We had been waiting for the new generation in “French Hip-Hop”, for a gradual evolution of a style who managed to mix American creativity and energy with the literary depth and quality of French language. This musical style and urban culture gave a voice to population rejected by the French society, mostly kids of African descent living in suburban tower blocks. For these sons of immigrants, hip-hop became the medium to voice their fight for identity. It also was a source for the reinvention of the popular language always looked upon by the rigid and academic French taught in school. The ghetto poetry and hip hop culture (graffiti, break dance and MCs) was a massive popular phenomenon in France in the 80s and 90s. The next decade became the victim of an over commercialisation and creative laziness.
And the new generation has come to the fore recently in the form of a creative outbreak called “Slam” a type of oral poetry directly connected to hip hop and urban culture. The difference comes from the greater depth and diversity of topics previously heard in hip hop. Ahamada Smis takes his inspiration from the “slam” movement and mixing it with African (mainly from the Comoros, his birth place) and jazz music. Traditional instruments and acoustic sounds are also predominant in the production. In his poems he writes about his origins, immigration, spirituality and of the city of Marseille where he has lived since he was 11 (a city with a big Comorian community). He is an artist who takes French hip-hop into new territories, who is capable of injecting a breath of fresh air into popular culture and into the music of the African Diaspora.
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