Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Wow, French rap/hip hop? Who knew. Enjoyed this more than a lot of American stuff. Had a Tribe Called Quest feel. Enjoyed this.
Really fun at first, but it gets repetitive. Maybe if I spoke the language, I’d’ve had a better time. Flow is good, production is good, beats, samples, and arrangements are good. Just wasn’t blown away. 3/5
Not my lane but an ok listen.
Catchy french rap - would be dope if i knew what they were saying
Oddly enough I’m gonna give this smooth rapper a thumbs up.
Nem rossz francia hiphop
The problem with non-english speaking rap albums is that I have no idea how to judge their flow or word play. The album sounds fine but I can't tell you any more than that.
It’s funny how all the cliches of the albums of the same era can appear globally
As expected, I have no idea what he is rapping about because I don't speak French. Ragga Jam was maybe not a highlight of the album but I have no idea how a human being can rap that fast. It's just all a blur of words. I can tell this is early 90's rap, because the beats and general feel of the tracks has an early 90's feel to it. That's not an insult. Seems like rap during this time had similarities no matter which country the artist originated from. It's hard for me to write the titles down but I really liked the horns on L'histoire de l'art and enjoyed Caroline as well. I do wish I knew what he rapping about and enjoyed this album as much as one could without understanding the messaging.
Would be so fire if I spoke French. Production is very very good I liked this a lot for not being able to understand it.
Meh. I liked some of the music and the French rippity-rap wasn't as irritating as some other hip-hop I've heard in my native English. Some decent stuff, though.
68/100. It's an okay album that blends jazzy hip-hop elements in a way that feels fresh and innovative, especially for its time. The beats are decent and the flow is smooth, but as the album went on, I found myself losing interest.
This was really good. I don't know a bit of French, so I feel like that may have hindered my enjoyment, but wow was it fun. The beats were great and flowed well although sometimes it did start to feel repetitive. Im not sure how often I would return to this, but it was enjoyable. Actual Rating....3.5 Liked Songs: "Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo" , "Matière grasse contre matière grise" , "L'histoire de l'art" , "Quartier nord" , "Bouge de là - Part. 2" , "Ragga Jam"
I had no idea what he was saying but I enjoyed the beats and the flow of it. You can hear dudes talent and looking up the translation he is a great lyricist as well. If I was a French speaker I'd probably own this and still play it.
Nice fun sound, no idea what he was saying though
It would be easy for me to instantly dismiss a French rap album, but I think this is decent. There’s some classic-sounding, summery production and the man’s flow is pretty easy on the ear too. Plus, there’s a simple pleasure in hearing a tongue-twisting passage of words I don’t understand punctuated by the English words ‘funky beat’.
v funky, v smooth. Pity I don't understand a lick of French though, definitely would've scored higher if I had a glimball about what was being said. Victim de la mode is a chuuuuuuune
Dunno what he’s saying but I like the way he says it.
Nice beats, nice flows, leider kein Wort verstanden, bisschen repetitive vom Sound
2,5
Not my thing
🤏
The beats and rhythm were very reminiscent of the early 90s hip hop. I have no clue what was said as I don't speak French, but it was enjoyable
This is fine, not something I'll come back to though.
I hate french, but this sounded pretty cool. Somehow a jazzy kind of hip hop
Mucho estilo, buen sonido, aquí en España no tuvo mucho eco (más allá de buenas críticas y ámbito reducido), pero no quita que sea un gran disco. En la época del Acid Jazz significó que no solo el inglés era el vehículo del hip hop. Colaboró con Guru o De la Soul, muestra del respeto e influencia que tuvo en los USA. Desde luego no fue flor de un día, presenta una carrera tan lóngeva como sólida. En cierto modo fue precursor de Daft Punk o Air, a su modo. También había gente haciendo cosas buenas en el rap galo: Rocca , IAM, La Cliqua, Oxmo Puccino, Ärsenik, Cut Killer, Assassin... Aquí Victime de la mode, suena a lo mejor de los Digable Planets, palabras mayores. Ragga Jam usa la métrica africana con maestría con fraseos espídicos.
Une bonne petite gymnastique orale et langagière, belles trouvailles dont les auditeurices francophones peuvent profiter, mais contente de voir que même ceux et celles qui ne parlent pas français ont généralement apprécié l'album
Actually quite enjoyed it. Not my style at all. I'd like to give it another listen though. 6/10
Was in French, sounded pretty decent but no idea what it was about. Nice vibe to it
Good beats. Probably would have scored higher if I was a Francophone
Ok, ali nije mi francuski jezik za rap
I don't really speak french (anymore), but I heard of MC Solaar already. Album was okay even though I did not understand a thing :D
I like the beats and production on this album a lot, but not being able to understand French is a real hindrance for me, so the songs end up sounding too repetitive. Probably a fun album to read translations of and listen again though. 2.5/5
-irgendwie hat französischer Rap etwas, fühlt sich etwas Härter in der Aussprache an, was ich ganz cool finde (fand schon immer z.B. Spanisch wegen der Aussprache deutlich cooler) - Am Ende wird dann auch noch etwas Reggae reingemixt, was mir auch gut gefallen hat - hätte allerdings auch nichts dagegen gehabt, wenn es etwas kürzer gewesen wäre 2,75 / 5
I'm not really sure why I'm listening to hiphop that I can't understand. Plus I don't like hiphop all that much... On the upside, the rhythms are fun.
