Features
French Hip Hop Narrates a Generation
Loading ...
La Langue Française
Intrinsically tied to the French perception of cultural supremacy was a concurrent belief in linguistic supremacy. But as the rhetoric of French cultural decline has grown it has been mirrored by the purported decline in the French language, yet another apparent consequence of globalization. Such an analysis is an anachronistic misinterpretation of global linguistic demographics.
The French language was once a powerful tool of colonial dominance and academic influence. Now, French is only the twelfth most spoken language in the world and more than 50% of French speakers are of African origin. And while French conservatives have again argued that such phenomena have caused a loss of French identity, Abdou Diouf, former president of Senegal, who is now the secretary general of the francophone organization asserts the opposite. “Diversity, not uniformity, is the real result of globalization,” he told the New York Times. A shared language no longer implies shared political and social views.
And while the cultural roots of hip hop were shared, French was a unique linguistic instrument that immediately gave artists across the Atlantic a distinct voice to their American counterparts and access to a rich literary tradition. For immigrants and their families it was also a language common to their origins that had been cleansed of any feeling of colonial suppression.
“Back in the day it was really hard because a lot of people didn’t understand the English really well, I mean its France. So they liked the music, they liked the artists like Public Enemy, the artists with social lyrics. But most of the people saw the videos and understood the beats but not the lyrics, they understood the titles but not all the content,” says Cut Killer.
“So this is why French artists came in the late 80s and early 90s, and became the first huge artists from the ghetto. It was the first portal for the people from the suburbs to express themselves via the music. They release all their anger, they can express it themselves.”
Laurent Fintoni, a French/Italian national, a music journalist, radio DJ and co-curator of nonprofit art and culture program “Original Cultures,” described the immediate personality and accessibility of a culture that relied on the French language. “French hip hop was the first to really establish its own voice after being exported from America, and to do so faster and to a degree and to a higher level than other countries. I think there’s a host of reasons for this, most documented, included socio-economic ones but really you could say it does boil down to the fact that French is a very poetic language and it lent itself incredibly well to hip hop as a vocal art form.”
Inherently associated with the French language is the long and illustrious literary culture of France, a culture that has always represented those marginalized in France and promoted civil liberties. Now hip hop has established such an important presence in France as to become a part of this powerful literary cultural canon as well as a contemporary influence on the French language itself, as the sounds of the street become a increasingly regular presence in everyday language.
“If anything Hip Hop is as much a part of its history as French poetry. French lends itself incredibly well to rhythmic patterns I think, the language is poetic, if we talk about more modern elements, the use of things like verlan (backwards speaking where syllables’ order is swapped), it’s definitely contributed to the expansion of the French language, both in an artistic and social context. Hip hop’s use and misuse of French enhances the tradition, feeds its growth,” Fintoni added.
De La emphasized the power of the French language to carve out a unique personality for the appropriated culture. “Lyrically, I think French rap naturally developed its own identity and kept it. Rappers couldn’t really emulate the US lyrically, because the language was different, we have our own slang and our topics are different… Of course we still learned a lot from the US in terms of lyrics & flow, but rappers couldn’t just copy/paste like some producers did.”
La Révolution
While the cultural contribution of hip hop is defining the history and cultural presence of the neglected blocs of France, it is the social awareness and activism that has seen French hip hop make a broader impact on French society. The French government has been forced to take notice of the permanent presence of the culture, and at times has been embarrassed by their attempts to suppress the movement.
Since hip hop made a loud arrival on the French political scene the government has blamed the artists for starting riots and sued a number of rappers for defamation. This saw hip hop begin to extended its social critique to French freedom of speech laws. However while most of the cases have ended in an acquittal the lengthy and expensive process has been used as a deterrent by the government.
“For an MC to be attacked by the politicians just because they said fuck the system shows the power,” said Cut Killer, “But it is a really delicate situation. Some artists understand the situation and continue the battle in court. But some artists are really disappointed because they don’t have the money to hire a lawyer.”
But in 2008, after 5 years and two appeals, in a case originally brought by Nicholas Sarkozy the then interior minister, rapper Hamé of La Rumeur was acquitted of libel against the police. As part of La Rumer’s often multi-media releases their album included a magazine in which Hamé criticized the police for their treatment of minority groups. Hamé’s high profile acquittal in the highest appeal court has been celebrated as a victory over the archaic and draconian libel laws born from the feudal based legal system aimed at protection of the monarch.
“If they wanted us to shut up, it didn’t work,” Hamé, said in an interview with the New York Times. “All these legal issues, all this censorship is making me want to do three times more.”
This is where French hip hop is at its best, challenging artistic, social and cultural complacency and perceptions. And this is what has always attracted artists to the culture.
“I see it as a voice for minority and forgotten peoples,” said 20syl, the MC/Producer for progressive live hip hop band Hocus Pocus and DJ in the legendary C2C crew. “It’s also a good way to question myself and the world I’m living in. Musically and graphically, it’s freedom, you have no rules, no boundaries.”
Pages: 1 2
Simon is a regular contributor to Deft Magazine and active in the hip hop community in Paris. He earned his Bachelors of Law and Arts from New Zealand's University of Otago, Simon was also a DJ on Radio One Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand.
You might also like
|
|
|
|
|
