Kery James
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Kery James | |
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 Kery James during a show at "Vieilles Charues", France (2017) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alix Mathurin |
| Born | 28 December 1977 Les Abymes, Guadeloupe |
| Genres | French hip hop, hardcore hip hop, conscious hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter, singer, dancer, record producer, screenwriter, playwright, actor |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Website | keryjamesofficiel.com |
Kery James, whose real name is Alix Mathurin (French pronunciation: [aliks matyˈʁɛ̃]; born 28 December 1977), is a French-Haitian rapper, singer, actor, director, and screenwriter. He was born in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe. His work explores life in the suburbs and the inequalities of contemporary France and feature a tone of irony and bitterness. Kery James is also a member of the collective Mafia K'1 Fry.
Career
[edit]He began his rap career in 1991 as a co-founder of the group Ideal J, which gained momentum when DJ Mehdi joined as a producer the following year. Ideal J experienced growing success during a time when French rap was beginning to gain recognition, but the group disbanded in 1999 following the murder of Las Montana, one of Kery James's close friends. This tragedy led him to step away from his career for the first time.[citation needed]
After a two-year hiatus, he returned as a solo artist and released his debut album, Si c'était à refaire (If I Had to Do It Again), in 2001. In 2005, after contributing to the compilation Illicite Projet with his track "Je ne crois plus en l'illicite" (I No Longer Believe in the Illicit), he released his second solo album, Ma vérité (My Truth), featuring songs such as "J'aurais pu dire," "Les miens," and "Hardcore," with a guest appearance by Iron Sy. His third solo album, À l'ombre du show business (In the Shadow of Show Business), released in 2008, debuted at number three on the French charts in its first week. In 2016, his sixth album, Mouhammad Alix, embraced the trap music genre.[citation needed]
Beyond his music, Kery James is also an actor and director. In 2003, he appeared in the documentary DVD Si tu roules avec la Mafia K'1 Fry (If You Roll with Mafia K'1 Fry). Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, he directed Savoir et vivre ensemble (Know and Live Together), a project in which rappers, singers, and athletes promote unity. He played a juror in the film À voix haute (Speak Up). In 2019, his film Banlieusards (Street Flow) was released on Netflix, and on September 27, 2023, the sequel to this socially conscious story premiered on Netflix. He co-wrote and directed both films alongside Leïla Sy.[citation needed]
In Idéal J
[edit]At around thirteen years old, he became a member of the group Idéal Junior (later abbreviated to Idéal J). There he was known as Daddy Kery. Idéal J garnered a few singles with explicit titles like "Hardcore", "Pour une poignée de dollars" and a first album titled Original MC's sur une mission. In 1992, their single "La vie est brutale" was released and Alter MC (who is nowadays known as Jessy Money) left the group.[citation needed] In subsequent years while colleague DJ Mehdi progressed as a producer, Kery worked on writing new material, his texts reflecting a life that involved altercations with the police, street rivalries and an omnipresent fear of death.[citation needed]
In 1996 the band's first album under the moniker Ideal J led the group to with singles like "Ghetto français", "Show business" and "Je veux du cash". Ideal J multiplied their appearances on Maxis and as featured acts, with the single "J'désole mes parents" present on the compilation Nouvelle donne. However, James's career was put temporarily on hold in 1999 when his close childhood friend Las Montana was shot and killed. James took the name Ali as a symbol of his full conversion to Islam.[citation needed]
Solo career
[edit]In October 2001, he released his solo album "Si c'était à refaire" with, among others, the tracks "28 décembre 1977", "Si c'était à refaire", "Soledad", and "Y'a pas d'couleur". This album features collaborations with Nubians and Salif Keita. The rap is influenced by African, Arabic, Cuban musical influences, with the use of percussions and original instruments. He sings his African roots but also the problems of society like money, violence, and moral values.[citation needed]
