Hip-Hop en français: An Exploration of Hip-Hop Culture in the Francophone World ed. by Alain-Philippe Durand
2021; American Association of Teachers of French; Volume: 95; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/tfr.2021.0304
ISSN2329-7131
Autores Tópico(s)Music History and Culture
ResumoReviewed by: Hip-Hop en français: An Exploration of Hip-Hop Culture in the Francophone World ed. by Alain-Philippe Durand Christa Jones Durand, Alain-Philippe, ed. Hip-Hop en français: An Exploration of Hip-Hop Culture in the Francophone World. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. ISBN 978-1-5381-1632-6. Pp. 260. This well-researched interdisciplinary study centers on Francophone transnational hip-hop culture and its reception in globalized or politically charged contexts. A treasure trove of information, this book highlights notable deejays, dancers, rapper-writers, the importance of cultural activism, and iconic figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. (chapter 6 by Stève Puig). Authors recall countless rappers' stage performances, graffiti art––see Alain Milon on its "symbolic aggression" (152)––DJing, and dancing––see Hugues Bazin's analysis of the "fundamentally political hip-hop body" (131), and Felicia MacCarren's discussion of hip-hop dance in Kader Attou's choreography The Roots and Houda Benyamina's film Divines. Karim Hammou chronicles the history (from the 1980s) and diversity of the French rap scene with artists such as MC Solaar, NTM, Nekfeu, Orelsan, and Diam's. During Nicolas Sarkozy's tenure as Minister of the Interior and his subsequent presidency, "French rap offered an area of economic and symbolic value […] to artists who often belonged to racialized minorities" (11). Paul A. Silverstein discusses "guerrilla capitalism" (51), the rap scene during the 2005 riots, police violence, racism, discrimination, French rappers' references to urban exclusion and their links to the black Atlantic. Turning to the issue of censorship, Kathryn Kleppinger discusses how rappers Sofiane and Booba use social media to promote their work and circumvent traditional media such as Skyrock, while Jean-Marie Jacono zeroes in on Marseille, the normalization of rap in French society (IAM, Naps, SCH, Jul, Soprano), hip-hop society, street art, dance, and rappers' critique of urban gentrification, the opposite side of the spectrum of "discriminatory urban policing" (53) or the traditional ghettocentricity of the cités or banlieues. Samir Meghelli recalls Public Enemy's concerts in France and the links between French rap and Afro-American rap, leading French hip-hop—which is not a trend but a movement and culture—to become a conduit for many artists to question formulations of Frenchness (36). More interestingly, this study leaves metropolitan France to address heretofore little-studied subjects, such as the history of hip-hop in Dakar (Catherine M. Appert) and Quebec (Maxime Delcourt and Ariane Gruet-Pelchat), Creole rap, and Guadeloupean rappers Amélie Tintin and Sista Flo (Steve Gadet). Readers unsure about the difference between hip-hop and rap will find the chapters by Silverstein and by Charles Norton (on hip-hop based education in Paris, with a useful appendix) enlightening. The English translations of chapters originally written in French are very good. The book could have benefited from a more clearly demarcated thematic structure. However, the lack of structural unity reflects the variety of hip-hop itself, with all its border-crossing diversity, theoretical implications, and practical manifestations. With this caveat in mind, this is a must-read for French or Francophone studies instructors. [End Page 246] Christa Jones Utah State University Copyright © 2021 American Association of Teachers of French
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