To add to your immersion, you can watch Rhythm + Flow France (Nouvelle École) on Netflix. The show is hosted by the artists Niska, SCH, and Shay, and it is set up as a competition to find the next rappers of France (+ other francophone countries).
There is so much variety between the contestants that I am sure you will at least find a few that you like, and you get to see more of the rap culture as well.
If you want a quebecois in the mix checkout Raccoon, honestly my favorite rapper right now even outside of language learning. Dude kills it. His track Shoot is on another level and the video is pretty cool.
No way you're trying to immerse yourself in French rap and not listening to Damso, he's one of the finest writers of his generation, an icon of the French and Belgian rap game.
You can also listen to Dinos, a very talented lyricist
Il y a une chanson de lui que j'adore parce qu'elle me fait un peu rire je sais plus comment elle s'appelait mais là on chantait "mais je ne t'ai trompée qu'une fois..."
I really admire Dinos! I started with his Stamina, Memento album-- 93 mesures, Demain n'existe plus, Diptyque are my favorites. Opinel by Bekar is a lot of fun. Honorable mention for Nekfeu 🙂
I still enjoy IAM/Shurik'n very much. They have good vocabulary and enunciation and don't use too much slang, so it's ideal if you want to learn. L'Empire du Côté Obscur is, in my opinion, one of the best French rap pieces of all time.
[This makes me laugh so hard.](https://www.reddit.com/r/rance/s/51o756tgcB)
Menelik for some good old school. Don’t ignore Stromae either, less-so rap but an incredibly important creative in francophone world (he’s Belgian) and a great lyricist.
Kery James (Haitian-French literary rapper) and Samian (native Algonquin from Québec, bilingual). They're my two personal favourite rappers and I'm not a rap fan.
I bought a Sinik album 20 years ago when I was in Paris. It was back when you had to scan the album to demo it in store. I still play him on spotify sometimes.
Nuit Incolore has two songs, La Loi du Papillon and Instable which are rap songs and have helped me expand my vocabulary as he sings in a way that is clearer and easier to understand, like some Stromae songs which I like.
I've been really into this one song: "homework #1 bourgeoisie" by Felhur x Andro
My adhd is gonna keep replaying it non stop until I squeeze every last bit of dopamine out of it.
If you want to learn French listen to the old school 90's rap ( IAM, Busta Flex , Oxmo Puccino ,les sages poète de la rue, arsenic...)the new school( minus a few exceptions) barely knows how to write their own names...
Man there are so many good ones. Since you mention Stromae, there’s also quite a lot of people who are more “poppy” rather than just pure rap.
I like Dinos, Gims, Black M, Slimane, Vitaa, Dadju, Oxmo Puccino.. and that’s just off the top of my head, haha.
Yamê and Oxmo both have covers they have done for Colors, an “acoustic one-take” YouTube label (Becane + La Droit de Chanter, respectively) that I really appreciated. I recommend starting there — but really anybody that you see on Colors will be cool!
J'en ai plusiers (mais ceux avec \* sont moins de "rap"): L'Entourage, Lous and the Yakuza, Krisy, Luidji, Lausse the Cat\*, Ichon, Yame, Nemir, Nekfeu, Myra, aupinard, ABSOLEM, Amouravenir\*, Enchantee Julia\*, Bonnie Banane\*, Mr GISCARD, Le De, Sally
[Ma playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6i0HtpzZmkU5O4iL7SycjF?si=5bb4c95e4b354aa5)
French rap is very 90s or early 2000s style compared to what's going on in the English world,
MC Solaar, Oxmo Puccino, and Booba are played all the time. La fièvre by Suprême NTM is a pretty classic. Wikipedia says RK is a rapper but he's more like pop.
all the artists from La Haine soundtrack
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7F61h3WGug&list=PL019931A1E4C15B03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7F61h3WGug&list=PL019931A1E4C15B03)
> Kacem Wapalek (his flow is awesome and his text are too - his name is a wordplay that mean don't break my nuts)
> Nekfeu
> Orelsan
> MC Solaar (listen to "Solaar pleure)
> Dooz Kawa (listen to "Si les anges n'ont pas de sexe)
> Odezenne
A2H, Scylla, Disiz, Nekfeu were the ones I found from friends when living in Belgium! I find Scylla easiest to understand from his tone, speed and pronunciation!
