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In 2021, French rap has seen the emergence of many new faces. Hyper-talented rappers who will become heavyweights in the years to come. With 2022 shaping up to be at least as eventful, we're going to take advantage of this first quarter to focus on those who'll be breaking new ground this year, whether they're rookies or already big names.
After a 2021 that saw heavyweights such as Orelsan, SCH and Ninho break all records with their albums, some lesser-known rappers may have gone a little unnoticed. But that's all in the past, and this year will be an opportunity for them to explode even further in the eyes of a public always on the lookout for new artists to give strength to. So it's time to focus on the rappers who will be making news in 2022. This is obviously a subjective and non-exhaustive list, but we suggest you check out all the names if you're unfamiliar with them - there's a lot on the agenda!
Ziak, the roughest
And speaking of heavy, let's start with the masked rapper who made the biggest splash in 2021. We're not talking about Freeze Corleone, or a hooded rapper like Kalash Criminel, but Ziak. With his album "Akimbo", he got off to a great start and is now a gold disc. Above all, he flooded social networks, notably Instagram and TikTok, with his hyper-effective, high-energy bangers. With his music directly inspired by UK drill codes, he has diversified his choice of prods to offer a whole range of moods, even if the background remains very dark and very street. Now that he's been validated by a huge fanbase, we're hoping he'll use 2022 to hit the ground running and show that he's now a real industry heavyweight, without any musical concessions. The project was released in November 2021, so we'll surely have to wait until the end of the year to see it again with something new. But there's no doubt about it: it's going to hurt.
Uzi, the young crack
For those who don't yet know who we're talking about, at the time of writing, a featuring is planned between Uzi and Booba, the Duke of Rap FR. That's how far the young rapper from 77 has come. Virtually unheard of two years ago, he's now getting some of the biggest names in the game. All thanks to an album entitled "Cœur Abîmé" (Damaged Heart) which did very well, including the incredible single "A la Fête". In 2021, Uzi was one of the real revelations of the year. In 2022, he is already planning to release an album, which will include a sound with Booba, but also, perhaps, with Bosh, Soolking or even OBOY. A very different configuration from his previous project, with no feat. This time around, everything seems to be calibrated to break everything in the charts, so we can safely say that Uzi is going to sweep everything under the carpet this year. Perhaps this will be an opportunity to work with him again, after last year's incredible shoot.
La Fève, the best-kept secret
Those who know him well will know that La Fève has been roaming the underground for some time now. His first projects date back to 2016. After cutting his teeth on SoundCloud, he got quite a bit of exposure in 2020, notably with his Grünt freestyle and his "KOLAF" project. Then the hype seemed to die down... But that was before the release of "ERRR" in late 2021. This new 15-track project contains almost nothing but nuggets. In particular, the incredible "Mauvais Payeur", with over 2 million views on Youtube and 7 million listens on Spotify alone, confirms all the expectations placed in this artist. The mood, the flow, the gestures, the tapes, the clip, the chorus, everything is perfect. But La Fève also shows that he's very much at home on more musical prods, with autotune. A complete rapper who, with all the noise made by his latest project, will have to take advantage of the opening to establish himself definitively. And, we hope, he'll be able to get certified. His latest tracks all have a million streams on Spotify, so we can't be far off!
Soso Maness, the enfant terrible
Yes, we know, he's far from being a rookie. In fact, since "Bande Organisée", he's become a fixture on the French rap scene, and one of the leading figures on the Marseilles rap scene. And yet, it seems that his solo sales don't yet reflect the enormous public sympathy he enjoys. It's as if the fact that he's been involved in so many joint projects, and given so many featurings, has meant that his solo releases have been "forgotten". And yet, they're always top-notch, because Soso Maness has a lot to say, and the child of the Quartiers Nord does it well. We know he's got a solo project planned for 2022, and we hope he'll get the chance to exploit it to the full, especially on stage with the end of health restrictions and the start of festivals. And at Project X Paris, we're also looking forward to working with the rapper again, who was stunning during the capsule shoot. Marseille Crew.
Dinos, the most melancholy
Of course, we couldn't avoid talking about Dinos. After finally landing the much-deserved platinum disc with "Stamina", the rapper has gradually taken the pressure off. Yes, he can sell a lot, even with a rap that doesn't make many concessions. Still ultra-technical, ultra-referential, Dinos hasn't abandoned his purist side, but he has embraced the latest trends with talent, sincerity and without dressing himself up. All of this has been achieved through hard work and questioning, which commands respect. In 2022, he took advantage of the start of the year to release a 3-track EP, "Aquanaute", which is incredible. And also to announce that he was going to release a hyper-gray, hyper-melancholic album, probably the mood in which he's at his best. A cold Dinos, in "winter" mode, the most powerful form. You've been warned!
Kanoé, the youngest, already so big
If you follow the rap game closely, you're bound to have seen a freestyle in 2018, where a very young rapper spouted verses way too mature for his age, with a cigarette in his hand. Kanoé had just made his debut in French rap by shocking everyone at the age of 13. Now, he's an established artist with a huge following (almost all his clips are around a million views or more) and an increasingly assertive artistic identity, a far cry from the freestyles of his early days. But he's also a guy with a great sense of humor and ease in front of the camera. We see this in his latest humorous video on his Youtube channel, "La Vraie histoire de Kanoé". After finishing 2021 in the best possible way, with an album in November, we know he's already working on what's next. In fact, he's already started releasing new tracks, so count on him to make some noise in 2022!
Zamdane, the skinned man
If you like rap with substance, quite sad and at the same time quite lucid, Zamdane is the rapper for you. The Moroccan rapper, who arrived in Marseille in 2016, has had a difficult life, and this permeates all his lyrics. But thanks to his writing, he manages to turn it into something poetic, cathartic and quite striking, unlike most of the rest of the game. His latest project, "Couleur de ma peine", is already a critical success, and with his fanbase, still too small compared to the size of his talent. Validated by Soso Maness, Dinos and many others, the rapper brings back a touching authenticity that is all too often missing from certain albums. And if the artist has been growing for more than 4 years now, in 2022, he'll really take on a new, well-deserved dimension thanks to his project.
Kader Diaby, the most original
You know us, at Project X Paris, we like personalities who are a little out of the box, a little exuberant, who don't hesitate to try new things every time. That's why we have a soft spot for Kader Diaby. Rapper, humorist, Youtuber, TikTok hotshot, the artist is a somewhat elusive phenomenon, but hyper-talented in everything he does. We don't know if he's planning to release an album in 2022, but the rate at which he's releasing new material is pretty high at the moment, so we're wondering if he's up to something. In any case, with each new video release, we continue to have a blast. So we wish him all the best for this year, and hope we'll get the chance to work with him again, after the success of the shoot for the " University ".
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