R**A
French hip hop at it’s best !!
Amazing debut album!!
E**Y
Careful in buying 2nd CDs
Item has just arrived (item should have been delivered on the 19th now the 26th), broken case, broken insides and 3 scratches on the CD. Not the as new as described in the advert.
B**E
Excellent French Hip Hop
To me it's one of is best albums
D**K
Laarso At His Best
I've been a fan of MC Solaar's for quite some time now, and have had this album a good 10 years, but I came back to it recently and felt I had to review it. The skills shown on this album make you wonder where everything changed for Claude MC, his fast pace, humour, intellect and just all good sound made him a target for hardcore rappers, as they felt his sound was too soft. Well maybe they should have slipped on "Quartier Nord" and checked his skills there?There's nothing on here that's bad, OK, I'm not keen on Ragga Jam with Raggasonic - but it's still worth a listen. Caroline ("I am the ace of clubs that stings your heart") has that beauty and some lovely play on words like "maso elle est partie avec un vieux macho qu'elle a rencontrer dans un station du métro", it's just gold! Jimmy Jay's work is amazing too on this, the scratching and sampling really does a good deal to the lyrics. An example of this is the sampling of Marvin Gaye on "Armand Est Mort" - beautiful.The humour aspect definitely comes through on "L'historie De L'art"; with Soon E MC, and that great soul sample, you really must hear this to understand what I'm saying. There's also the funnies in "Matière Gras Contre Matière Gris" with the lyrics "MC Solaar tu mange du chat".This is a classic, can be held up there with classic albums like 3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm by A Tribe Called Quest and of course closer to home Simple & Funky by Alliance Ethnik.If you can get this - buy it - it's gold and shows you what MC Solaar was really about. I only hope he gets back to this form one day rather than the pop he calls rap (Rabbi Muffin is an example, his new single).
B**A
A whole world of hip hop is out there
A fantastic album that still sounds fresh after all these years. Makes you wonder how other rappers have success without anywhere near the amount of inspiration and originality. Brilliantly put together with some stand out tracks (caroline must be everyones favourite), MC Solaar's early stuff reminds you that English is not the only language to rap in.I'm off to dig out an old French school book...
M**Y
The benchmark
Even after all these years, this album remains one of the few masterpieces in rap/hip-hop. The stunning vocals of Solaar are perfectly complemented by the savvy grooves, that use a wide range of samples without sounding derivative. A must-have.
A**R
Awesome
MC Solaar at his best. "Caroline" is my all-time favourite, an amazing, beautiful song, the lyrics go under your skin. A must-buy if you're into this type of music.