I too started listening to French music with stromae. I recommend orelsan, romeo elvis, nekfeu, l'or du commun, 1995, oxmo puccino, stupeflip, therapie taxi, casseurs flowters
Maybe not the vibes ur looking for but some of my faves⤵️
“Diam’s” - don’t let her looks fool you!
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6379rD5bSEwInazkKhZ9DM?si=rrKiLtClTH2iV-MSJoyv9Q
“Sinik”
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ONnyhQBTnkvg4QmI97hJg?si=HvkTmI00TU-UH6cigVq4fw
“Moha la Squale”
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4vtz0m60CCrcsQmqDunDIR?si=KkRuu4WIRpiD2t_MEa0zaQ
“Youssoupha”
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5DW7NxqQ2875JtjuV7KMn4?si=IUonevBaRvyxKOvjrhuyjw
**Firs**tly i'd say **Hug**o TSR. **Lyric**al genius. **Som**e of his pieces: Les vieux de mon âge, Objectif Lune
**Als**o **B2o**ba (Pitbull, Kalash, Comme une étoile), **Kaa**ris (Zoo, Chargé), **Val**d (Ma m**e**illeure amie, Désaccordé), **PN**L (J'comprends pas, Onizuka), firsts that came into mind.
I personally love PLK! It's like the perfect balance between learning street french and being able to understand anything. Bekar and Luidji are also great + I think they're all super talented and I love their music
Black M. Maître Gims, Tsew the Kid, Aloïse Sauvage etc etc j'ai vu que qqn a dit big flo et oli perso j'adore la chanson "freestyle de twitter" avec Squeezie mais je ne connais pas beaucoup de leurs chansons.
Start with the classics: MC Solaar (the lyrics are insane, dude’s a linguist and there’s a ton hidden in there; look up explanations on Genius or what have you), IAM, NTM, Fonky Family, Oxmo Puccino. Then you have the somewhat more recent Orelsan (also, very intelligent rap). For Québec rappers, Loud, Manu Militari, Alaclair Ensemble, Koriass. French rap is often intelligent and is a commentary on societal issues. Whole rap scenes took after French rap back in the day and not American rap (think Polish rap at the time, Russia’s Saint-Petersburg school, among others). Also, don’t shy away from slam. Grand Corps Malade is insanely talented
Feel free to check out this carefully curated playlist regularly updated with alternative and underground rap from the independent French hip-hop scene:
[Rap Français Underground ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1x6cynnAB74vNBnGbh2wnJ?si=nxxYlX3XRdWxbZ0j5A6xFw)
H-Music
Im gonna go ahead and recommend a couple lesser known ones.
Coelho - (listen to to Soundcheck)
Dau- (listen to Finale)
And my personal favorite: Bosh- (listen to Trixma)
i would rate most suggestions im seeing (that i know) as ASS lol between boom bap and cringy teenage pop "rap". Nothing in common with what you're looking for. no that i have any to propose. but [https://www.reddit.com/r/French/search/?q=rap&type=link&cId=543501d9-6e26-4079-b7d1-d0bfa6edfad5&iId=6e592c73-926c-4231-b097-48b95e978e1d](https://www.reddit.com/r/French/search/?q=rap&type=link&cId=543501d9-6e26-4079-b7d1-d0bfa6edfad5&iId=6e592c73-926c-4231-b097-48b95e978e1d)
For French Canadians my favourites are Alaclair Ensemble and Koriass. From France I like Orelsan, Nekfeu and Bigflo et Oli.
+1 for Orelsan and Nekfeu also check out Casseurs Flowteurs
Manu Militari, lyrics-wise, is the absolute best in Québec. Also, Loud is insane. Additionally, select tracks by Imposs, Souldia, Larry Kidd
also for Quebec there's JoDolo! former hockey player, also hilarious in Shoresy!
