MC Solaar

Born in Dakar in 1969 to a Chadian family and raised in the Paris region, MC Solaar emerged in the late 1980s around Radio Nova and the Posse 501 collective. He helped shape a more narrative French rap style, rich in wordplay, literary imagery and references to jazz, soul and African music. MC Solaar broke through with the single «Bouge de là» in 1990 and the album Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo in 1991, followed by Prose combat (1994), Paradisiaque (1997) and MC Solaar (1998). His career also intersected with the international hip‑hop scene through collaborations with De La Soul and Guru on Jazzmatazz Vol. 1, while work with Jimmy Jay, Boom Bass and Philippe Zdar accompanied the evolution of his sound—from spare loops and muted grooves to a more melodic rap. Having played stages like the Olympia and the Zénith and numerous festivals, he continued into the 2000s with Cinquième As (2001), Mach 6 (2003) and Chapitre 7 (2007), returned in 2017 with Géopoétique and in 2024 resumed his discography with Triptyque, released in three parts.