanniques et américains. Nous y étions en 1917 et 1944. Avec ce disque, MC Solaar rend la pareille. Merci. La chanson-titre est une tournure intéressante du proverbe biblique « Qui sème le vent récolte la tempête » (Osée 8,7). MC Solaar échange « tempo » contre « tempête », une petite synecdoque astucieuse qui fonctionne poétiquement sinon exégétiquement. Je suis sûr qu’Osée avait autre chose en tête. MC Solaar n’a pas de type de voix que les Américains associent habituellement au rap ou au hip hop. Il a une qualité plutôt apaisante, ce qui rend l’expérience d’écoute très accessible. Certaines de ces chansons ont des arrière-plans éthérés et des rythmes sensuels. Dans « Quatier Nord » et « Ragga Jam », MC Solaar démontre une grande habileté à l’articulation rapide des consonnes. Ses styles vocaux sont polis et bien assortis à l’ambiance de chaque composition. C’est un disque qui élargit ses horizons musicaux. Ce serait un excellent album pour la musique de fond pour le travail. Pardonnez mon expression dans Français. 4/5
well, shit - that was fantastic. i had a friend in college who was french, and for his final recording project, he produced a track of him rapping in french - and it was amazing! the tape was stuck in my friend's car, so every time we'd go anywhere, all we'd hear was georges screaming away. so this album of course reminds me of that, which is fantastic - but obviously it also stands on its own. the flow is so tight, you'd think he couldn't get any faster and harder after about the third track...but then raga jam comes up, and you fall over. super happy i got to hear this.
Interesting to hear rap in a different language but to hear it use a similar music language as lots of other rap music at the time, but MC Solaar's vocals are just sooooooo smooth. Caroline immediately grabbed me. La devise is a solid close to a killer album.
A few beats and you find yourself sitting on the docks of Marseille or on a bridge over the Seine river. Very cool. I am always regretting that my French is so bad. I guess this guy has something to say
Brings back memories of translating his songs in French class. It's a good vibe for music, even if I don't understand most of what is being said!
Brilliant album. No idea what he's saying, but he is great at saying it. Let's just hope it's not about anything dodgy ...
with the obvious caveat that i dont know what the lyrics are saying (though the title of this album is a delightful pun), this is truly excellent. sounds really ahead of its time, perfectly matched samples and excellent mixing, and the flow was just super nice and pleasant. all around really good listen.
This album cover is amazing. Listening to this is a little strange because I can tell that Solaar is doing some French plays on words, but I have no idea what they mean. The flow is superb, the samples and beats are equally superb.
Cet album est excellent. Je l'ai écouté pendant que <<les bleus>> jouaient leur premier match de la coupe du monde Qatar 2022 - ce qui était une belle coïncidence. Il me fait penser à un Roots Manuva francophone, ou à un Afrika Bambaataa bilingue. La musique est super, et les paroles sont encore meilleures. Cinq étoiles !
I almost forgot about how much I enjoy French hip hop. This is a particularly good example of it, too.
This is amazing. I flippin' LOVE French rap. This has everything - beats, flow, plenty of melody and retro sounds.
Absolutely amazing. I didn't understand a word of it, but I didn't need to understand French to know that this is something absolutely dripping with skill and talent. There's such a jazzy and funky vibe to the album, and the flow and lyricism seems to be amazing, even if I don't exactly know what he's saying. Makes me want to learn French and listen to this again sometime, but even if I don't learn the language, this'll still be a vibe to come back to. Favourite: Quartier Nord
What a gem! I never would have listened to this on my own. I can't tell what he's rapping about, but he seems to be doing so very skillfully and the beats are all great. This is music to make you feel cool. Loved it the whole way through.
The vibes are absolutely immaculate. Lo-fi chill beats to study to in its highest form.
With the caveat that I don’t know what the lyrics mean, this is a 5/5. The jazz-funk-rap production was really interesting and the vocal delivery is smooth.
I did not understand this, but I loved every second of it. Who knew I would be into French Hip Hop
Sounds was really good, although my French is still at high-school level competence so I only caught the odd word or phrase
Un hip-hop e rappata molto allegri. Credo tratti comunque temi di importanza sociale. 'Caroline' la consiglierò a tutti. Il francese è più musicale dell'inglese? 4 stelle, ma quasi 5
Caught me by surprise in a good way. Really chill French rap with lyrics that are clever even through Google Translate. Best track: Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo
First half is very good. flows are gorgeous even though I do not understand the lyrics. Good beats.