I enjoyed the first half, but the last half I felt kind of over with it. I don't really know how to appropriately grade something I didn't really understand. After googling MC Solaar and seeing his impact in the French music scene, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and just give it a 3 and move on.
That was interesting - French rap
Gangster French rap - Cannot understand anything but the French language has a unique flow especially when rapped fast - Old school hip hop beats
Wasnt able to dedicate too much time to it but from what I did listen it had some nice beats and felt like nothing crazy.
My first time listening to French rap. Will I revisit?: low priority Current rating: 6/10
Kinda cool. I can only judge the flows and beats so I think I’m missing a good chunk of what usually makes hip hop so great, the lyricism. I don’t speak any French but oh well, Say la Vee or whatever. 5/10
3 stars. Can't say I have ever listen to a french rap and french reggae combo album. Very odd. But there were some parts that had a good flow and weren't too bad. Probably not listening to this again.
Flow was solid throughout, but it was pretty standard rap that happens to be in French. There was a short background vocal sample in Armand est mort that I have heard elsewhere. Wonder where that's from.
Could get down with some of the beats but was tough to listen to in all French. The first half of the album was good but then it dragged on a bit too long. And Ragga Jam was not very good I was ready for the album to be done by then. Still a surprise at a mid 3.
Whoa did not expect French hip hop when I put this on. This flows pretty well I think I'm a fan of french hip hop.
It's hiphop in a language I don't understand. I rarely enjoy hiphop and when I do it's always in my own first language, Danish. I think a good lyrics matters more in hiphop than in other genres. I don't think I can judge this entirely fairly
interesting but not my jug of coffee
Didn't understand a word he said but this wasn't bad at all.
So much fun!!
I enjoyed this but likely would never listen again.
Is this what Kanye based N****s in Paris on?
The epitome of a smooth record. Hate to simplify, because the Jazz/Hip Hop fusion was superb. Through English translation, you could see why MC Solaar received the acclaim he did. Loved track, “Caroline.” (Note to self: learn French).
Through this on while cooking and it was such easy listening
liked the beats, couldn't understand a word
Fucking french 90s rap, is what I thought when I put this on. But it went by quicker and easier than expected. Stand-out: Funky Dreamer
Not my usual cup of tea, but didn’t mind it for a change
Unfortunately my high school French was not up to this challenge! But this was still fun despite only catching every few words. I like getting international albums, it's interesting to see how the same music genres evolve differently in different countries. French hip-hop/rap isn't going to be my new top genre, but I enjoyed it.
Very well produced, lots of toe thumpers, but I wasn't able to find a decent TL for the lyrics, so I can't really appreciate it as much as a native French speaker. I do fuck with the Marvin Gaye sample though, that surprised me in a good way.
Can't see myself ever listening to this again, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. When I see "MC", my heart sinks, but I'm learning that it shouldn't automatically sink! This is very listenable.
Jazzy Native Tongues style beats for a feel good relaxed sound. His delivery is great, incredible pacing and a cadence that wraps language around itself as he shifts tempos, accelerating through a verse hitting a rapid fire couple of lines and stepping back for a more spacious playful flow.
I can honestly say that this is the best album, titled from an Old Testament verse, by a French rapper, that I have ever listened to.
I can appreciate early French rap. It’s good, but too into it.
I've listened to MC Solaar before and do like his voice. This album wasn't clicking with me. It's got some good grooves but seems repeatitive beyond tolerance. It becomes tiresome and I lose interest. It would probably click more if I had a better handle on the French language. The lyrics seem to be a critical element for these tunes.
Cool, old school rap with a smooth vocal delivery and groovy beats. Who knows what he's going on about but it's a cool journey. I did, however, get a bit bored 2/3 of the way through, but whatever. It's chill background music.
qu'est-ce que c'est?
It's good fench rap
As other reviewers have said this grooves. Musically it’s an impressive piece. The records failing is singularly mine, and mine only in that I don’t speak French, and especially with rap that’s losing a majority of its content. Enjoyed anyway.
This is not the kind of hip hop I enjoy. It's listenable but it didn't amaze me.
Pretty funky but I don't speak french...
3/5
french rap without getting a word
Since I don't speak French I can only judge this on beats and flow, both of which were good for 1991.