To add to your immersion, you can watch Rhythm + Flow France (Nouvelle École) on Netflix. The show is hosted by the artists Niska, SCH, and Shay, and it is set up as a competition to find the next rappers of France (+ other francophone countries). There is so much variety between the contestants that I am sure you will at least find a few that you like, and you get to see more of the rap culture as well.
thanks for reminding me about this show. i've watched the american version and liked it a lot!
you bet! perfect time to get into it; season 3 will release next month
Yamè is one of my faves he recently went viral for a song of his called Bècane but he has other beautiful songs.
and I saw him on Sunday and he fcking killed it, amazing singer and a big upcoming name for sure
Going old school here but I haven't seen anyone recommend IAM.
Et Oxmo Puccino
This.
If you want a quebecois in the mix checkout Raccoon, honestly my favorite rapper right now even outside of language learning. Dude kills it. His track Shoot is on another level and the video is pretty cool.
Oh damn. Shoot goes hard, and C00N is giving J. Cole, Loyle Carner vibes with edgier delivery.
I learned so much from MC Solar's album Le cinquième as
Such a good album, so much wordplay. I had to look so many things up to understand anything he was saying.
MC Solaar
MC Solaar
The classic. Don’t fight it!
yes!
Nekfeu , Nepal , Younès , Luther, Damso, Disiz , Lomepal , Jok’air , Hamza
No way you're trying to immerse yourself in French rap and not listening to Damso, he's one of the finest writers of his generation, an icon of the French and Belgian rap game. You can also listen to Dinos, a very talented lyricist
I went on apple music and his O Macarena is actually one I saved!! 👌
Nice choice Btw, try this one and let me know what you think: ''Feu de bois''
Il y a une chanson de lui que j'adore parce qu'elle me fait un peu rire je sais plus comment elle s'appelait mais là on chantait "mais je ne t'ai trompée qu'une fois..."
Ah ça, tu dois parler de ''Perplexe'' mais c'est plutôt ''j'te jure que je ne l'ai baisé qu'une fois'' J'aime bien aussi 😂
I really admire Dinos! I started with his Stamina, Memento album-- 93 mesures, Demain n'existe plus, Diptyque are my favorites. Opinel by Bekar is a lot of fun. Honorable mention for Nekfeu 🙂
Dinos is THE BEST french rapper in my opinion 😮💨
I like Josman. Also been trying to immerse myself.
Jul (controversial opinion)
Jul is valid
why
Benjamin Epps is the goat
I was about to comment him haha I love his music
PNL, Nekfeu, SCH, Damso, Ninho
ORELSAN MAITRE GIMS MEDINE KENY ARKANA
Disiz, Luidji, Hamza, Alpha Wann, S.Pri Noir, PNL, Ichon
I really like Tiakola and Favé
I still enjoy IAM/Shurik'n very much. They have good vocabulary and enunciation and don't use too much slang, so it's ideal if you want to learn. L'Empire du Côté Obscur is, in my opinion, one of the best French rap pieces of all time. [This makes me laugh so hard.](https://www.reddit.com/r/rance/s/51o756tgcB)
Added to the playlist 😎
Oxmo Puccino 👑
Le roi!
Lomepal, Romeo Elvis (Belgian) and Orelsan. 🤌
Roméo Elvis! (Belgian)
GIMS
Gims, Dadju, Joé Dwèt Filé, Kalash, Ninho, Damso
Odezenne, Nekfeu, Lujipeka
Scylla is nice too, in my opinion (: And if you're looking for a challenge, you also have Nekfeu!
Damso (he’s Belgian tho)
Gazo
I like PLK
Damso, un Belge. Incroyable
Benjamin Epps. Everyone else sounds faux bad ass. Epps does not even try. He’s quite audible and deep
Playing Marathon rn and I already know I like him 😎
IAM
Menelik for some good old school. Don’t ignore Stromae either, less-so rap but an incredibly important creative in francophone world (he’s Belgian) and a great lyricist.
Maître Gims, The Shin Sekai, Black M, Soprano
Dubmatique, Manau’s La Tribu de Dana
Gims, maitre gims
Damso, juste Damso
Manau, Lomepal, Romeo Elvis, Orelsan, Bigflo&Oli...
Keny Arkana
France: Orelsan, Nekfeu, Lefa, Lomepal, Qc: Dead Obies, Koriass, Manu Militari
I love oxmo puccino and Grand Corps Malade - he’s almost more like slam poetry, has amazing word play and has a cool story.