4 Baguette out of 5. Has a nice flow. Don't understand it so the lyrics are different. Hopefully not talking about raping and killing
French hip-hop, wasn't sure what to expect going in but I dig it. Don't speak the language so most of the lyrics are going over my head but the guy seems to have a good flow and the beats are good. I liked this.
Great fucking album. Sick grooves and killer flows. I just wish I could understand him!
This was very unexpected album. Good hip-hop style with some french style embedded into it. Very nice discovery
I think that by signing to Talking Loud records, MC ended up with much more of an organic, acid jazzy sound. I'm sure there are real instruments in there - the sax solo in the title track definitely and many of the bass lines move around enough to be real - but I couldn't find any musician credits in Wikipedia. There's a handful of well written tracks. I like his smooth delivery, especially in songs like Caroline and Victim de la Mode. He has a sense of humour, there's plenty of wordplay, which I can tell, even though I barely understand French and he sounds like he's having a good time.
One if those albums where I couldn't help but think that every song was about Olympia Dukakis. That has to be some sort of complement because daddy loves this album. So much so that I've taken to referring to myself as daddy.
I really like the title track!! Who sows the wind harvests the beat! My time spent on Duo lingo has not been wasted.
Don’t speak French but it mixes great garnered like funk rap and soulful. I’m sure it would be a 5 if I knew what he was taking about
Classique! L'album suivant, Prose Combat, me paraît cependant meilleur, plus abouti. Ici, MC Solaar met de l'avant ses capacités, ce qui tient parfois de l'esbrouffe.
I really liked this; I enjoyed it's funkiness. The title track especially was good, but lots of good stuff in here.
This was a great time. I think my favorite song is the title track, but there were a lot of good ones.
Musically stylish hip hop - makes for sipping your beaujolais while bopping to some of these songs. Now while I don’t know French, some cringey rhymes seem to popup but I might be wrong. However overall - quite fun to listen to - a shame if one doesn’t know the language (like myself) as I guess as you miss out on half the fun.
Only vaguely heard of this guy but I knew the French love their hip hop, never explored before. This is pretty great, love the title track. I love 80s hip hop and rap but I kind of got off the bus somewhere early to mid 90s and never truly got back on. Always got time for exceptions like Dave and such. I don't like the ragga one, I'm not target audience, but I won't hold it against the album as a whole which is well worth a listen. This has a lot to like about it, much genres covered, and some of that early 90s production that works great for some things (this) and terribly for lots of other stuff. Kind of doesn't matter that I haven't got a clue what he's rapping about, it's a great soundscape.
I love the overlaying beats. Vocals are impressive, I only with I understood French. But, I know enough to know he is incredibly talented with the language
MC Solaar shows what hip-hop can be, relaxing jazzy beats with incredible raps. Now the message of the album unfortunately passes me by a bit, but that is by no means an obstacle to any enjoyment you can get from the album. The first half of the album, with its Gang Starr influenced eclectic mix of hip hop, jazz, funk, reggae and the French troubadour style, ending with the great hip hop ballad Caroline is a classic in its style and would be a 5* album Unfortunately, there's also the second half of the album, a bit of half-hearted dub style that brings the album down and was a bit unnecessary. So it ends with 4*
La dech au Bangladesh Prefs: Qui Sème Le Vent Récolte Le Tempo, Victime de la Mode, L'Histoire de l'Art, Armand est Mort, Quartier Nord, Caroline, La Musique Adoucit les Moeurs, Bouge de Là - Part. 1, Bouge de Là - Part. 2, La Devise Moins pref: Ragga Jam
Desperately struggling to dust off my high school French. (Merci Mme. Stillman) I’m rather enjoying this.
I was not hopeful about a foreign language album, and the only thing I remember from 3 years of high school French is “Allons-y! Let’s go!” I was quite pleasantly surprised by the jazzy French rap, which scratched some itch in my brain I didn’t even know I had. Bouge de la part 2 especially just got to my core. I was least impressed by the one track featuring English, funky dreamer, and I wasn’t really feeling the ragga jam, but that could have been because I didn’t feel it fit the spirit of the rest of the album.
