Rap won: at what cost? — Our book of the year by Mehdi Maïzi

Summary

Rap has won. Okay. But what did it lose along the way?
Rap game: out of category, out of format
Rap in algorithm mode?
Boom bap, trap, drill… Whatever, as long as it hits
Streetwear in all this? We’re right in it!
Who is Mehdi Maïzi?
Why is this book a banger?

Publication date: March 5, 2025

Publisher: La Fabrique Édition

Author: Mehdi Maïzi

Rap has won. Okay. But what did it lose along the way?

Today, rap is everywhere. On Spotify top charts, in ads, on fashion shows, 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 moralize. 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, two families of French rap were opposed: 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 spoke about the neighborhoods, or about Rolex. Either you were "real," or you were "sold out." But 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?

“Faced with an industry encouraging artists to calibrate 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, 1:30-minute tracks, massive streams but no soul? Not always. But the danger is there.

And that’s where Mehdi is smart. He tells you the real politics of rap isn’t just the lyrics. It’s how it keeps twisting the rules, hacking the system, staying unpredictable.

Boom bap, trap, drill… Whatever, 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, spatial productions, clashing styles.

Rap moves, and this movement is its greatest strength.

Streetwear in all this? We’re right in it!

What Mehdi says about rap could be said about streetwear.

Once frowned upon, today ultra bankable.

Once 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 giving voice to real artists, not marketed products.

Mehdi is a bridge. A guy who loves rap, respects it, and tells it better than anyone.