Seth Gueko's Drive by en Caravane is another CD I picked up in Paris. He seems to be listed as a hardcore rapper. Given that I don't speak French, I can't comment on his lyrics or message. His lyrical delivery seemed to come across as hardcore. French is I believe a romance language and I have to tell you hardcore rap delivered in a romance language just doesn't seem to flow. I have a Japanese CD and his hardcore delivery seemed to flow very well with the Japanese language. By no means am I a linguist, but it just doesn't seem that the French language is suited for delivering hardcore rap. Anybody have any thoughts on that less than insightful observation? I have some old music by Mc Solaar - probably one of the first if not most recognized French rappers back in the day and his lyrical delivery and flow just seemed so much more natural and suited for the French language. Anyway, just one man's observation. Overall this cd by Seth didn't move me. The music was not to my liking and the hardcore delivery just didn't resonate with me. As I finish this note, I remember that years ago I picked up another French rapper's cd and the same thing - he was trying to deliver hardcore lyrics in a language that does not seem to be suited to a romance language.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Gueko
http://www.sethgueko.net/
http://rindgeleaphart.wordpress.com/
Rindge Leaphart
I agree with what you're saying about the French language's clash with rap as a genre. Maybe knowing the language causes it to flow a bit better to the ear?
ReplyDeleteYou've got a great blog here...very informative and insightful in your thoughts on the music. I especially like that you provide a link to the wikipedia page so I don't have to search around to find out more on my own. ha ha.