Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo

1001 does it again. I would not have normally encountered this and had I would likely not have listened given the genre; nor did I understand a word. But I liked it a lot better than I have hip hop in English and perhaps I'll listen to that differently now. The rhythms in several of the songs are almost hypnotic.

Ton of fun. Great flow and beats. Favorite song: Matière grasse contre matière grise

This was a very, VERY good record. Great sounds and outstanding hip-hop style.

I have not heard this before. I don’t think I’ve heard MC Solaar or any French rap before even. This is from the early 90s so it should be right up my alley. Turns out it is right up my alley. I love this type of early 90s hip hop with the funk and jazz samples. I don’t speak French so I can’t understand anything he’s saying, which is more important to me in rap than in most other genres but it sounds cool. The only thing I wasn’t into is the ragga song near the end because I’m not a fan of ragga. Everything else is great.

Interesting

Thursday, 15 October, 2026 This was a breath of fresh air. French hip hop is great.

Reallly enjoyed the talented French rapping thx!

French rap might be better than British rap. I do think there’s a bit of a disservice to not understand what’s being said in a genre that’s about lyricism

Didn’t understand a word - maybe if I did I’d either add or knock off a star! I liked the sound of the rap and the music was better than most rap albums on this list.

What can I say? Rap is crap. Then put the rap in a foreign language. Is there a zero score anywhere?

Enjoyed this, but got a bit slow in the middle. Faves were Victime and Bouge 2.

I really liked some of it. Bouge de la, Pt 1 is great. I really disliked other stuff.

Great album, really liked it and would check out further material from this artist. Has that early 90’s hip-hop vibe. It’s Jazzy and the samples are great. The lyric flow is also excellent. Of course, I don’t speak French so I can’t comment of the lyrical content, but it sounds great.

French De La Soul

This is different than I thought. I wavered between really grooving to it and kind of just listening easily. It is kind of rap in a way, but new age in another. It is distinctly "world music" for more reasons than the language. I find that music in USA and the UK is often quite genre specific, I do my reviews thinking in those terms, but French and Spanish and Latin American music is way more varied within single albums and honestly I really like how that is. The hard part is in the rating as one must consider more ups and downs in personal taste and the like. I think I like this though. It has a DJ feel to it that I like and it adds a bit to the crossing genres.

omg I’m pretty sure we listened to “Bouge de la” in AP French … what a throwback!

Really enjoyed the music but it’s in French so

YUCK!!!!

Haven't heard of him. I was happy to hear something other than English and the reviews here were rather positive so I was hopeful. But I think you all got blinded by the French language. This is as uninteresting as most American rap albums from the same era on the list. Meh 2/5

I can’t go overly high on this in the sense that I don’t speak French so my enjoyment and appreciation is a bit hamstrung at best, but I can at least say the flows are real good, the jazzy beats are strong and it passes by real quick for a 50 minute album as you get wrapped up in the sound. If all early 90s rap albums sounded this good, we’d be in a great space - no wonder it helped push international rap forward in a big way.

Wow fucked with this heavily. Great album

Meh... Good beats...

Trés bon!

Bruv, Quelle belle surprise inattendue ! Même si je ne comprenais pas les paroles, j'ai adoré la musique. Vraiment très innovant pour 1991. Je pense que ce titre va rester dans ma playlist. 4,5 étoiles.

Idk what he's saying, but I like the incorporation of Jazz elements. Definitely not something I would've discovered without this challenge, but good to listen to

I was surprised in the 1990s how catchy the beats of hip hop could be rendered in French, and I continue to be struck at how enjoyable this is

The French language has a rhythmic quality which does lend itself to rap. Not knowing what is being said also frees it from criticism of misogyny (I haven’t got to that section on Duolingo yet). Musically there were a couple which I liked but it was generally standard 90s rap.

Very De La Soul sounding, particularly with the jazzier instruments/samples and crisp snares on the backbeat. Enjoyed the rhythmic flow of the delivery and was interesting to listen to rap in another language as the focus is so much more on how it feels rather than the content of the lyrics so much. I liked the vibe of this and is something I’d like to listen to again with better awareness of the lyrical content.

One of France's best rappers apparently. I really enjoyed the style and production even if I don't know French. He really is a great rapper and better than that other French "rapper" I've heard called GIMS. This is also the second album I've gotten in a row that's in French. The album also turns 35 in a few days from the date of this review.

It gets points for being hip-hop but loses the rest for being French.

I bet if I knew what he was saying this goes either up one star or down a star. As is, those beats were sick & I just complained about getting foreign albums that are traditional - so getting a 90s French hip hop is exactly what I wanted

This is probably what Hey Arnold was listening to when he got into high school

AMAZING A new favorite. I put Spotify on MC Solaar radio and had a great time, and most of the songs I really liked were MC Solaar's; especially Nouveau Western.