Solid French hip hop. I remember it being a breath of fresh air for me after a wave 2nd string gangster rap and New jack swing had left me cold on hip hop. Wish I knew French but that doesn't stop me enjoying this
First album/artist I never heard of. 1st impression, meh. 2nd listen better. 3rd listen 4 stars. If only I knew what he was rapping about?!? In my top 1000, idk
Wow, this was unexpected. A French hip hop album from the early '90s? The genre is still somewhat new, and the French got it on it here, or at least MC Solaar did. Quite a few tracks on here that I dug, this guy can really rap (fast). Admittedly don't understand a lick of it but it sounds great. Hearing a genre as lyrical as hip hop in another language is quite the trip. But also the production felt very in-line with American stuff from the same time like Run DMC or something. I liked it a lot, great album! Favorite tracks: Matiere grasse, Victeme, Quartier nord, Bouge Pt. 2, Ragga Jam, Funky Dreamer. Album art: Really nothing special, doesn't suggest hip hop, but it has a cool pirate radio aesthetic, like something pulled from a movie about a revolution. 4/5
Now this is one I REALLY didn't expect to enjoy. Some random French rap? That would usually get a resounding no thanks from me. But I liked the guy's voice and the instrumental is really good with some very pleasant jazz and scattered funk elements. I did think Ragga Jam was horrible to listen to, but otherwise great background listening which more than I can say about 98% of all rap.
A French rap album that I can barely understand as someone who studied French for ten years should not be something I like. This album is amazing though. The production and beats are on point. The vocal performances are also very good despite not understanding them. Solid album overall. Standout songs are Caroline and Victime de la mode.
Can't understand the lyrics fully so that means I can't really rate them but I can tell he has a great flow, the samples added an extra punch to the album and it was sequenced brilliantly, not to mention the production was well ahead of its time for '91 A great record.
No imaginaba que un rapero francés me fuera a encantar, y cierto, no es música que me marque, pero sí la encontré agradable y si a veces saliera alguna de sus canciones en el shuffle no me molestaría. Quizá la onda de rapear en francés, pero más posiblemente que los ritmos son percusiones reales mezcladas con beats, y hace que casi se sienta como Jazz. 3.5 que sube a 4
Blending jazz influenced hip-hop with Parisian charm, MC Solaar's Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo is a throughly engaging effort that would fit in seamlessly with the equally jazz indebted sounds of Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest. A vibe that remains consistent throughout its fifty-two minutes, Qui sème le vent... is a under-heralded 90s classic outside of France. Do seek this out. Favorites: Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo, Matière grasse contre matière grise, Armand est mort, Quartier nord, Caroline, Bouge de là (Pts 1 & 2), Ragga Jam.
tiedättekö syyn miksi jarre on top 10 biiseistä ikinää... ranskalainen tuottaja... PYSYY VISUSTI HILJAA... EI SANO MITÄÄN... tässä sanoja per minuutti on järisyttävä.. RANSKAN KIELELLä... välitön miinus... mutta,,, hip hop höpöttely hessuttelun merkitys, tarkoitus, sielu on tässä ymmärretty, ainakin ekalla puoliskolla, toisella puolella vähän reggaetyyliä ja suurimmalta osalta heikompi mutta muutama kultakimpale kuin jukonissa konsanaan hehheh ylipäätään erittäin hyvä tuotos victime de la mode paras biii
The first half of Solaar's debut puts the phonemes of French to use with a remarkable smoothness, but nothing sets those records apart from contemporary hip-hop material. There's a hint that a progression is stirring, but the hope for that can end up negative as easily as positive. Fortunately, remarkable smoothness gives way to sampling of a weirder variety, and Solaar's delivery matches the spikiness where it appears. This album ends up notable for its approachability, that velvet voice providing an easy landing first and more besides.
The last time I listened to MC Solaar was when I was in French class in high school and we were discussing French music. Very happy I got to listen to this! I love the production and am pleasantly surprised that I could understand some of the lyrics after all these years haha.
Vond dit echt vet, de radio na het album op spotify is ook echt mega chill en luister het nu bijna een maand later nog steeds jaja
Oooh this is a very nice discovery... Seems very niche with the French rap, jazzy bluesy instrumentation and v early 90s too. Really enjoying listening and want to listen to more from MC Solaar other than this debut album. I really like the rap style.
Have never heard of this but was pleasantly surprised. 1991 continues to stand out. I can’t understand the lyrics but love the vibe. Hearing a lot of trip hop elements splashed in, which is great. Hope to come back.