Reviews (page 6 of 8)
cant let gang know i fw the french hip hop
2.5
I hope this album is as sexy as it looks. Okay French rap! I fear I would appreciate it more if I understood what he was saying but also it’s cool. The beats are fun and I like the musical influences that bleed into it.
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
Wow, that was great! Oldschool tap just like I like it. This is a masterpiece.
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
Since hip hop is so lyrical dominant it’s difficult for an English speaker to get the full experience of a French rap album. Nevertheless Solaar has great flow, phrasing and the production on the instrumentals is pretty fantastic especially for 1991 hip hop.
Solid album. I wish I could understand what MC was saying, but it sounded good. Solid 90s hip hop. ***
4.3 - Loved this and was not expecting it at all. The only thing I would say is it needs cutting down
Armand est mort - nice Marvin Gaye sample. Feels like a 3 and a half star album to me. I wonder how it might differ if I could understand more. Fave Tracks: Matiere est grasse contre matiere grise, Funky Dreamer 3.5/5
french hip hop. this guy has amazing flow. i didn’t understand a word of it, but it was very listenable.
I usually don't like hiphop at all but this was just a little different and i liked this a lot! Will deffinetely listen a lot more to this album
This came out in 1991? This is amazing for that time. I love hearing people rap in other languages, this is the first French rap I have heard, and this has a funky jazzy sound and even though I don’t speak French, the guy has got great flow. Listens: 2 Fave Track: Caroline Rating: 4
Take the best of 90's rap and make it French and this is what you get🔥
French and rap after the 80's. Not sure what I dislike more. Both can phugg off. Album released October 15th. A wonderful day. That's the best thing I can say about this album
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.
p660. 1991. 1 star. French rap. Non.
I understand that this album was essential in the evolution of hip hop but I just didn’t like it that much. The beats were a bit stale and unfortunately the lack of French trains I have did not get the message he was trying to convey.
Good rap, no idea what he’s on about, still enjoyed the beats and the flows despite the language
not every song was sth for me but I love french music and some of these really showed talent.
It has potential but I just can’t get into French rap
I can’t speak French, so I’ll let the funky music do the talking. It’s saying: «Arrête de m’écouter! Je suis ennuyeux!»
Enjoyed this vibe, will defo listen to more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Some interesting bits of music. However couldn't understand any of the lyrics so can only give a max of 3 stars, and it let it self down by starting and ending with an instrumental track
I barely understood a word this guy said but I enjoyed it all so much. Good beats and vibes. I wish I could speak French but was very happy to let this funky music do the talking, talking, yeah.
I couldn’t understand a word of it but this was great!
interesting sound, enjoyed it overall.
This jams pretty hard. As someone who doesn't really care about lyrics, this works for me. Will I listen to again: 50%
# 239 : Still along way to go : I don't love it. I don't hate it, I can't understand it, and it's not particularly exciting. It doesn't have anything catchy enough to make me want to give it a second listen. Yawn, like I literally fell asleep part way through!
May have been better if I knew what he was saying.
This blinsided me a bit, in a really good way. The thing I love about French hip-hop is that I can barely understand a word they're saying, which shifts the focus onto the beats and turns the voice into just another instrument. And this is absolutely the best place to start; accessible and interesting without ever being cheesy or trashy.
this is great funky jazzy rap with a great flow, just wish i could understand French.
Idk what my man was saying but it sounded fly as shit! We love a 90s break beat so it doesn’t matter what language is being rapped on it. I need to translate this so I can use some of these lines in real life if they apply 😂
for french hip hop record this was good
Very cool
I really liked this! Funky. Not perfect bc I don’t speak French nor do I respect them as a people.
I really enjoyed this album. It was surprisingly super funky and catchy. I would jam this again, 100%.
Even if you don’t understand a word of French (and I remember precious little of what I learned in high school), MC Solaar’s flow and the beats it’s built upon are smooth as butter and never dull. It’s not at all surprising he’s a hip-hop legend in France.
Super groovy and has some fun instrumental solos, the guitar and sax just rip. Super fun to listen to, super creative. The only think keeping it from s teir is that it’s French and I have no idea what they’re saying. A teir
It was pretty good. Chill 90s french beats
Chill, mostly smooth, and fun beats
This is fine (probably even good) for what it is. Impressed by the speed with which syllables were spit out, and for something from 1991 it's perfectly fine musically. That said, this falls into the "I'm glad to have heard it but I'll never listen to it again" bucket.
I couldn't finish, zero connection.