I respect that. Some tracks have a nice vibe to them (I hate myself for using "vibe"). Although some songs fall flat for me personally. Especially towards the end of the album.
Not my usual cup of tea hip hop wise but i can appreciate his flow and the beat, even thou i didn't understand a word he was saying
I don't know what Pierre is saying. Maybe that's a good thing. One track stood out, the Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo song (Ragga Jam). Otherwise, just average stuff except for the French.
It's s a really fun, classic 90s rap album and fella is Hella talented
The music is good but I can’t understand French so the lyrics are lost on me.
Solid but not understanding the french rap brings less enjoyment of course
Cool at first but the beats are just meh.
I like it, a solid vibe. I’m not sure if I’d like it more or less if I spoke French, but I do like that it sounds mysterious to me and French rapping has a nice flow to it. While it’s a nice sounding album throughout, nothing about it really stands out either other than its French rapping.
Laid back French hip hop With big jazz influences And a skosh of ska
Maybe if my French was better I would have enjoyed. As is did nothing for me.
Something different and better than what I was expecting.
This is an enjoyable album easy to listen to and put together well.
Rap is definitely more enjoyable when I haven't a scooby doo what they are on about.
Pretty easy 3 for me - it was fun and funky, if not particularly modern. Hip hop is not really my groove but this was a neat experience for me and definitely the historical aspect here is very interesting and important in terms of culturally exchanging music across the world.
My French is terrible, so my understanding of the lyrics was nearly nonexistent. The music was ok. Is the place on this list justified? Maybe if it was some important album for French Hip Hop. Other than that? No.
The first half had me hooked but after Caroline, my interest and enjoyment waned.
This was okay then it got weird in a bad way 2.5 stars
This was better than I expected, but definitely not worth a re-listen.
Not my bag maybe? I love flowing raps with a nice bounce. Something about the production felt kind of off? It is a good album just not a great one or one that I will ever crave?
MC Solaar is smooth. The album flows well and keeps a groove from start to finish. Being from Quebec was helpful listening to this. Good chill album 6.2/10
A good study album. Bangers for it mostly not being in English
Interesting, I will listen more I think.
Not bad...but since I cannot speak French, hard to get into it.
Old school hip-hop vibes with some jazz-influenced beats - I like it. This guy has a pretty smooth flow. I have no idea what he's saying, but the vibe translates.
A mediocre sounding French rap release that sounds stuck in 91 tho given I can't understand the lyrics my analysis is faulty.
Wish I had retained more from French classes :/
Pretty funky, a bit French though
Obviously talented but just doesn't click with me.
Sounded good, but it's tough when the lyrics are obviously the star of the show, and you can't understand them.
Trevlig lyssning. Gillar soundet. Skön 90 tals HipHop och franskan höjer upp betyget. Man borde lyssna mer på fransk musik överlag.
Tycker mycket om fransk hip-hop generellt med denna lider, precis som all hip-hop från 80-talet och de första åren på 90-talet, delvis av lite underutvecklade produktioner och primitivt flow. Hans nyare grejer är bättre. Med det sagt är det här forfarande mycket bättre än det mesta från samma era. Stark trea.
fun beats. Very 90s sound
Albumi #39, 05.09.2024 Ranskankielistä ihan laadukasta räppiä ysärin alusta. Jostain syystä ei tullut MC Solaariin keskityttyä aikoinaan. Olisi ehkä ollut syytä.
No entendí nada pero si capté lo político y el buen flow
Rad in the beginning but got a little bored.
Fun. Not my speed, but was nice beats. Might be more fun if I knew French.
Enjoyable album, some very good tracks and guitar work on a rap album which sets it apart
A pretty decent listen, even if you don't understand the lyrics.
3/5
Super cool sound, can't speak French so my impressions are solely on the beats and backing music.
I probably wouldn't listen to this again, but I can see why people like it. 3 stars
3 because why not?
Pretty fun first half but second half was meh. Rating: 3.5
3 out of 5. The French language is beautiful and goes well with rap, but this is another album that just didn't click for me.
Ok I guess this is early acid-jazz. Which I liked back in the early 90s. Extra points for being in French. 3 stars
interesting album, a pity its in french
Enjoyed this a lot.
A French hip hop album - really!! That was my first thoughts when hitting play - however despite not understanding what’s being said the album has a really nice chilled flow. I considered looking up a translation but some things are best left alone.
I'm not sure this one is fully for me. There were a few songs I was able to enjoy without fully knowing the lyrics but rap in a language you aren't fluent in is always difficult. I mean it's my fault for not being fluent in French. Again, some songs were likable without knowing the lyrics but generally it didn't wow me. Maybe one day I will read through the lyrics in English and appreciate it more.
French rap. I dont understand it, but it sounds good. Like butter
Good beats and samples, can't understand what he's saying but it sounds good to my ears. 3/5
I feel like I could’ve connected with it more if I understood what they were saying. :(
Probably would have been better if I knew french
gorlami
it was nice, almost a 4 not into scat that much though
Итс окэй. Лучшая песня - Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo.