In 2004, Kery James' second album, Ma vérité continued to underline social and political militant messages taking positions on such subjects as the war in Iraq and on reality TV. However, at the same time, duets with very popular stars such as Diam's Mélanie Giorgadès and Amel Bent, started to distance him from his underground image.[citation needed]
In March 2008 he released a new album À l'ombre du show business whose title track was a collaboration with French chanson Charles Aznavour. Other tracks included Le combat continue part III, Banlieusards and Vrai Peura. On its first week of release the album reached third place on the French charts with 24,459 albums sold. For the music videos of this album, he worked with Luc Besson, Mathieu Kassovitz, J.G Biggs and Chris Macari.[citation needed]
Personal life
[edit]Kery James arrived in continental France at the age of seven. His mother raised him in Orly, a suburb of Paris. He started at a young age to rap, dance, and write his own texts. MC Solaar noticed him when he was only 10 years old in a cité (suburban housing estate) of Paris. He described the setting as "A place where the Islamic faith was omnipresent", then he added Ali to his name.[citation needed]
The media has labelled him "the rapper repented through Islam". Kery James is aware of it, he does not deny this story. "I prefer to be the one who hold this role rather than somebody else. Numerous young Muslims are tempted to be intolerant or extremist. If I can open their eyes it is a good thing for them".[citation needed]
Discography
[edit]
Albums and EPs
[edit]Solo studio albums
[edit]| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [1] |
BEL (Wa) [2] |
SWI | |||
| 2001 | Si c'était à refaire | 5 | – | – |
|
| 2004 | Savoir et vivre ensemble | 15 | 54 | 89 | |
| 2005 | Ma vérité | 8 | 69 | – |
|
| 2008 | À l'ombre du show business | 3 | 27 | 59 |
|
| 2009 | Réel | 1 | 12 | 33 |
|
| 2012 | 92.2012 | 12 | 72 | – | |
| 2013 | Dernier MC | 3 | 9 | 47 |
|
| 2016 | Mouhammad Alix | 3 [3] |
6 | 16 |
|
| 2018 | J'rap encore | 19 |
6 | 42 | |
- Others
- 2013: Coffret integral
Live albums
[edit]| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certification | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [1] |
BEL (Wa) [2] |
SUI | |||
| 2010 | À mon public | 30 | 81 | – | |
Other albums and EPs (collaborations)
[edit]- with Idéal Junior / Idéal J
- 1992 : La vie est brutale (Maxi-single) (credited to Ideal Junior)
- 1996 : O'riginal MC's sur une mission (credited to Ideal J)
- 1998 : Le Combat Continue (credited to Ideal J)
- with Mafia K-1 Fry
- 1997 : Les liens sacrés
- 1999 : Légendaire
- 2003 : La cerise sur le ghetto
- 2007 : Jusqu'à la mort (+ reissue)
Singles
[edit]| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [1] |
BEL (Wa) [2] | |||
| 2001 | "Y'a pas d'couleur" | 61 | – | Si c'était à refaire |
| 2004 | "Relève la tête" (Kery James presente Lino, AP, Diam's, Passi, Matt & Kool Shen) |
39 | – | Savoir et vivre ensemble |
| 2009 | "Le retour du rap français" | – | 22 (Ultratip) |
Réel |
| 2012 | "Lettre à la République" | 33 | 40 (Ultratip) |
92-2012 |
| "Dernier MC" | 133 | – | Dernier MC | |
| 2013 | "Des mots" (featuring LFDV) |
177 | – | |
| "À l'horizon" (featuring Corneille) |
82 | 31 (Ultratip) | ||
| "Contre nous" (featuring La Ligue: Youssoupha et Médine) |
145 | – | ||
| "Le mystère féminin" (featuring Imany) |
120 | 10 (Ultratip) | ||
| "94 c'est le Barça" | 141 | – | ||
| 2016 | "Mouhammad Alix" | 78 | – | |
| "N'importe quoi" | 154 | – | ||
| "Racailles" | 26 | – | ||
| "Vivre ou mourir ensemble" | 167 | – | ||
| "Musique nègre" (featuring Lino and Youssoupha) |
112 [4] |
– | ||
| 2019 | "À qui la faute" (featuring Orelsan) |
94 [5] |
– | |
Collaborations
[edit](Refer to relevant section in French Wikipedia)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Kery James discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ a b c "Kery James discography". ultratop.be/fr/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
- ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 40, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 38, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 29, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
External links
[edit]- (in French) Site officiel, sur Skyrock.com
- (in French) « J'aurais pu dire »[permanent dead link], version audio
- (in French) « J'aurai pu dire », version vidéo
- (in French) Biographie et airplays de Kery James
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