Very cool vibe throughout
I don’t speak French so no idea what’s being said but some nice beats
Tres bein, un albume unique, un homme trevallies tres forrett, pasque un chien mange la baguette. Cest tres dfficil a escribe la discoteque en francais. Jaime la musuqie
My o-level French can't keep up, but I enjoyed listening to this
I love that I can understand bits of most lines of this, which means I have a better grasp of French than done inner city US slang. Thank you, MC Solaar; well enunciated! The tunes have great samples and it's not all just bitches, violence, drugs and cars. Why they picked this album and not La Nouveau Western, with the cowboy vibes and Serge Gainsbourg sample (from the film La Haine) is beyond me.
Curse my English tongue! Great beats and vibes!
Better than I expected for French hip-hop.
i like the samples and beats, it's hard to appreciate rap in different languages because i don't understand the word flow and nuances that come with 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
LP
Don't know what he's saying and don't need to. This is fire. Love the jazzy beats.
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
De va kova
I would like this more if I spoke French
Never has my 3 years of high school French felt so useless.
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.
I did not need to hear this before I die. Perhaps there's something in the lyrics. It sounds like a mediocre imitation of a Tribe Called Quest.
Too much MC Tunes in French
Le Hip-Hop François… ce n’est pas pour moi.
N'est pas pour moi
I have absolutely no idea what was going on, but what an album!
kinda interesting but it's in French
I loved this. Wish I knew what he was singing about. 4.5
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.
Damn, really wish I could understand what this guy is saying. His flow is great and the beats are good early 90s jazz rap. I'm def gonna listen to his next album.
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
This is really fun. Everything sounds great
really cool. the french mc hammer lmao
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.
6 / 10 Rap en francés, esto ya le da un toque exótico. Además los ritmos son de jazz, ácid, soul, ... Muy escuchable!!
Yeah didn't mind this. I like how rap in another language makes you feel like you are in a space station somewhere.
Pretty cool listening to rap in French. A little bit to jazz for me.
Pretty fun!
Stylish, smooth, and full of personality. I've not really listened to any French rap before, but this was sensational.
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
I'm sure I'd appreciate it more if I spoke french
Holy shit, I did NOT expect to be as drawn to this as I am so far. Album is a straight up banger. Very few low moments.
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.
I'm still quite fond of this album, as much a breath of fresh air now as it was then.
Didn’t understand a word but didn’t matter. Pretty good.
Not really my thing. I don’t speak French, so lyrics completely lost to me. Some good jazzy funky bits.
Wouldn’t usually go for foreign language songs but it turned out to be much better than I expected so a surprising 3*
There were elements of the songs I enjoyed.
Some songs kinda give me jet set radio vibes
Pass
The language is a barrier, not as terrible as expected. "La musique adoucit les moeurs" was catchy.
Not for me 4/10
Fresh Frunky French Frbeats. 6/10
I had bought MC Solaar's subsequent CD, Prose Combat, many years ago and it was a favorite. I was very happy to listen to this one today for the first time. I am happy to know my French, because just like with that album, he uses the sounds and meanings of French words masterfully. He has so many good messages in his lyrics. I love the cool, smooth sound of the tracks as well.
That was fun! Can’t tell you what he said, but I liked the way he said it.
Upbeat and fun.
Very fun, catchy, danceable… my French is too rusty to catch much of the lyrics so didn’t get much from that but I loved the sound of it!
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.
My Francophile lady was like "I'm surprised you've never heard of this guy". I'm sorry I'm not up on my early 90's French hip hop...
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?)
Soooo solid. Legit 5 star French hip hop… although 4.3 US stars when you apply the exchange rate
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.
I was today years old when i found out I love french rap. I listened to it all day long. So glad i was exposed to this.
Listened to this mostly in airports. Perfecto.
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.
The beats and production are sooo cool I barely care that I dont understand a word of what he's saying
Pants
Flow: 5/5. Beats: 3/5. Rhymes: no idea/5.
This album was fun to listen to. MC Solaar's flow is super smooth and his delivery is clear. He is clearly a very talented rapper (in the running for France's best) as especially evidenced on Bouge de là Pt. 2. The music itself incorporates jazz, African music (owing to his Senegalese and Chadian heritage), and reggae into the beats to produce something which complements hip hop incredibly well. Overall, despite the language barrier, I really enjoyed this album. Compared to other rappers working in 1991, this feels forward thinking and fresh.
Loved this
Good beats and rhythm. Enjoyed overall.