It’s got some nice beats and À temps partiel has a funky baseline and sounds like he’s wrapping about Jimmmy John’s
Oui. Tre Bien. 3.65
Pretty good, though the last time I took French class was like 1996, so I barely understood the lyrics. Can’t decide if that helped or hindered my enjoyment of this, but I think it was destined to be a three star affair either way.
This had cool tracks and samples. I enjoyed it a lot. I don’t know if being able to understand him would have hurt or helped, because I don’t know what he was saying.
Wel aardig hoor, maar het kabbelt ook een beetje voort en de teksten vragen ook niet echt om aandacht (al zit een nummer als 'Caroline' vol geinige woordgrapjes). Geinig om een keer wat in het Frans te horen hier, maar waarom per sé deze gast? Dit ga ik echt niet in de auto luisteren op weg naar het zonnige zuiden.
Hè, MC Solaar? Bij de 1001? Hoe is dat gebeurd? Hij is zeker niet slecht hoor. Maar wat maakt hem bijzonder? Er zal toch wel wat interessantere rap uit Frankrijk te plaatsen zijn? Het is wel leuk om weer eens te horen. En het is ook wel bovengemiddeld. Ik twijfel tussen een 3+ of een 3,5. Reggae Jam maakt het verschil. Wat een slecht nummer zeg. Het wordt een 3+.
it’s french so naturally it’s kind of ridiculous but i like that it’s not just a lot of sociopathic chest thumping like most american hip hop
2.5
MC Solaar is quite impressive, though my French is elementary at best. The flows are solid and ever-changing, the beats still sound pretty fresh. Just don't know how fair a shot I can give to France's best lyricist without speaking the language. Favorite tracks: "A tiemps partial", "Matiere grasse contre matiere grise"
I wrote a whole review about I couldn't possibly fairly rate this, as it wasn't meant to ever reach me sitting in the middle of the US twiddling my thumbs, but it unfortunately got deleted, and I couldn't possibly re-type it with nearly the same amount of gusto. So, I'll just say that while I can recognize this album may do something for others, I feel its merits that I can process do not rise high enough for me to seek out more information, as at its core it is relatively predictable conscious hip hop album from the early 90s, and those are, frankly, a dime a dozen. I will give it the benefit of the doubt and boost it a little because I was still vibing to the solid production, but I gathered very little from listening to this, and I'm unsure if you can really blame me. A genre that is 70% lyrical focus being listened to by an exclusively English-speaking person is bound to cause problems, and while I realize that is not the album's fault, it cannot be ignored.
3.75
2.64, excluding intro and interlude.
Chill vibe, skillful flow, highly listenable. My limited high school French prevents me from enjoying it fully, but it's a lot of fun. Fave Songs: A temps partiel, Caroline, L'histoire de l'art, Bouge de là (part. 1), Bouge de là (part. 2), Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo
Solid album. I wish I could understand what MC was saying, but it sounded good. Solid 90s hip hop. ***
french hip hop. this guy has amazing flow. i didn’t understand a word of it, but it was very listenable.
3 It’s hard for me to comment on this one - the two things that most interest me in rap music are the beats and the bars, and these beats were mid as hell and the bars French as hell. Like, yes, I’ll be the first to acknowledge it’s my own ignorance of the language that’s probably stopping me from enjoying this more than I do, but… I don’t know what to do about that? I’m not going to take Duolingo in an attempt to appreciate one specific album a little bit more. And what if I actually end up hating this album more once I know what he’s saying? That’s hours of my life I’m not getting back. Sacre bleu. Anyway, I’m aware there’s more to music than just lyrics, but as far as hip hop music goes, nothing about this felt particularly unique or special. My favorite track here was probably Caroline, which is admittedly smooth as all hell, but outside of that, the only two other songs that jumped out to me were Ragga Jam, which is annoying as all hell, and Victime de la Mode, which sounds just like another song I can’t quite place. Wait a second… is this Baby’s Got Sauce?? This mfer really got that song stuck in my head again just when I thought I got it out. Curse you, G Love. Liked this more than I disliked it, but I still wouldn’t call it anything special. If I ever learn the French language and then learn to live with myself after doing so, maybe I’ll check this out again.
Beats are tight and this Frenchman has some flow. Good stuff. I had to look up translated lyrics, hard to tell with the rhyme scheme destroyed by translations, but the lyrics seem good. 7/10 more layers than a croissant.
interesting sound, enjoyed it overall.
Chill, mostly smooth, and fun beats
I don’t speak French so no idea what’s being said but some nice beats
Curse my English tongue! Great beats and vibes!
Better than I expected for French hip-hop.
Solid 90s hip hop.