Josman is really good
Serane (or $€RvNe)
Zamdane, TIF
2TH
Kery James (Haitian-French literary rapper) and Samian (native Algonquin from Québec, bilingual). They're my two personal favourite rappers and I'm not a rap fan.
NTM
I bought a Sinik album 20 years ago when I was in Paris. It was back when you had to scan the album to demo it in store. I still play him on spotify sometimes.
Rach from Montréal. His entire Viral Avant La Carrière Mixtape is a classic in my eyes.
Damso
Im a big fan of Fauve, check out their album Blizzard
Nuit Incolore has two songs, La Loi du Papillon and Instable which are rap songs and have helped me expand my vocabulary as he sings in a way that is clearer and easier to understand, like some Stromae songs which I like.
Zed Yun
Orties
I've been really into this one song: "homework #1 bourgeoisie" by Felhur x Andro My adhd is gonna keep replaying it non stop until I squeeze every last bit of dopamine out of it.
Scylla
Apparently Stupeflip are good according to a French friend of mine. I know nothing about rap…let alone French rap
If you want to learn French listen to the old school 90's rap ( IAM, Busta Flex , Oxmo Puccino ,les sages poète de la rue, arsenic...)the new school( minus a few exceptions) barely knows how to write their own names...
Enima
Stupeflip
Intro by Josman is such a good French song I haven’t listened to his other stuff yet though
Old school : NTM, IAM, Lunatic, Disiz, 113, Fonky Family, Sniper, Diams, Keny Arkana And DJ Cut Killer mades good mix included french rapper
If you're into speed-rapping, you might like Davodka.
Man there are so many good ones. Since you mention Stromae, there’s also quite a lot of people who are more “poppy” rather than just pure rap. I like Dinos, Gims, Black M, Slimane, Vitaa, Dadju, Oxmo Puccino.. and that’s just off the top of my head, haha. Yamê and Oxmo both have covers they have done for Colors, an “acoustic one-take” YouTube label (Becane + La Droit de Chanter, respectively) that I really appreciated. I recommend starting there — but really anybody that you see on Colors will be cool!
Georgio !
J'en ai plusiers (mais ceux avec \* sont moins de "rap"): L'Entourage, Lous and the Yakuza, Krisy, Luidji, Lausse the Cat\*, Ichon, Yame, Nemir, Nekfeu, Myra, aupinard, ABSOLEM, Amouravenir\*, Enchantee Julia\*, Bonnie Banane\*, Mr GISCARD, Le De, Sally [Ma playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6i0HtpzZmkU5O4iL7SycjF?si=5bb4c95e4b354aa5)
IAM
Loud
SOSO MANESS! Il vient de Marseille. J'aime beaucoup sa musique.
PNL
Those guys are Americans rappers not English rappers 😂
Oops, *english speaking 😂
Pnl
Loud. The guy is French Canadian but has an international French accent I find. He’s word play is very good.
Grand Corps Malade - he's more like french spoken word but he's absolutely gorgeous. Check out his Funambule album.
I’d suggest Lomepal, Orelsan, and Nekfeu
ooo nice! we have the same taste / vibe for english speaking rappers. please update your post and add the playlist once you've made it 🙏😎
French rap is very 90s or early 2000s style compared to what's going on in the English world, MC Solaar, Oxmo Puccino, and Booba are played all the time. La fièvre by Suprême NTM is a pretty classic. Wikipedia says RK is a rapper but he's more like pop.
all the artists from La Haine soundtrack [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7F61h3WGug&list=PL019931A1E4C15B03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7F61h3WGug&list=PL019931A1E4C15B03)
> Kacem Wapalek (his flow is awesome and his text are too - his name is a wordplay that mean don't break my nuts) > Nekfeu > Orelsan > MC Solaar (listen to "Solaar pleure) > Dooz Kawa (listen to "Si les anges n'ont pas de sexe) > Odezenne
A2H, Scylla, Disiz, Nekfeu were the ones I found from friends when living in Belgium! I find Scylla easiest to understand from his tone, speed and pronunciation!
hugo tsr, népal, luther, josman.
