Fulbright-mtvU Fellows

Suprême NTM and EDVIGE

Although I have still hardly unpacked my bags, my first week in Paris was packed. Before I arrived last Monday morning, I had already reserved tickets for a concert that night that I couldn’t miss. I knew that I would probably be exhausted, but figured that nothing could be more appropriate than starting my time in Paris with one of the “founding father” groups of French hip-hop— Suprême NTM. Probably the most controversial of the French rap pioneers (other notable “founding fathers” are rapper MC Solaar and Marseille-based group IAM), NTM first came onto the hip-hop scene in the early 80’s when members Joey Starr and Kool Shen were break dancers, and eventually emerged as one of the most influential “hardcore” rap groups in France— famous for rapping about their banlieue, confrontations with the police, and criticism of the French government. Although they broke up as a group in ’98, they continued to contribute to the music world by rapping and producing new artists, and last week, they performed in a highly anticipated reunion tour ten years after they disbanded and more than twenty years after they first formed.

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