Même si je n'ai pas compris un mot de ce que disait cet artiste, j'ai apprécié les grooves. (Translation: Even though I didn't understand a word this artist was saying, I enjoyed the grooves.)
Though I couldn't understand the rapping, it was rarely overpowering the music and complemented it instead. Nice jazzy vibe on this album.
Excellent. Almost 4* but not quite. 72/100
A bit out of my element considering I don’t speak french! The beats were nice however, and he sounded like he had something to say :) hell yeah
Having zero context about who this guy is or what he's singing about, I thought I would lack the knowledge to enjoy this. Guess I was wrong though! I enjoyed how modern it sounds and I suppose being in French gives it an extra cool factor. Standouts are A temps partiel and Ragga Jam.
Great beats and song structure, but I didn't get much from lyrics or vocals.
I’m not sure what others are hearing here that sounds so unique compared to other late 80s/early 90s hip hop. Sounds like dude has a good flow, but without knowing what he’s saying, a lot of what I find to appreciate in a skilled rapper isn’t available. Like if you’re rhyming your grocery list it’s not as impressive as telling a story or making a political statement. Actually, I can’t even tell if this rhymes half the time.
Loved the first two tracks... I'll try to circle back and give the record a second or third listen
Sounded like normal 90s rap. Couldn’t understand a word.
Old school French hip hop. I'm down. Native Tongues across the Atlantic -- De La is in the beats and TCQ is in some of the grooves... but the delivery is all Solaar. Good stuff.
rap
French rap?.Actually quite good. I like the jazz based rhythm/beats. Hopefully he's not rapping about Uzis and mf hoes cos that would be a bit negative....Strikes a good vibe 3.5
It's good. Some very solid and chill songs while some I found to be either a bit silly or not as memorable.
It's funky, it's fresh, and.......it's French. Definitely not what I expected. It has great rhythm but I don't know what he is singing about, but then again, that may be a good thing. It was a fun listen. C'est bon.
Yeah didn't mind this. I like how rap in another language makes you feel like you are in a space station somewhere.
Pretty fun!
Quite enjoyed the jazzy beats. Need to concentrate more and have a better understanding of French to understand much of what they're saying.
Difficult to rate 'fairly' if you don't know the language well, but i enjoyed it and might listen to more
This feels disrespectful but I'd give this 2 stars if I'm just listening directly, but it gets another star just as background vibes. Like its value to me is directly related to volume.
Didn’t understand a word but didn’t matter. Pretty good.
Wouldn’t usually go for foreign language songs but it turned out to be much better than I expected so a surprising 3*
Some songs kinda give me jet set radio vibes
Fresh Frunky French Frbeats. 6/10
French ;)
Lees beats et la production sont généralement vraiment très bon, sauf sur Quartier Nord ou tout d'un coup tout est tellement trop feutré alors que c'est l'une des pièces les plus intense. Autrement le mélange de hip-hop et jazz sont vraiment bien faits. Les paroles et le style de rap ne raisonnent vraiment pas avec moi par contre. Ça sonne vraiment comme un francophone qui vient de découvrir le rap et qui essaye trop. Beacoup des paroles contiennent trop de clichés à mon goût. 5/10
Decent beats, nice flow, clearly charismatic but hard to truly rate if you can’t evaluate the lyrics.
This was a fun listen. Loved the jazzier backings which reminded me of Digable Planets (though this album predates DP by 2 years. Maybe they were influenced by MC Solaar?)
The title track sounds like if the heist planning scene from an "Ocean's" movie and a shitty Getty Shorty sequel had a music baby.
This is pretty good, but I kept waiting for Arsenio Hall to pop out to talk to me about AIDS.
Wasn’t expecting to enjoy a French rap album this much, no idea what the lyrics mean but it’s got great beats and flow.
prob wo'nt listen to this again but french MC got a nice lyrical flow to it, and instrumentals are very diverse
I've heard this guy before- I like his music and love his French rap. So smooth. Not entirely sure how original he is or how revolutionary the music but it's still nice to chill to.
Flow: 5/5. Beats: 3/5. Rhymes: no idea/5.
Good beats and rhythm. Enjoyed overall.
Un disco de Hip-Hop entretenido, con propuestas de bases y sampleos bastante diferentes a las de las contrapartes norteamericanas de MC Solaar y su DJ, Jimmy J. De la misma forma, la producción es su sumamente limpia, al igual que el flow del rapero. Sin embargo, debo admitir que no pude disfrutar el disco a cabalidad debido a barreras de lenguaje. En una primera revisión no puedo hacer comentarios sobre el contenido lírico, pero encuentro este LP lo suficientemente interesante como para incentivar un análisis más profundo de su contenido.
OK. I thought it would be more difficult to listen to than what it was. The first song started out too slowly, but it built upon things. Reluctantly give it a ....