Another solid Hip Hop album on the list. Includes some nice fusion tracks. French Hip Hop always sounds strange at first. Unconventional. The song ‘Caroline’ is my favorite. (Listened to it on Apple Music)

gute beats die stimme passt

Good french vip hhop

This was fun to have on in the background, so I would probably put on again. That said, nothing really stood out to me.

Found this to be a bit bland

é legal mas não tem nada que me brilhe os olhos

C'était un peu chiant

Plenty of cool vibes and a nice easy listen.

It could be just as bad lyrically as gangsta rap, but hey, everything sounds classy in French so who cares what they’re rapping about. All very light, fine and funky otherwise.

French rap...this promises to be a unique listen. I believe this is the album that my hosts at my college preview weekend played for me. If it gives you any indication of what that was like for me, also understand that the 18 year old high school senior used his fake ID to buy these fellows beer. They then proceeded to leave their door open and their RA cited them for drinking. Good times. This sucks just as bad as I thought it would. Armand est mort was better the first time as Inner City Blues. Of course a French rapper has to have a snooty jazz interlude on a nearly hour-long album. La musique adoucit les moeurs is the best track on the album...and some English! Not something I would listen to again, but not the worst thing I've ever heard.

Hit for sure!

cant speak french much but wow

Better than I thought it was going to be. But a little cheesy in places, but this was 1991 to be fair.

With the first song I knew I was going to give this a 5. I love the chill music he’s chosen in the background, and the rapping is spectacular. And fast! I’ve been working on my French and despite that: je suis désolée, mais je ne comprends rien. But that doesn’t matter because this album is purely sonically wonderful.

French makes it sound sooo chill

Super cool album cover. Looks like something Blue Note would have put out back in the 50's. I don't speak French and understood none of this; regardless, it seemed to flow well lyrically. It definitely sounded of its time, though; the beats and samples were all very much 1991. I would be curious, though, to look into other, more "recent" albums from this artist. I'm gonna give it 2 stars just because it sounds so dated.

интересно

Fun French rap/edm

MC Solaar – Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo (1991) On Day 269, this record felt like a genuine blessing. It completely blew me away. Even without understanding French, the language barrier vanished because the flow was so melodic, natural, and rhythmically locked in. The production across the board was immaculate warm, jazz-drenched, and crisply engineered. Solaar’s vocal presence was deeply captivating throughout. Aside from brief interludes, the intro, and "Ragga Jam," the entire tracklist was an absolute joy to experience. It was cohesive, deeply hypnotic, and his effortless delivery made me admire his craft instantly. A peerless international hip-hop classic. A pristine 5/5.

A rare treat where I've never heard it before and loved it!

Decent enough, very derivative 90s hip hop with French lyrics instead of English. Doesn't do anything particularly noteworthy, but isn't a chore to listen to. I wonder if this album would've made this project if it was produced in the US/UK, since that seems to be the main reason this album is unique

Really nice jazzy beats. Great rhythm in the delivery too.

What is he on about? No clue. Do I love it? Sure do. This album holds its own against the best releases of 91 including Tribe, Black Sheep, and De La Soul.

Fun listen while walking the dog

Didn’t understand any of the lyrics, obvy, but liked the music overall. 2.5 rounded up.

I liked the beats, but it’s tough to go much higher when I didn’t understand anything

I loved the jazz and funk influences. So I prefer foreign hip hop because I can’t understand what they’re saying? Perhaps.

I did not have “French hip-hop royalty” on my bingo card, but this is ridiculously catchy, smart, funky, and cool. “Quartier Nord” is a banger, in any language.

Fun! Loved the vibe.

Must have been the accent… but I felt cool listening those fly ass songs. 3.7

Wow this was really great. Obviously I got zero lyrics, but rapping in French sounds awesome. The backing tracks were groovy and interesting, too. A very pleasant surprise. 8/10 Most Excellent

Picture it: its 1991. The Bulls are winning their first title. MC Hammer setting fire to his millions. We just got done invading Iraq. And the French are getting down to THIS album. It's 90s hip hop. It's in French. I am not French, so I struggled to enjoy it.

Not bad, probably won't listen to again

music is love

Decent beats and flow. Can't tell of the rhymes themselves are good or not since I don't speak French.

Caroline to jest 10/5

W niektórych miejscach jak soundtrack do La haine ale im dalej końca tym gorzej

I really liked this. Can't speak a word of french, but still loved the vibe of it all

Very surprised to see MC Solaar on this list. Prose Combat is a 5* for me, this is solid but not quite at the same level of consistency for me. Saint-Denis, mec !

