Hip-Hop Albums of the Year

12 June, 2024

MC Solaar — Prose combat


After the success of his debut album, MC Solaar embarks on a long tour in Poland and Russia and at the end of 1992 continues the tour throughout West Africa, to then work also with Guru the following year for his historic debut solo album "Jazzmatazz Vol. 1". The collaboration between the rapper of Chadian origins and half of Gang Starr marks a historic first for a French rapper, who is also appreciated in the United States and whose track ("Le bien, le mal") is considered among the best of the disk. Subsequently, the artist begins to work on his second album, which keeps his producer DJ Jimmy Jay, flanked by Boom Bass and Zdar behind the keyboards. The guests are Ménélik, Soon-E Mc, Sages poètes de la rue, Derin Young and Bambi Cruz.

Lyrically, the lyrics provided by MC Solaar are more serious than on his debut, although some parts retain a certain humor, and they are praised by most specialized critics and fans. The artist's performance is also praised, thanks to a smooth, velvety flow, in sync with the music chosen by the producers, who don't make any mistakes, the rapper travels easily and skillfully in a relaxed way on some of the best beats of the period in French hip-hop. The production is simply one of the best of the year, steeped in jazz, perfect for MC Solaar's rapping, robust bass, crunchy underground drums, delicious bridges, exquisite sounds.

The album features a number of gems, including "Obsolète", "Nouveau western" (with a famous sample from "Bonnie and Clyde" by Serge Gaingsbourg and Brigitte Bardot), the title track and "Séquelles" (a sort of sequel to "Caroline"), alternating between light choices and others with more serious tones, continuing on the qualitative path of the debut and creating a relaxing, fluid, fresh, clean, jazzy, accessible, pleasant effort.

Released by Cohiba Records and distributed by PolyGram, in the first week it sells one hundred thousand physical copies and obtains significant results throughout Europe, making the rapper earn the award for artist of the year at the French Grammys. The following year MC Solaar takes part in a compilation inspired by the film "La Haine", but a couple of years later his track is removed from the album following some controversies between labels. This album was unavailable between the early 2000s and September 24, 2021, both for sale only on purchase and streaming platforms, following a ruling between he and the label Polydor.

Without any weak points or flaws, the album is considered one of the best in French hip-hop and a classic of the genre. 8.5/10.

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