Not sure what I'm supposed to do with French Hip Hop. Definitely makes you focus more on beats, repeating choruses, and the vibe. Made me curious if something like "Who's Next", if sung in french, would still be obviously impressive. Missing the lyrics makes it a bit more difficult, but outside of Quartier nord and Ragga Jam, it was a fine stroll through something different. I did like Carolina and the general feel of tracks like Victime de la mode and Armand est mort. A fine adventure.
Best wel chill en prima
This is so frictionless that when I realised I lost where I’d got to during my playthrough, I had to return to near the start out of fear of missing a track: it passed through one ear and out the other like a teeny tiny laser beam, glistening, pretty, and forgotten. I did like how his raps sound, my limited French comprehension catching a tired trope or two. I am glad I sent myself back to the front half, as playthrough 1.75 proved kinder, a closer listen revealing a delicacy to the structures and sampling that I’d missed, and more diversity than I’d detected.
Je ne comprends pas le français. Je ne sais pas de quoi parlait MC Solaar. Cependant, j'apprécie le style du chant et des rythmes.
that was cool
Actually enjoyed this. No clue what he’s talking about mind.
French rap. Didn’t get a word.
A great listen, though I am not a big fan of foreign rap (or rap in general). I like it enough to listen to it again though.
Nice change of pace
Can’t go wrong w French rap
This is a tough one for me to review. The beats and music are solid head-bobbing tracks, but so much of rap is about the lyrics and wordplay. I don't speak French, so I can't really comment on that part at all. That being said, the rhythm of his Solaar's flow sounds great, and based on what I've read about him, he's a master wordsmith :).
Jazzy French Rap.
Cool, and diverse in style, but of its time.
The beats are decent and Solar’s delivery is smooth. My French is poor so I’m not sure if he’s singing about how much he loves littering and cookies with raisins, if that’s the case this is 1 star; I’ll assume that’s not the case so 3 stars
It was French rapping. It was pretty good. I have no idea what they were saying. I would listen to it again. I will round up.
My first French rap
Love that this offered me something I would never have listened to. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. This on was in the plus column.
Groovy. But not really my jam.
Mmm french noises
Classic early 90s hip hop vibes. Given it’s rap though, not understanding the lyrics detracts for me
Not bad for a French rap album
Hip-hop suave y melódico procedente de Francia. Me ha gustado especialmente "Á temps partiel", "La musique adoucit les moeurs" y "Bouge de là - Part 1".
I liked some of that jazzier songs, but other than that it didn't really register as spectacular
Ik begrijp weinig van dit snelle Frans. Maar er zitten wel een paar toffe nummers bij
It is interesting as an example of hip-hop coming from outside the US, and the sound and style are similar to US 90s rappers being assimilated in other countries. I guess I'm happy I now have exposure to this, but not understanding any of the lyrics limits its impact and personal importance. I can't fault the album for my own limitation in language though, and the beats are tight.
Seems like good, chill hip hop but only really works as background given language.
Una de les cimes del hip hop europeu. Bevent de la influència de la música negra, amb un intens sabor a jazz i funk, les composicions de MC Solaar continuen sent 'cool' tres décades després d'haver-se publicat
Funky Francophone Flows Dug the jazzy samples, will listen to more of him. 🎷🎷🎷
Incertain. Bien aime les beats, maismle rap francais me rend incertain. Une seconde écoute probable 6/10
Foreign language music is enjoyable
I actually truly love the beats and the vocal style. Shame I can't understand what he's saying.
3++
Beats feel lack high end production and depth, and sometimes feel canned. Flow is ok, old school and sometimes robotic. Bouge de la is one of my favorite tracks but didn’t need two parts in my opinion.
Beautiful but boring
This album was very interesting. I figured I wouldn’t like it because 90’s French Hip Hop is not normally my thing, but it tickled my fancy a bit. Great to listen to while working on dumb spreadsheets or marketing presentations. I’d spin it again.
Very massive attack
A MC Solaar lo había escuchado antes pero no este disco. Temas como "Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo", "L'histoire de l'art", "Caroline" o "Bouge de là (part. 1)" me los he guardado. Conocer el Rap francés es obligatorio para cualquiera que le guste la música que te guste ya es algo personal. Así que imprescindible y para mi gusto un gran disco.
great flow in a Gangstarr/Quest/Jungle Bros early nineties style. Very early listen to, though of course not sure what he's on about.
Hip hop muy para amantes del género. No he apreciado ningún virtuosismo. Se deja escuchar, simplemente
so much character on this one
I don't know French, but it was still enjoyable to listen to.
This was pretty good, French rap is fun
French Rap, ok... It isn't bad at all, just wish I understood French. I can listen it... Probably wouldn't mind hearing it again... 3/5
I ain’t got a clue what this guy is saying but the vibes and sound are immaculate. Strong 3
This is a really surprising entry for this list.
