W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 5-2018 “Keeping It Real”: Re-diversification of rF ench hip hop through Islam, Gender, and Globalization Jesse Tanson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Part of the Other French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Tanson, Jesse, "“Keeping It Real”: Re-diversification of rF ench hip hop through Islam, Gender, and Globalization" (2018). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 1236. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1236 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 Preface .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction: Taking It Back to the Streets of NY ................................................................................................... 7 0.1 Origins of Hip Hop (1967-1989) ................................................................................................................ 7 0.2 Contextualizing French Hip hop: Societal Unrest in the 1980s and 90s .............................................. 12 0.3 Hip hop in France .................................................................................................................................... 16 0.4 The ‘Golden Age’ of French Hip hop (1990-1999) ................................................................................ 20 0.5 The French Rap Game (2000-2009) ........................................................................................................ 27 0.6 New Directions in French Rap 2009-2018 .............................................................................................. 30 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 1: The Umma on the Mic: Muslim Narratives in French Hip hop ......................................................... 37 1.1 Shahada/Conversion in French Muslim rap .......................................................................................... 48 1.1.1 Abd al Malik, “Gibraltar”: From the Tabligh to Sufi Islam ................................................................... 48 1.1.2 Kery James, “28 décembre 1977”: The Transformation of a Gangster into a Muslim .......................... 53 1.1.3 Akhenaton, “Dirigé vers l’est”: From Catholicism to Islam .................................................................. 56 1.2 Inner Jihad................................................................................................................................................ 62 1.2.1 PNL, “Mowgli”: The Banlieue Full of Sin ............................................................................................ 62 1.2.2 Akhenaton, “Je combats avec mes démons”: Fighting against Sin after Conversion ............................ 65 1.2.3 Médine, “Jihad”: Beyond War ............................................................................................................... 69 1.3 Combating Stereotypes ............................................................................................................................ 73 1.3.1 Abd al Malik, “Le faqir”: The Wandering Sufi ..................................................................................... 73 1.3.2 Médine ft. Aboubakr, “Ni violeur ni terroriste”: Fighting against Prejudices ....................................... 75 1.3.3 Akhenaton ft. Bruizza, “Gemmes”: Attacking Reductions of Muslim Culture ..................................... 79 1.4 Rapper as Imam ....................................................................................................................................... 85 1.4.1 Kery James, “Chapitre”: Calling Muslims to Change Their Lives ........................................................ 85 1.4.2 Ali, “Salaam”: Wishing Peace on All People, Regardless of Faith ....................................................... 88 Chapter 2: Les Meufs Aren’t Playing Games: An Examination of Gender and Sexuality in French Female Hip hop ............................................................................................................................................................................... 92 2.1 Addressing Misogyny ............................................................................................................................... 99 2.1.1 Chilla, "Sale Chienne”: An Exposé of the Sexism in French Hip hop. ............................................... 100 2.1.2 Diam’s, “Petite Banlieusarde": Confronting Discrimination in French Rap ........................................ 104 2.2 Reappropriation of Female Sexuality ................................................................................................... 109 2.2.1 Liza Monet, “Yaourt aux Fruits": Embracing Female Sexuality ......................................................... 109 2.2.2 Diam’s, “Jeune Demoiselle”: Romantic Relationships Are Not Passive ............................................. 113 2.3 De-gendering in French Female Hip hop ............................................................................................. 117 2.3.1 Sianna, "Passe-moi la télécommande": Using Egotrip to Combat Gender Norms .............................. 117 2.3.2 Casey, “Pas à vendre”: An Insider Look on the Gendered Nature of The Rap Industry ..................... 120 Chapter 3: French Rap on the Map: Globalization and Internationalization in French Rap Music .............. 125 2 3.1 Copying Flows: Mimicry of Cadences and Style in French Hip hop ................................................. 129 3.1.1 La Fouine, “Litron,” a French response to Drake and Future? ............................................................ 130 3.1.2 Josman, “Vanille”: Impersonation of Schoolboy Q’s Style ................................................................. 135 3.2 Reproductions of non-French Instrumentation in French Hip hop Beats ........................................ 139 3.2.1 MHD's A Kele Nta: Afro Trap’s Theme Song? ................................................................................... 139 3.2.2 PNL: Bené: Trips to Latin America and West Africa .......................................................................... 142 3.3 Lexical borrowings in French Hip hop................................................................................................. 145 3.3.1 Maître Gims ft. Niska "Sapés Comme Jamais": Congolization of French Rap? ................................. 146 3.3.2 MHD, "La moula": The Birth of a Wave ............................................................................................. 150 Conclusion: Where’s French Hip Hop At? ........................................................................................................... 154 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................. 162 Appendix A: Chapter 1 Lyrics ............................................................................................................................... 184 Conversion ............................................................................................................................................................ 184 Abd al Malik, “Gibraltar” .................................................................................................................................. 184 Kery James, “28 décembre 1977” ....................................................................................................................... 185 Akhenaton, "Dirigé vers l'est" ........................................................................................................................... 188 Inner Jihad ........................................................................................................................................................... 190 PNL, "Mowgli" .................................................................................................................................................. 190 Akhenaton, "Je combats avec mes démons" ..................................................................................................... 193 Médine, "Jihad" ................................................................................................................................................. 196 Combatting Stereotypes ...................................................................................................................................... 198 Abd al Malik, "Le faqir" .................................................................................................................................... 198 Médine and Aboubakr, "Ni violeur ni terroriste" .............................................................................................