MC Solaar

Claude Honoré M'Barali (; born 5 March 1969), professionally known as MC Solaar , is a French rapper of Senegalese and Chadian origin. He is one of France's most famous and influential hip hop artists. Some consider him the best French rapper of all time.

MC Solaar is known for his complex lyrics and distinctive flows, which rely on word play, lyricism, and inquiry. He is one of the best in France. In the English-speaking world, Solaar was signed by London-based acid jazz record label Talkin' Loud and recorded with British band Urban Species and rapper Guru, who was a member of New York-based rap duo Gang Starr. Solaar has released twelve studio albums and one live album. His eighth studio album, Géopoétique, produced by Alain Etchart and mixed by sound engineer David Gnozzi, won best album of the year at the Victoires de la Musique awards in 2018.

Biography Early life Claude M'Barali was born in Dakar, Senegal, to parents from Chad. When he was six months old, his parents immigrated to France where they settled in the Parisian suburbs; initially in Saint-Denis, subsequently Maisons-Alfort and finally Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. When he was twelve, he went to live with an uncle in Cairo, Egypt for nine months where he discovered the Universal Zulu Nation and became fascinated with the rapping styles of Afrika Bambaataa. Upon his return to France, he passed the baccalauréat. The constant support from his mother was one of the reasons that he was able to pass the baccalauréat and still make music. He coined the stage name "MC Solaar" during his adolescence from his graffiti tags "SOAR" and "SOLAAR". Nevertheless, the song went platinum in France and reached number 5 on the national chart.

1991–1997: Early success and Prose Combat breakthrough After the success of "Bouge de là", Solaar went on to support the American rap group De La Soul when they performed at the Olympia in Paris in September 1991. At the close of 1991, Solaar released Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo which went on to sell over 400,000 copies in France.

MC Solaar released Prose Combat in 1994. It sold 100,000 copies in the first week of being released and became a bestseller in 20 other countries. In February 1995 he received an award for Best Male Singer of the Year at the 10th edition of the French "Victoires de la Musique" awards. Also in 1994, MC Solaar appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as Album of the Year by Time.

Solaar returned to the studio in 1997 with longtime friend and producer Jimmy Jay to record his third album, Paradisiaque. The album was another success, which led to an extensive European tour starting on 9 January 1998 at the Zénith in Paris. MC Solaar toured internationally, including Germany, Japan and the United States. He was included as a guest on American rapper Guru's "Jazzmatazz" project and one of Solaar's songs was included in the Tommy Boy rap compilation in the United States.

In 1998, MC Solaar embarked on a tour beginning at the Zénith de Paris. The concert he presents is a show with DJs and dancers (as the hip-hop dancer Bintou Dembélé) which overpasses the musical frame. The cover of Cinquieme As depicts Solaar topless, and draws comparisons to captives about to be taken onto a slave ship. However, a look at the inside cover reveals Solaar to be in a wrestler's costume, along with the other men in the picture. As Veronique Helenon discusses in her article concerning the French hip hop scene, references to Africa and "blackness" are a very important part of Solaar's music. Solaar recognises and pays tribute to the African presence in France by using boxing and wrestling references. Senegalese boxer Battling Siki is referenced in the album's booklet. Although Siki won the light heavyweight boxing championship in 1922, he still faced racism from journalists.

MC Solaar is one of the few French rappers having success in the English-dominated American hip hop culture. American rapper will.i.am admitted he prefers MC Solaar to American rapper Tupac Shakur.

Personal life MC Solaar studied humanities in highly selective preparatory classes (hypokhâgne). On 7 December 2003, MC Solaar married Chloé Bensemoun and on 7 May 2004, she gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Roman.

Discography Albums Studio albums

Live albums Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Collective singles YearSinglePeak positionsAlbum FR 2014 "À quoi ça sert l'amour" (live)(Lavoine / Zazie / Mathy / MC Solaar / Ségara / Les Enfoirés / Chœurs du Collège du Kochersberg)105Les Enfoirés albumBon anniversaire

Featured in YearSinglePeak positionsAlbum FR AUT BEL (Vl) BEL (Wa) GER NED SWE SWI 1993 "Le bien, le mal" (Guru feat. MC Solaar)331995 "Listen" (Urban Species feat. MC Solaar)291999 "All n My Grill" (Missy Misdemeanor Elliott feat. MC Solaar)167(Ultratip)922863923

Filmography 1991: Pour Kim Song-Man - short film by Costa-Gavras 2005: Mort à l'écran as Jonathan - short film by Alexis Ferrebeuf 2011: Illegal Love voice over - documentary by Julie Gali

References and footnotes