Cool album musically, it flows pretty well, proper length. Too bad I don’t understand French! 6 out of 10
Quel plaisir de tomber sur un album français dès le deuxième jour. Un plaisir aussi de (re)découvrir MC Solaar avec un album aussi large musicallement. On y retrouve du jazz rap, du raggae de la funk, des samples qui font hommage à tout un univers musical que je ne connais pas tellement. C'est tout un univers qui s'est ouvert devant moi. Je plonge dans une cour de lycée des années 90', les paroles ont une autre dimension que ce qu'on peut entendre aujourd'hui. Point positif : la voix devient instrument et percussion, les paroles fixent le rythme. Les thèmes sont percutants, tendres et intéressants. Les punchlines sont parfois très simples et presque mignonnes dans la manière dont elles ont viellies. Point négatif: je reste grandement bloqué sur ce genre musical qui met bien trop en avant les paroles alors que j'accroche avant tout à la mélodie. 5/10 (une bonne note pour un album de ce genre)
First track was the best. Production seemed really good. I’d listen again - maybe with translated lyrics.
My rating of French music so far: Edith Piaf > Jean-Michel Jarre > Justice > This > Tu as un Animal from the Arc-en-ciel text books > Daft Punk. My french isn't good enough to understand many of the lyrics, but if "MC Solaar, Tu manges du chat" means what I think it does, then the content is more Dr Dre than it is De La Soul. The music, however, is more like the latter, which is a good thing. I particularly enjoyed the orchestral flouishes. Half a point off for Ragga Jam, which is offensively bad. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: Caroline Date listened: 10/09/23
Really enjoyed this album, such great beats to just relax too.
I like rap in French better than English.
le fouge
Didn't hate it but for me its a one and done.
I never knew French hip hop could be so intriguing.
French hip hop with funky and jazzy vibes
3.5
Was this a Gangstar rip off? Very hectic for a Monday morning.
3.75/5 I'm not sure if it's because this was in a foreign language or not, but I actually quite liked this album. I don't usually like rap, but it was smooth, and the music rocked. It was a little long, but I think I'll listen to it again when I'm working. It put me in a really good mood.
French hip hop, hmm. Perhaps not knowing what the guy was talking about helped cos I didn't hate this. I don't think I'm a new convert but other language rap isn't written off thanks to this.
MC Solaar's flow transcends any linguistic barriers between the delivery in French and these ears of mine. Mostly smooth beats and laid back delivery on the tracks with a few moments of urgency (parts of some songs or songs like Ragga Jam themselves). By and large, this is an album you can chill to.
I wish I could understand it! Musically it's great, there's shedloads of variety and changes of pace, it sounds really smooth but can grab your attention when it really wants to. In terms of production, flow, and style, comparable in quality to anything coming out of LA at the time... 3/5, would almost certainly be a 4 if his lyrics are as good as the rest of it.
Made me want to learn French so I could appreciate it more.
If my French was better (I know remedial French at best) I'd give this a higher mark. There's definite flow and the beats are filled with jazzy goodness. But the language barrier (my fault) does make it difficult. Still, I'm glad I was exposed to this.
я никогда не против французского репа, но тут ничего знаменательного не услышала. возможно секрет в текстах (как конечно разумно ожидать от репа)
Just a beats album with decent rap flows in a language I can’t access.
Surprising to see Hip Hop on a high level from France in the early nineties but overall just a 3
Finally some hip hop I can listen to in front of the kids. This is am OK listen, I feel like it'd be cringy in inglish
French Rap. It's solid. I enjoyed "Quartier Nord". It sounds very French in essence. Wish I understood what he was singing about. It says it won considerable success -- I am assuming in Europe and France. I don't mind listening to other cultural/ethnic artists -- just need to understand the context in what I am listening to. The wikipedia review = not helpful. What made it successful and why is it successful? Did it pave a way for a particular subgenre in rap in France/Europe and did it influence other artists? These are the kind of questions that should be in an info about an artist and it's "success". Especially for non-native speakers.
Really twisted my brain listening to a language i don’t know make music in a genre I love. Really great sound and must have slapped soooo hard in the 90s.
Not much special here except it was in French, which made it kinda interesting.
Wow. Unlike the British, the French can actually make decent rap.
3, good variety of music lyrics in french
Not bad 90s hiphop but nothing special either
Definitely would not have sought this out. Some good beats though.
Even if I don't understand the lyrics here, this is still pretty enjoyable. Great and varied styles. One of the criticisms I've had with other hiphop albums from this era that this list has presented was the consistent (to a fault) vocal delivery. Not the case here: compare Quartier Nord and Caroline and Bouge de la and you might have a hard time believing these are the same artist. Caroline is definitely the standout for me. Loving the mellotron. 3.5
Hyvin funk ja rento, tarinallinen. Jätti muistijäljen ja kävely tän tahtiin sujui letkeästi, mutta ei ihastuttanut. Hidas alkuaikojen räppi vähän väsyttää nopeempaan tahtiin tottunutta aina. Tokalla kuuntelukerralla ois varmasti kolmonen, luotan siihen
Tässä luodaan varhaisen ysäriräpin peruselementeistä jotain kestävää. Itse rap on huomaamattoman ja huomattavan taitavaa. Ok, artisti tykkää esitellä omaa älyään. Se voidaan sallia, kun suurimpaan osaan biiseistä sisältyy jokin hyvä idea.
