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As the track "Ahoo" by Chilla, Bianca Costa, Davinhor, Le Juiice and Vicky R hits the charts, it's time to take a look at the place of women in the French rap industry. A short retrospective from Diam's to the present day, where the star rapper of season 2 of "Validé" was played by Laeti.
"France's "cultural exception
In today's French rap scene, there are plenty of areas in which our artists have nothing to envy their American counterparts: instrusi, flows, music videos, and even sales for some of the biggest names in the French game, we're practically at the same level. Except in one area: the number of really successful female rappers. In the USA, we've had Lauryn Hill, Lil Kim, Da Brat, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. In France, the only female rapper to have achieved real success and made a lasting impression is Diam's, and that's starting to happen again. But she wasn't the first to try her hand at rap: Sté Strausz and Princess Aniès opened the door, so to speak.
But nothing like the tidal wave set in motion by Diam's, with "Brut de Femme", then with "Dans ma bulle", containing numerous hits that marked a whole generation of listeners. In addition to her albums and hits, Mélanie (her first name) even shed light on Sinik, a young rapper from Les Ulis, giving French rap one of the most influential rappers of the 2000s. Diam's influence has been enormous, and almost 20 years on, everyone still knows the lyrics to "DJ", "La Boulette" and the eternal "Jeune Demoiselle". A success so monstrous, in fact, that it almost forced the rapper to quit music and take a step back, since fame to this extent in rap had never been achieved before.
Stalked by the paparazzi, but above all surrounded by a kind of aura that made her virtually untouchable, Diam's set the bar very high (in terms of talent, impact and sales) for those who would like to take up the baton to bring a female voice to French rap. She also posed a problem for future female rappers: Mélanie had an extremely reserved, discreet and humble personality. And in terms of dress style, she wasn't exactly the most feminine person you could imagine. For a long time, the image of the "caillera girl" was an obligatory passage for women in rap. Either they adopted the tough, rebellious attitude of Diam's, Keny Arkana or Casey, or they moved towards a more feminine style and music closer to RnB, like Vitaa for example. It has to be said that, even today, French mentalities are still a little dated, with very "old-fashioned" codes and references. But this is slowly changing.
The Shay revolution and the beginning of change
And if that's changing, we can thank Shay for it. Booba's former protégée started from a simple observation: in the United States, successful female rappers are extravagant, they assume their femininity, their desires, their desires and voluntarily adopt the attitude of "bad bitches", sometimes feminized to the extreme for the purpose of provocation. And it works: this state of mind really sticks with hip hop's original idea of asserting oneself and being proud, of asserting a lifestyle. So Shay has simply adopted the sexy rapper's posture, adding lyrics that are still very raw and sometimes even streetwise. All with a varied and mastered musical universe, from "PMW" to "Liquide", her latest hit. With two gold-disc albums to her name, and above all a real critical and popular success, it's fair to say that she has breathed new life into the sometimes dusty French rap mentality.
This status has also enabled her to become a model for a number of luxury brands, and a judge on the TV show "Nouvelle École", soon to be available on Netflix. Once Shay had broken through the barriers, many talented female rappers jumped into the breach. Led by Chilla, who made a name for herself with her single "Si j'étais un homme" and debut album "Karma" in 2017. Then others followed, like Davinhor, Meryl, Lala &ce, Doria and others. Obviously, the path for these women in rap remains an uphill battle, since deep-rooted prejudices will easily equate rap with something virile, masculine, wrongly so since we cited above some great female artists who have carried this culture to the USA. So why is it so difficult in France?
Canal + asked itself this question, and to answer it, the channel created the documentary "Reines, pour l'amour du rap" (available in full on their website), which follows 5 French female rappers: Chilla, Vicky R, Davinhor, Le Juiice and Bianca Costa. The rappers are asked to talk about their different careers and their links with rap, and they are invited to take part in a seminar to create a track together. The track is called "Ahoo", and it's full of egotrip, insolence, but also full-on kicking, proving that our female rappers have nothing to envy their male counterparts. And with over 2 million views on Youtube alone, it's already a hit. The clip is also very well done, with a beautiful aesthetic. We'll end this little overview by saluting the stroke of genius of Franck Gastambide, director of season 2 of "Validé", who chose to entrust the lead role in his series to Laeti, a rapper who has been through a lot and is fighting for her life and her passion. And once again, the result is a success. Proof that mentalities may be changing!
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