Love his style
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.
Can't understand it but pretty enjoyable to listen to
Hard to jam out to a rap song you don't understand the words for
Being born and raised in France, I *obviously* know who that rapper is. *Everyone* in France knows him. "Bouge de là" is a seminal track for French hip hop (anything *famous* labelled as "rap" that had been issued before was just pure garbage). Just so you English-speaking friends know, that single was a *huge* commercial success, and as gimmicky as it was, it's still kinda cool to listen to today. "Bouge de là" was actually the track that opened the door to the whole universe of hip hop for many French middle-school kids at the time--and, just like the three or four highlights of this record, it was still a *legit* attempt to translate the genre into our own language. Other notable French pioneers in said genre were NTM, IAM, Assassin, Ministère AMER, but as notable as those acts were, few of them had the potential of MC Solaar's music when it comes to international success (minus a couple of records by IAM and NTM, maybe...). That said, Solaar (also known as Claude M'Barali) was not only a whizz kid because of the music he rapped on--he also had a very distinct style, actually quite soft-spoken compared to the acts I've quoted up there, but equally impressive when it comes to flow and word play. The latter is actually a trademark aspect of Solaar's lyrics--the man uses so many puns it becomes dizzying to track them all, to the point where he was sometimes derided because of this--but fortunately, also lauded by everyone who was less obsessed with a supposed "hardcore" posturing in the genre (including old-timers who came from the "chansons" *milieu*). Released not long after single "Bouge de là" (and including it), *Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo* was thus the confirmation that MC Solaar and his producers had the right references to emulate important US hip hop acts in a way that would make sense in France. In its best moments, you can hear obvious whiffs of the Native Tongues collective (De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, ATCQ...) or Public Enemy's Bomb Squad production team. Those important moments are for instance the *stellar* and lively title-track, using the best that De La Soul and the Pharcyde had to offer at the time, or hit singles "Caroline" and "Victime de la mode"--the first about one unrequited love interest, very much a ditty, and yet transcended by its lush, emotive strings loops ; and the second, about a shallow female character only caring about external appearances, much more tongue-in-cheek in nature. And there's also the ominous "Armand est mort", using an effective sample of Marvin Gaye's *What's Going On* to narrate the death of a bum and how he ended up in such dire straits. The rest is a little hit or miss, though, and not every track has aged gracefully here. Sophomore album *Prose Combat* was actually a far stronger and more cohesive effort than this debut. And it had gems such as "Obsolète" "La concubine de l'hémoglobine" and "Western Moderne"--famous for its killer sample of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot's "Bonnie And Clyde". So I'm not including MC Solaar's debut in my own list, because it was certainly not the *best* album the man has ever released--even if it struck French minds at the time. But for the second album *Prose Combat*, let's just say that the jury's still out on this one. 2.5/5 for the purposes of this list, rounded up to 3. Which translates to a 7.5/10 grade for more general purposes (5+2.5). Number of albums left to review: 264 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 323 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 182 Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many other records are more important to me): 237 (including this one)
Up in my alley.
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.
Why do I feel like this would be even worse if I understood the words? Okay background music while I worked, but I really wanted it to be over way before it was. Trying to employ a relative bell curve on this project, so this is going to be a 1 from me dawg. I was flirting with a 2 before Ragga Dog came on. Yikes.
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.
Oh how we laughed when my friend got the job to promote this album when it came out. French rap?! "Ooh la la, baguette de merde. John-E-Hallidogg, connard!" (I may have work-shopped that a bit). Turns out the joke was on us, this is pretty good, his samples are fun and his flow is smooth. I will note that "Victime de la mode" does, however, sound like Nouvelle Vague covering "Don't Believe The Hype". This album doesn't have Solaar's great one that steals the Bonnie and Clyde riff, but is a good time nonetheless.
What in the world!? This was really, really good! I didn't know that loving a French rap album would be in the cards this week, but we love a pleasant surprise. Hell yeah, MC Solaar.
This album was a total nope for me. Even the sampled Marvin Gaye couldn't save it. I don't even mind French rap so much, but the vocals, and especially the cheese ball accompanying sounds just made it impossible. Terrible album, wouldn't do it again.
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.
Merci, mais non.
This is a good little record, with nice, jazzy hip-hop beats, and MC Solaar has a smooth flow to his rhymes. Just need to learn French now to understand what he’s rapping about.
I’ll be honest, the foreign language was a huge boundary to overcome and I stopped listening early on. From what I listened to, the beats and production sounded solid. However, this is not an album I’ll ever revisit.