Turns out I like rap a lot more when I can’t understand any of it.
Mä en varman edes pitäis tästä, jos ei olis ranskaksi. Jännä, miten paljon kieli muuttaa tunnelmaa.
Täähän oli hyvä, vaikken mitään ymmärtänyt. Ehkä vähän ois voinut olla potkua enemmän.
Well, I couldn’t understand any of it, but there is some impressive rapping here, nonetheless. Overall, I found this to be quite enjoyable.
3.5
I love listening to French speakers. No language rivals that sound. And there are plenty of great French singers that float my boat - Piaf, Charles Trenet, Francoise Hardy. But when it comes to rock & roll & all its hybrids, the French language doesn’t often cut the mustard. The exceptions tend to be novelty acts - Nouvelle Vague doing punk classics or Plastic Bertrand - or some of Gainsbourg, or one-offs like Les Rita Mitsouko. So does the French/hip-hop combo work for me? Not really. But it’s not horrible. And the music/ beats are fine. I love the jazzy Armand est mort - the saxophone rules here. I love the slow tempo of Caroline. I find the deep Barry White vocal bits in English in La musique adoucit les mœurs pretty amusing. But he does get me with his lightning-fast staccato rapping in the 2 improvised tracks towards the end of the disc, particularly Ragga Jam. If I played this album a few times, maybe I’d learn to love it.
Smooth, funky, sophisticated in both flow and production. Exquisite sample choice. This has dated really well (although I suspect the French rapping covers any lyrical deficiencies). Pleasant and laid back without being wallpaper. I regularly play the 12" of the title track in my DJ sets, and the album stands up similarly well, with the exception of Ragga Jam, which is the fly in the ointment of this album.
Had not listened to an MS Solaar album before. It was certainly OK, very relaxed style of rapping. No classic but I would definitely put this up more often. 7/10 = 4 stars.
Could appreciate the vibe.
It was fine. There were a few good songs.
Wasn't sure what to expect for this album but it was an ok rap album, really good to have on in the background whilst working. But other than that I probably wouldn't listen to it otherwise. It didn't really sound as old as the it's 1991 release date. Best: Bouge de là Worst: Ragga Jam
French rap has a very nice flow.
90s French hip-hop, can’t really say it would be something that would instantly appeal to me, but I gave it a go. It’s cool for what it is, great production, made me feel like I’m an extra in La Haine. I get it, not really my thing though.
Listened briefly, French rap.
Mange tout
This was fun! The production is pretty stuck in the 80s for the most part, though some jazz and funk influences sneak in here and there, but the mic presence and flow is unlike anything else I've heard from this era. Bouge de là part.1 and Ragga Jam are two particular highlights
Starts as a strong, in-your-face hip-hop LP with promise but never quite finds the grit needed to shift into fifth gear. Solaar easily slips from vicious to smooth on his French vocals (a key standout given how prominent they reside in the mix), but a lack of dynamic or instrumental contrast across the album means the oomph just isn’t there to push things beyond mildly-enjoyable listen territory
De beats zijn niet heel bijzonder en de taal versta ik niet. Dan blijft er weinig speciaals over.
Great musical production and voice. Wish I knew what he was saying though.
French rap? I was certain that I was going to hate this, but it was actually a very nice album.
6/10. One time in high school French class I got the opportunity to listen to a French-canadian-first-nations rapper rap about how cool he was paddling around in his canoe, and frankly I have been unable to take French-language rapping seriously ever since.
Funky but French. Could also be shorter. 6/10
groovy
I think I enjoyed it but I am unsure
Un Tribe Called de Quést
Un bon album rapide avec une certaine originalité. Bien que si vous ne parlez pas français, je pense que vous auriez du mal. Je me sentais un peu répétitif au bout d'un moment.
it was rap kinda catchy sometimes idk
French rap hiphop. Cool but not my thing.
j’ai apprécié cette musique
very cool 3.5
Couldn't understand a word this man said, but I think that made me enjoy it more.
Fun. Wish I spoke French
Started good but became repetitive.
Good!
He has a nice flow, pretty nice album. Although I won't listen to it again I reckon. 3/5
While it can’t be much more than ambient music for me since I don’t speak French, I’m glad to get an album like this every once in a while. French hip hop is pretty cool apparently and nice to have on while you play overwatch. A couple songs in the second half (idk what they are) were sorta standouts