Did I understand a word of this? No. Well, I can make guesses at what "le funky beat" means. Did I enjoy this anyway? Hell yes. The thing I connect with from jazz hip-hop is not the lyrics but just the vibes.

It's French alright

Not for me

힙합이라는 점은 좋았는데 앨범에 있는 노래가 좋았는지는 잘 모르겠다. I liked the fact that it was hip-hop, but I'm not sure if the songs on the album were actually good.

I do wonder if I would’ve liked it as much if it was in English

I don't speak or know any French, but this album was quite enjoyable. It had great beats and his flow was smooth. Even not knowing French, I felt like it was something I could see myself listening to again. When you listen to this album, just kick back and enjoy the ride!

Smooth and jazz flows, like a French Guru. But why have the French Guru when you could have Guru and Gang Start and understand it? I still nodded along but it wasn't as good as I was hoping to overcome the language barrier.

Early 90s French jazz-rap/hip-hop

Unsure whether not understanding French makes this better or worse. Pretty typical early 90s rap beats, felt really samey after a couple of songs

Tout d'abord, shout out to Julie K. for introducing me to the music of MC Solaar in the 90's Tu es une jeune branché. Twenty years after she played me some of his delightful French jazz raps, I was in Paris and taking a guided tour of the history and culture of Montmartre (cause my life is dope, and I do dope shit) and the tour guide mentioned French recording artists and I said, "Yeah like MC Solaar. I know him" and the tour guide got all excited and said "You know MC Solaar?!" and I realized that he thought I meant I personally knew him, and had to explain that, no, I actually meant that I knew of him and was familiar with his work, which even that is overstating things. C'est la vie!

For not speaking a word french, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I liked the blues and jazz vibes it had. Felt like something that would be perfect to listen to at dusk in summer, in some alley café in Paris. I didn't find a track that was bad, but 'Caroline' felt like it was a level above the rest somehow and more memorable. Nothing bad to say about this. Too bad I don't speak french, but it gave good feelings anyway. Strong 3!

Thought this was a slog of an album. The beats were okay, but the rapping felt kind of boring. I wondered if rap could be good when I don’t understand the language. At the end of the album, Spotify randomly played another song by MC Solaar that was way better, so the answer is yes. It felt way more modern than an album released in 1991, though, so props for that.

I don't think I've ever heard this before, but it won't be the last time I listen to it. Wish I could appreciate the wordplay, but the beats, flow, and delivery are plenty on their own.

Unexpected banger, despite my not knowing French. Ragga Jam seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the album.

I don't need to listen to French rap, but it's fine I guess

Why is the intro so damn beautiful? Mc Solaar just flows so well over all of this amazing production from Jimmy Jay. It’s a really nice vibe had me dance cleaning for pretty much the whole album. Wish I could understand the lyrical content since it sounds so nice. I think the album is a little on the long side and a zoned out a bit towards the end. The album name in English goes insanely hard "He who sows the wind reaps the tempo"

It can be kind of hard to judge rap music in another language when its such a lyrical genre. for this rating im mostly basing off of the flows and beats which are pretty decent. I do think the language lends itself pretty well to rap music but not something i'd be interested in diving deeper into necessarily. like the higher energy tracks like quartier nord and the reggae track near the end. think my overall favorite was A temps partiel. 2.5 stars for me

Not my bag.

Vraiment? Une ou deux chansons passables mais l’album n’est vraiment pas bon

Average French hip hop. It's ok. Some nice beats and production and rhymes but it's just not something I'd revisit.

Meh...it was fine but nothing spectacular. I didn't hate the music but i but I just have no idea what they are saying.

Really enjoyed the vibes of this! I wish I could understand the lyrics but the mood it sets is fantastic.

Its cool, he got flow, sounds a bit dated sometimes but i guess it is a product of its time

besides a certain fascination for the amount of words those guys are able to cram into one second, it's not at all my alley. some melodies are cool, but that's all.

Not my style of music. Sounded like something a creepy old man would listen to.

Oh pretty decent beats but man I just couldn't understand it lol

French hip hop, fun album

As a White, affluent suburbanite for most of my life, there have always been plenty of rap lyrics I just didn't understand, especially in the era before such things were easier to look up. So the experience of listening to rap in French is honestly not all that different. This is a pleasant listen, especially on the back half where it gets dubbier. And Solaar is clearly skilled verbally and aesthetically interesting to listen to, especially rhythmically; I found myself wondering whether Bradley Nowell was a fan or whether they just shared some common musical ancestry, so to speak. I wouldn't be able to say more without some more dedicated Duolingo investment but I appreciated the opportunity to bliss out to this.