Oooooooh laaalaaaa!! Love this, have never heard of it! Parts of this don’t sound as far back as 1991, others sound like Eric B and Rakim. His flows are so smooth although I don’t know what he’s saying.
French rap: if this were in English instead of French, I might have understood more of it, but I probably wouldn't have liked it any better.
that was cool
Cool flow and beats!
This dude is amazing! The beats, the rhythm! Really enjoyed listening to it. I wish it were in English I could understand it :(
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.
Pretty good, easy to listen to and enjoyable without understand the lyrics
Nice change of pace
Can’t go wrong w French rap
Love the use of sound effects. The vocal flicks in the third song are fucking crazy After a full listen, I love this guys flow. His samples are great & the instrumentals work amazing with his voice. Definitely saving this one
Some really grooving jazz rap instrumentals on this one that sound unique for the time. While I don't speak French, I really appreciate MC Solaar's tone and flow across the album which, like the instrumentals, come across as cutting edge.
No idea what he was singing about but I liked it
This might be one of the most interesting hip-hop albums I have ever heard. The way he is able to pull from a lot of different sounds to make a cohesive project is remarkable. His flows are crazy too.
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
This is a refreshing break from the amount of classic rock albums lately. I'm excited to be introduced to something completely different. Maybe that is causing an unfair bias, but I can't resist giving this one a five. Woohoo! being forced to listen to music just got fun again
Sanaakaan en ymmärrä, mutta todella douppeja biittejä ja varianssia
I don’t know what the heck he’s saying but man does it sound cool
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.
New artist for me and really enjoyed. I like a bit of jazz rap so will listen to more of this!
All brand new, really enjoyed it
This was great to listen to while I was cooking last night. It's in French so I don't understand it but it sounded very nice.
I dig it and I don’t know a word of French.
Groovy. But not really my jam.
Mmm french noises
I'm sure the lyrics are straight up fire and all that, but who in the Hells produced these boring-ass beats for him to drone monotonously to? Take any given track on this album. Listen to the first 20 seconds of it. That's essentially it. That's the flow. You'll have another 3 minutes of it. I'm listening to European mayonnaise. There's the occasional interlude between verses, maybe the loop of a woman saying "yeahh", maybe a guitar or a trumpet show up in a heroic attempt to keep me awake -- all in vain. 1/5 - "No. I hope I never hear it again."
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
I really like everything I’ve ever heard from this artist. Melodic, rhythmic, soulful, jazzy, excellent rapping in super fast French. Sounds ages ahead of 1991. Prefer this to west coast wannabes. This whole album is very very good. Added 7/16 songs to my favorites, just on the first listen. Emphatically deserves its spot on this list.
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".
This is probably the best album I do not understand, the flow is sick, the production is amazing, if only I understood the lyrics I would rate it higher.
I liked some of that jazzier songs, but other than that it didn't really register as spectacular
Amazing album. It's refreshing to listen to rap in other languages that are not English. MC Solaar always delivers with his rhymes and rhythms.
Didn’t care so much for this.
This is a favorite of mine: I don't speak French, but MC Solaar's rap talents are undeniable and his beats and tunes are terrific. "Victime de la Mode" is an earworm, but the whole album has its charms. If you like this album, I also highly recommend Prose Combat.
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.
Smooth. Not as annoying as a lot of US hip hop. Reminds of 90s skateboarding videos. Favorite song: Caroline.
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
It is good, but not mine.
Sounded like an average hip hop album from 1991 but in French.
Fantastique! I had no idea this would be so good. Like Tribe but French. I will definitely listen to this again.
Funky Francophone Flows Dug the jazzy samples, will listen to more of him. 🎷🎷🎷
Drullugott stöff!
Some really good songs
Incertain. Bien aime les beats, maismle rap francais me rend incertain. Une seconde écoute probable 6/10
Foreign language music is enjoyable
Cool samples plus rapping in French equals awesome. He’s like the French version of Young MC.
Ganske chill, men tvile på at eg komme til å setta da på igjen
French Hip Hop is my jam.
I actually truly love the beats and the vocal style. Shame I can't understand what he's saying.
Today I learned I don't like French rap music either. Mind you, it was better than most of the English speaking rap served to me over here.
Chauvin, moi ?
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.
I wanted this to be better. I love the flow but the beats are all the same. It's kind of monotonous after the first three tracks. The rapping sounds super solid and I love hearing it in French. I just with the music itself had some variation.
