DANS LA RUE: Paris Urban Youth Culture
 
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In the third installment of our podcast series with guest Josquin, we talk about the seminal French film La Haine by Mathieu Kassovitz and the incredible French hip hop soundtrack it spawned.  The album features a who's who list of French rap acts from the golden era that was the mid 90s: MC Solaar, IAM, Assassin, CutKiller, Raggasonic, and more.  The film together with the soundtrack paints a complete picture of the (sub)urban culture of that era.  As Josquin points out, it's the ghettoization of the young people's environment that not only gives birth to this true-to-life tale but also gives rise to the emergence of a raw, politically charged French hip hop scene.  Together with the albums of NTM and IAM, the soundtrack to La Haine constitutes the canon of most essential French rap records.

The trailer below gives a taste of the intensity prevalent at the time, laying the foundation for the riots and discontent of recent years.

 
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In this latest podcast, I chat with French music scenester Josquin about the realest of the real of French hip hop: Supreme NTM, the hardcore rap group that laid the foundation for France's rap scene.  In contrast to the easy-listening stylings of MC Solaar, these boys pack the aggression like 9mm's tucked into the back of their sagging jeans.  We cover the group's origins on the streets of Seine-Saint-Denis to their rise in the mid-90's to their mainstreamization.  And of course, we listen to some choice tracks handpicked by Josquin.

For more of Paris' answer to NWA and Wu-Tang, check out this treasure trove of streaming tracks.

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    Author

    Brian is a writer, dancer, activist, and general hip hop head from New York City. He is currently working towards his Master's in Global Communications in Paris.  



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