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Both rap and hiphop represent the sounds of les banlieues (the suburbs) which signify a rare art form in which immigrant communities have found a voice.
MC Solaar, dakar born rapper, led the charge in the early 1990s with his first album Oui sème le vent récolte le tempo (1991). He sold 400, 000 copies with this album in France alone!
Suprême NTM are more hardcore yet equally popular. (NTM=acronym making inappropriate suggestions about your mother). They offer an aggressive take on racism and inequality in France with lyrics driven by anger and violence of the conditions in the Parisian suburbs. Their eponymous album of 1998 was a huge success.
La Haine is a black and white film written and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and most view it as the French equivalent to Boyz in the Hood. It follows three young children from Parisian projects who, in response to riots, are constantly fighting with cops. Its soundtrack, featuring NTM, reflected the way young people at the time felt about the difference between the treatment toward the rich and the poor in Paris.
IAM (Invasion Arrivant de Mars) originated in the housing projects of Marseilles but took Paris by a storm with politicised lyrics and North African undertones on ...de la planète Mars (1991).
On the whole, the image of le banlieue, comparable to what in the United States would be called one's "hood", has propagated itself into French pop culture in the form of clothing, accessories, cinema, attitude and of course the hip-hop music it yields.
Such as much of the rap and hip hop in the United States talks about money, women, guns, etc, and rap in France is also somewhat following this path. Yet, many artists still rap about their ties to Africa, culture, and sending out important messages.
However, hip hop in France is taking on the same image as hip hop in the United States. It's changing to talking about gangbanging, raping, and other illegal activities. The scene is moving away from its origins to send a message. Not only in France, but in many African countries, French hip hop is played and heard.
"The images, modes and attitudes of hip-hop and gangsta rap are so powerful they are having a hegemonic effect across the globe."