Java

Formed in Paris in 2000 around R.Wan and Fixi, with Alexis Bossard and Jérôme Boivin, Java developed a quartet format in which hip‑hop mixes with bal musette, French chanson and, depending on the tracks, touches of jazz, funk, samba or pop. Java immediately laid the foundations of this “rap musette” on Hawaï (2001), driven by a spoken‑sung delivery, the accordion and lyrics built on wordplay, and carried that stage energy into the live album Java sur Seine (2001). With Safari croisière (2003), Java further broadened its palette without abandoning its Parisian identity marked by cheeky wit and popular rhythms. The group also made its name on stage, appearing at festivals such as Les Vieilles Charrues, Les Francofolies de La Rochelle, Printemps de Bourges, Solidays and the Fête de l’Humanité, as well as on several tours in France and abroad. After various side projects by its members — including R.Wan as a solo artist and Fixi in other collaborations — Java released Maudits Français in 2009, before announcing a hiatus in 2010. The band returned to the road in 2021 for its twentieth anniversary.