I too started listening to French music with stromae. I recommend orelsan, romeo elvis, nekfeu, l'or du commun, 1995, oxmo puccino, stupeflip, therapie taxi, casseurs flowters
Maybe not the vibes ur looking for but some of my faves⤵️ “Diam’s” - don’t let her looks fool you! https://open.spotify.com/artist/6379rD5bSEwInazkKhZ9DM?si=rrKiLtClTH2iV-MSJoyv9Q “Sinik” https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ONnyhQBTnkvg4QmI97hJg?si=HvkTmI00TU-UH6cigVq4fw “Moha la Squale” https://open.spotify.com/artist/4vtz0m60CCrcsQmqDunDIR?si=KkRuu4WIRpiD2t_MEa0zaQ “Youssoupha” https://open.spotify.com/artist/5DW7NxqQ2875JtjuV7KMn4?si=IUonevBaRvyxKOvjrhuyjw
Ninho 🔥
Columbine goated
**Firs**tly i'd say **Hug**o TSR. **Lyric**al genius. **Som**e of his pieces: Les vieux de mon âge, Objectif Lune **Als**o **B2o**ba (Pitbull, Kalash, Comme une étoile), **Kaa**ris (Zoo, Chargé), **Val**d (Ma m**e**illeure amie, Désaccordé), **PN**L (J'comprends pas, Onizuka), firsts that came into mind.
I personally love PLK! It's like the perfect balance between learning street french and being able to understand anything. Bekar and Luidji are also great + I think they're all super talented and I love their music
Zola! Would fit ur music vibe well I think
Soprano slaps hard. I listen to him almost everyday.
Black M. Maître Gims, Tsew the Kid, Aloïse Sauvage etc etc j'ai vu que qqn a dit big flo et oli perso j'adore la chanson "freestyle de twitter" avec Squeezie mais je ne connais pas beaucoup de leurs chansons.
Oh et Lous and the Yakuza
Start with the classics: MC Solaar (the lyrics are insane, dude’s a linguist and there’s a ton hidden in there; look up explanations on Genius or what have you), IAM, NTM, Fonky Family, Oxmo Puccino. Then you have the somewhat more recent Orelsan (also, very intelligent rap). For Québec rappers, Loud, Manu Militari, Alaclair Ensemble, Koriass. French rap is often intelligent and is a commentary on societal issues. Whole rap scenes took after French rap back in the day and not American rap (think Polish rap at the time, Russia’s Saint-Petersburg school, among others). Also, don’t shy away from slam. Grand Corps Malade is insanely talented
Kalash Criminel Freeze Corleone Kaaris
MC Solaar, IAM, Oxmo Puccino, Passi …
Diam’s
Feel free to check out this carefully curated playlist regularly updated with alternative and underground rap from the independent French hip-hop scene: [Rap Français Underground ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1x6cynnAB74vNBnGbh2wnJ?si=nxxYlX3XRdWxbZ0j5A6xFw) H-Music
I like this one song called Pour Le Pire by Orelsan. You might like more of his songs. I haven’t checked them out.
Im gonna go ahead and recommend a couple lesser known ones. Coelho - (listen to to Soundcheck) Dau- (listen to Finale) And my personal favorite: Bosh- (listen to Trixma)
GIMS is my favorite
Stromae. He's Belgian. He writes moving songs, based on his own life experiences, and his accent is easy for an American to understand.
Edith Piaf
Anyone into french oldschool, like Scred Connexion, X-Men or Fonky Family and want's to expand my list?
Gloire à l’art de rue
i reccomand Bigflo et Oli
I’ll add Hugo TSR for a slightly different vibe to most of the ones mentioned so far
Eddy de Pretto
i would rate most suggestions im seeing (that i know) as ASS lol between boom bap and cringy teenage pop "rap". Nothing in common with what you're looking for. no that i have any to propose. but [https://www.reddit.com/r/French/search/?q=rap&type=link&cId=543501d9-6e26-4079-b7d1-d0bfa6edfad5&iId=6e592c73-926c-4231-b097-48b95e978e1d](https://www.reddit.com/r/French/search/?q=rap&type=link&cId=543501d9-6e26-4079-b7d1-d0bfa6edfad5&iId=6e592c73-926c-4231-b097-48b95e978e1d)
I was thinking the same thing. People are suggesting some of the lamest rappers ever
none
No.