Rappers to follow in 2022
In 2021, French rap saw many new faces emerge. Highly talented rappers who will become heavyweights in the coming years. 2022 promises to be at least as eventful; we will take advantage of this first quarter to focus on those who will break everything this year, whether rookies or already veterans.
After a 2021 that saw heavyweights like Orelsan, SCH, or Ninho break records with their albums (notably sales records), some less known rappers may have gone unnoticed. This is just a temporary setback, and this year will be their chance to explode even more in front of an audience always looking for new artists to empower. The time has come to focus on the rappers who will make the news in 2022. An obviously subjective and non-exhaustive list, but we suggest you check all the names if you don't know them; there's some heavy stuff coming!
Ziak, the rawest And speaking of heavy, let's start with the masked rapper who made the biggest splash in 2021. It's not Freeze Corleone, nor a hooded one like Kalash Criminel, but indeed Ziak. With his album "Akimbo," he had a huge start and is now gold certified. Above all, he flooded social networks, especially Instagram and TikTok, with his very effective and energetic bangers. With music directly inspired by UK drill codes, he diversified his production choices to offer a variety of atmospheres, even if the content remains very dark and very street. Now validated by a huge fanbase, we hope he will use 2022 to quickly follow up and show that he is now a true heavyweight in the industry, without any musical concession. The project was released in November 2021, so we will probably have to wait until the end of the year to see new material. But we have no doubt: it will hurt.
Uzi, the young prodigy For those who don't yet know who we're talking about, know that at the time of writing, a feature is planned between Uzi and Booba, the Duke of French Rap. That tells you the scale taken by the young rapper from 77. Almost unknown two years ago, he now gets the biggest headliners of the game. All thanks to an album "Cœur Abîmé" that did very well, notably with the incredible single "A la Fête." In 2021, Uzi was one of the real revelations of the year. In 2022, he already plans to release an album, which will include a track with Booba, but also maybe with Bosh, Soolking, or OBOY. A very different setup than his previous project, with no features. This time, everything seems set to break the charts, so we can safely say Uzi will sweep everything this year. It might be an opportunity to work with him again after last year's incredible shoot.
Discover the collaboration with Uzi
La Fève, the best kept secret Those who know him well know that La Fève has been around the underground for a while. His first projects date back to 2016. After honing his skills on SoundCloud, he gained quite some visibility in 2020, notably buzzing with his Grünt freestyle and his project "KOLAF." Then the hype seemed to have faded... But that was before the release of "ERRR" at the end of 2021. Because in this new project, with 15 tracks, there are almost only gems. Notably the incredible "Mauvais Payeur," with over 2 million views on Youtube, 7 million streams on Spotify alone, confirming all expectations placed on this artist. The vibe, the flow, the gestures, the clothes, the clip, the chorus, everything is perfect. But La Fève also shows he is very comfortable on more musical productions, with autotune. A complete rapper who, with all the buzz his last project made, will have to take advantage of the opening to establish himself definitively. Hopefully with a certification to boot. His last tracks all have a million streams on Spotify, so we must be close!
Soso Maness, the wild child Yes, we know, he's far from a rookie. We can even say that since "Bande Organisée," he has become a fixture in French rap and a main figure of Marseille rap. Yet, it seems his solo sales do not yet reflect the huge sympathy he enjoys from the public. As if having participated in many joint projects and features made people "forget" his solo releases. Yet, they are always very high quality, because Soso Maness has things to tell and the child of the Northern Districts tells them well. We know he plans a solo project for 2022, and we hope he will have the chance to fully exploit it, notably on stage with the end of health restrictions and the start of festivals. And at Project X Paris, we also hope to work again with the rapper, who was stunning during the shoot for the Marseille Crew capsule.
Discover the collaboration with Soso Maness
Dinos, the most melancholic Of course, we couldn't avoid talking about Dinos. After finally earning the well-deserved platinum record with "Stamina," the rapper gradually eased the pressure. Yes, he can sell a lot, even with rap that makes few concessions. Always ultra-technical, ultra-referenced, Dinos has not abandoned his purist side but has embraced the latest trends with talent, sincerity, without disguising himself. All this through hard work and self-questioning, which commands respect. In 2022, he took advantage of the beginning of the year to release an incredible 3-track EP, "Aquanaute." And also to announce he will release a very gray, very melancholic album, probably the vibe in which he is best. A cold, "winter" mode Dinos, the most powerful form. You have been warned!
Kanoé, the youngest already so big If you follow the rap game news closely, you surely saw a freestyle in 2018, where a very young rapper was spitting verses way too mature for his age, a cigarette in hand. Kanoé had just entered French rap shocking everyone at 13 years old. Now, he is a confirmed artist, highly followed (almost all his clips have around a million views or more) with an increasingly affirmed artistic identity, quite far from the early freestyles. But also a guy with a lot of humor and ease in front of the camera. You can see him in his latest humorous video on his Youtube channel, "The True Story of Kanoé." After a 2021 finished in the best way, with an album in November, we know he is already working on the next. In fact, he has already started releasing new tracks, so count on him to make noise in 2022!
Zamdane, the wounded soul If you like rap with depth, quite sad and at the same time quite lucid, Zamdane is the rapper you need. The Moroccan rapper, who arrived in Marseille in 2016, had a difficult life path, and it permeates all his lyrics. But thanks to his writing, he manages to make something poetic, cathartic, quite striking, unlike most of the rest of the game. His brand new project, "Couleur de ma peine," is already a critical and fanbase success, still too small compared to the size of his talent. Validated by Soso Maness, Dinos, and many others, the rapper brings a touching authenticity that is too often missing in some albums. And if the artist has been growing for over 4 years, in 2022, he will truly take a well-deserved new dimension thanks to his project.
Kader Diaby, the most original You know us, at Project X Paris, we like personalities who step out of the box, a bit exuberant, who don't hesitate to try new things every time. That's why we have a soft spot for Kader Diaby. Rapper, comedian, Youtuber, TikTok star, the artist is a somewhat elusive phenomenon but highly talented in everything he undertakes. We don't know if he plans to release an album in 2022, but his publishing pace is currently quite high; we wonder if he is preparing something. In any case, with every new clip release, we keep having fun. So we wish him the best for this year, hoping to work with him again after the success of the shoot for the " University " capsule.