This album slaps straight 10/10
French rap. Not my thing though it has a good beat but don't know what he's rapping about
Beautiful but boring
Oh this is dope! 1991? This is really good. Flow - lots of lyrical gymnastics going on, switching up styles almost every track. Tone - very cool, French accent works for me. Production - so clean for ‘91. Jazzy loops, top quality scratching, great variation between tracks. Lyrical content - hard to tell, but it feels pretty positive. The level of skill on this compared to 50cent yesterday is almost incomparable, hiphop is a funny old genre.
Don't speak French...Sounds pretty good though. That's all I've got to say about this douche. Douche is a French word.
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.
Soo honestly for music in a different language it wasn’t all that bad however, I do have to take away a good amount because I couldn’t really form a connection with this music. I’m not saying it necessarily has to be in English because I do like the variety and the diverse language, however, I’m not sure the importance of this album it just seemed very similar and itself and to other music that I’ve heard.
Had a run of mediocrity of late and was more in the mood for some uncomplicated rock, so French hip-hop on the weekend wasn't exactly welcomed this morning... Except about halfway through track 2 (the first proper track) I found myself grooving. I really like it. Love the music, I especially love MC Solaar's flow and rhythm, and frankly love the fact that I don't understand most of the lyrics. Treating everything as an instrument / parts of the whole. This was a genuine surprise, not only do I have nothing bad to say about it I'll probably listen again. 8/10 4 stars.
Stupendous album. 4 stars.
Sounds like Spinal Tap
I like the funky instrumentals and that he uses real instruments to back up his hip hop lyrics. Problem is that it's in French so I didn't understand a thing 2.4
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.
Just couldn't get into this at all
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
The beats and samples on this record are still super tight. Great use of jazz samples. Solaar opened up the world to non-English rap.
Lidt for rappet
so much character on this one
Erg verrassend Frans album, veel verschillende genres door elkaar die het erg fris over laten komen
Iets te druk voor mijn smaak. Erg chaotisch ook
I don't know French, but it was still enjoyable to listen to.
i usually knock a star for being french (i am prejudice towards french) but this was actually pretty sweet. a tad long but there wasn’t really any bad tracks. good mix of funk and jazz flavoured beats to support the frenchy flows.
Great sounds, fun beats! I don’t understand a single word but I don’t need to know to appreciate the flow and the mixes!
Solid
Never have I heard an album with such a consistently banger groove. I understand no French, sadly, but This singing is so rhythmic and /quick/ that I'm very impressed. Is this my fav type of music? Nah. But it is a wondrously strong piece of art.
Couldn't understand it, but I liked the music and the vibe.
Chill and funky, it sounds ahead of its time for 1991 preceding the American g-funk movement, but still retains the beat and sample style of the era. Prominent use of horns maintain a recognizable consistency without being excessive. It's always hard for me to imagine rapping in other languages, but his words smoothly flow like butter. So fast, yet not at all abrasive. Several forgettable tracks, could be cut by a few, especially due to its length, but most are decent, and several are outstanding. Favorites: Victime de la Mode, Bouge de La, Regga Jam
Really liked the first half, then wasn’t so bothered by the rest
It had something but it didn't engage with me fully. Didn't finish listening.
This was pretty good, French rap is fun
Very cool album even though I do not speak the language. Very jazzy hip hop with a MC that flows very well on the beat.
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
Cool production but it was difficult to enjoy, being that I couldn’t understand a single word.
I ain’t got a clue what this guy is saying but the vibes and sound are immaculate. Strong 3
Beautiful vocal rhythms, laid over funky soul samples
"Funky beat-eough" Had a great time with this album. Couldn't understand what the hell he was saying but the vibes were funky, jazzy and laid back. Even the more upbeat tracks were so damn chill. I would absolutely pick this album up if I found it at my local record shop. Favorite tracks: Matière Grasse Contre Matière Grise, L'histoire de l'art
“Hmm, my list is pretty Western/English speaking… how can I change that?”
This is a really surprising entry for this list.
Les Planets Digable
Cool album musically, it flows pretty well, proper length. Too bad I don’t understand French! 6 out of 10
Was on French couldn’t understand the lyrics, beats were good and vibe is good.
Listened to this and Prose Combat a lot when I first lived alone near Toulouse early in 1994. Brilliantly sampling 70s funk with beautifully sounding voice and wordplay - quite exquisite to my English ears. Lots of fun and amusing songs, not aggressive, with occasional socio-political commentary if you can understand it. Excellent and recommended.
