Secteur Ä

Secteur Ä is a hip-hop collective that emerged in the mid-1990s in the Val-d’Oise, between Sarcelles, Garges-lès-Gonesse and Villiers-le-Bel. The collective is built around members of Ministère A.M.E.R. and their manager Kenzy, who directed the project. Secteur Ä brought together several leading figures of that era of French rap, including Passi, Stomy Bugsy, Doc Gynéco, the duo Ärsenik (Lino and Calbo), the group Neg’ Marrons (Jacky, Ben-J, Djamatik), Hamed Daye, MC Janik and La Clinique. Rooted in a narrative style of French rap and influenced by funk, reggae and Paris street culture, the collective fostered many internal collaborations and also operated as a publishing company. In May 1998 Secteur Ä performed at the Olympia for two concerts organized to mark the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery; these shows were recorded on the live album “Le Secteur Ä (Live)” released in 1998. The collective followed up with “Secteur Ä All Stars” in 2000, then welcomed new members such as Pit Baccardi, Futuristiq, Fdy Phenomen, Opee, Quartier Latin Académia and RnB singer Singuila, while a tighter core regrouped under the name Noyau Dur. The publishing company Secteur Ä was placed in judicial liquidation in 2005, before the idea of a comeback was revived around Passi and realized with an anniversary tour in 2018 and the release of the compilation “Best of Secteur Ä” the same year, once again bringing the collective’s main artists to the stage.