Rap won: at what cost? — Our book of the year by Mehdi Maïzi
Summary
Release date: March 5, 2025
Publisher: La Fabrique Édition
Author: Mehdi Maïzi
Rap has won. Ok. But what did it lose along the way?
Today, rap is everywhere. At the top of Spotify, in ads, on runways, at the heart of presidential campaigns. Everyone wants to rap, everyone wants rap. But is it still our rap? The one from the streets, the one that hits where it hurts?
With Rap has won: at what cost?, Mehdi Maïzi presses where it hurts. He doesn’t preach. He tells, deciphers, questions. And he does it well. This is not a book about rap. It’s a book about what rap has become — and what we want it to remain.
Rap game: out of category, out of format
“For a long time, people wanted to oppose two families of French rap: conscious rap and bling-bling rap, lyricists and punchliners – social critique or commercial, poetry or egotrip.”
For too long, labels were stuck on. Either you talked about the neighborhoods, or you talked about Rolex. Either you were "real," or you were "sold out." But the reality is more complex than that.
Today, an artist can drop an ultra-egotrip punchline one day and release a militant track the next. And that’s a good thing. Mehdi Maïzi shows you how French rap broke the boxes, and that’s what makes it strong.
Rap in algorithm mode?
“Facing an industry that encourages artists to tailor their music according to the productivity logic of streaming platforms…”
Translation? We make music for the algorithm, not for the real ones.
TikTok-friendly choruses, 1min30 tracks, massive streams but no soul? Not always. But the danger is there.
And that’s where Mehdi is clever. He tells you that the real politics of rap isn’t just the lyrics. It’s the way it keeps twisting the rules, hacking the system, staying unpredictable.
Boom bap, trap, drill… No matter, as long as it hits
The book covers all the musical mutations of rap: the energy of trap, the return of boom bap, the emergence of new flows, the spatial productions, the clashing styles.
Rap moves, and this movement is its greatest strength.
Streetwear in all this? We’re right in the middle of it!
What Mehdi says about rap, we could say about streetwear.
Once frowned upon, today ultra bankable.
Yesterday in Paname, today in Milan.
But the question remains: how to stay real when you’re on top?
That’s why we relate at PXP. Because we know where we come from. Because we create pieces that speak to those who grew up with Booba, SCH, Alpha Wann or Kalash in their ears. Because like rap, our strength is to stay tuned to the street.
Who is Mehdi Maïzi?
You definitely know him: NoFun, Rap Jeu, La Sauce, now head of rap playlists at Apple Music. He hosts "Le Code", the show that gives voice to real artists, not marketed products.
Mehdi is a bridge. A guy who loves rap, respects it, and tells it better than anyone.
Why is this book a banger?
- Because it speaks to you real
- Because it respects all facets of rap
- Because it reminds you that rap isn’t streams, it’s a culture
- Because it makes you want to create, to question, to stay on top