Afraid to say I don't speak French so I feel I missed a lot with the lyrics, that being said, every song on there was at least getting at a minimum a head bob out of me while I worked so it's at least got that from me. Good album
Awesome French rap (r&b)?
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)
Very interesting French rap. He has an incredible flow, one that hits regardless if you understand it or not. Lots of exquisite sound mixing as well. This some rap that was ahead of its time, from an unlikely place. Great stuff!
cant give it a better rating when i don’t understand anything
Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo // Victime de la mode // Caroline // 2.5/5
First track was the best. Production seemed really good. I’d listen again - maybe with translated lyrics.
The Golden Age of hip hop in France sounded pretty chill. I like the beats, pretty subtle and cool without getting cheesy. Only track that didn't work for me was 'Ragga Jam', that guest spot hurt.
Eh ben, un français qui sait rapper! Pis bien en plus! Edit du futur: Mike Ladd est le fils de Robert Dimery. Si vous me lisez, sachez que je suis un très grand fan de vos critiques, fouillant les milliers de commentaires de chaque albums générés pour dénicher vos petites pépites de réflexions. Je vous salut depuis la belle province, toi et Robespière!
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
Wow what great fun. I really enjoyed this whole album, with the standout track being Boude de La - Part 1.
I'm more familiar with a couple of his later albums, and compared to this one they're waaaaay smoother. In this one, he's replicating old school hip-hop, with all its attendant clunkiness. Still smooth, of course, but a pick from later in his discography woulda been smoother! Fave track - "Quartier Nord" for hip-hop, "Caroline" for trip-hop, and a hat tip to the guest MC on "Ragga Jam" cuz he was fitting in a LOT of syllables.
There is the faintest pang of recognition in my head for MC Solaar. One of the drama teachers when I was back in school was always listening to French hip hop, and I think it might have been a lot of this guy. I might be wrong though. It was a long time ago, to be fair. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Qui Sème Le Vent Récolte Le Tempo, Caroline I’ll foreword this review by saying my knowledge of French is minimal. So minimal, that I understood none of these lyrics during a listen. Despite that, I loved the music of this. It was like a smooth jazz with one of the nicest rap flows I’ve heard in a while. I might not have understood the content of his words, but I could certainly appreciate his tones and rhythms. I expected this to be ok, but it was a lot better than that.
Not really for me, all a bit of a noisy mess.
Easily the best French hip-hop record on this list. And largely a pleasure to listen to, especially the jazzier cuts.
Obviously don’t know most of the lyrics but the guy has good flow. His voice and the music are a little too soft and clean though. Has the same Euro dance beat that the Soul II Soul album on this list has. I wish it hit harder.
Really enjoyed this album, such great beats to just relax too.
I like rap in French better than English.
le fouge
Nice beats but I don't understand the words!
Probably more of a 3.5, but I really enjoyed this
Oh no
Didn't hate it but for me its a one and done.
I never knew French hip hop could be so intriguing.
French Jazz-Rap - I think that says it all. Two of my least favourite music genres combined and performed in French!
French hip hop with funky and jazzy vibes
3.5
Was this a Gangstar rip off? Very hectic for a Monday morning.
Ah, beaucoup de fun! Always thought rap and hiphop sound better in French.
French rap hits different. I hope one day I'll be able to understand the lirycs. Nonetheless, love the flow & bits
Not bad! The language is a deterrent for future listens but all in all it’s great
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.
Funky French hip hop. I really enjoyed this one.
Pretty cool! French rap always sounds cool to me and the beats were cool.
I liked this but it was hard for me to connect to because I didn’t know what he says saying. Really cool though!
Trés bien! I knew who MC Solaar was largely (solely) due to his collaboration with Neneh Cherry on 7 Seconds but hadn't heard any of his own stuff. This is an incredibly catchy hip-hop/trip-hop/rap blend and the French language has the perfect cadence for rap. Je aime ça, cinq étoiles!
I thought this album was really cool. It's fairly innovative, given the time period when it was made. It's a little harder to judge rhymes in a foreign language, but given that most rap styles in 1991 were garbage anyway, I'm going to just give him the credit 4/5
Its wonderful, French trip-hop jazz thats reminds of Nujables. It's a 5 even though I've no idea what he's rapping about
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.
Chill vibes with preview undertones of triphop.
Even though I don’t know French, it was quite impressive. A joy to listen to
French rap? Sure.
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.
Ummm....French rap??
This was surprisingly good. The album to the French revilution
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.