Kery James
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Kery James | |
|---|---|
 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[usurped] |
Alix Mathurin (French pronunciation: [aliks matyˈʁɛ̃]) (born 28 December 1977), publicly known by his stage name Kery James, is a French-Haitian rapper, singer, actor, director, and screenwriter. James was born on 28 December 1977 in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe. His work addresses themes of suburban life and social inequalities in contemporary France, often through a critical lens. James is a member of the rap collective Mafia K-1 Fry.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]James began his rap career in 1991 as a co-founder of the group Idéal J. Fellow artist DJ Mehdi joined as a producer for the group the following year. The group disbanded in 1999 after the murder of Las Montana, one of James's close friends, which led to James taking a break from his career.[1]
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 Illicite Projet, which featured 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). The album featured songs such as "J'aurais pu dire", "Les miens," and "Hardcore," with a guest appearance by Iron Sy.[citation needed]
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, James released his sixth album, Mouhammad Alix.[2]
James is also an actor and director. In 2003, he appeared in the documentary Si tu roules avec la Mafia K'1 Fry (If You Roll with the 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 film also premiered on Netflix. He co-wrote and directed both films alongside Leïla Sy.[3]
In Idéal J
[edit]Idéal J released singles "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 (now known as Jessy Money) left the group.[4] In subsequent years, while colleague DJ Mehdi progressed as a producer, Kery worked on writing new material, with subject matter such as altercations with the police, street rivalries, and fear of death.[5]
In 1996, under the moniker Ideal J, the band released singles such as "Ghetto français", "Show Business," and "Je veux du cas"."Ideal J increased their appearances on Maxis and as featured acts, with the single "J'désole mes parents" featured on the compilation Nouvelle Donne. James's career was temporarily put on hold in 1999 when his childhood friend Las Montana was shot and killed. James adopted the name Ali as a symbol of his conversion to Islamic faith.[6]
Solo career
[edit]In October 2001, he released his solo album "Si c'était à refaire", among many others, which included "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 music is influenced by African, Arabic, and Cuban styles, with the use of percussion and original instruments.[4]
In 2004, James's second album, Ma vérité, handled subject matter such as the war in Iraq and reality TV. At the same time, he had duets with stars such as Diam's, Mélanie Giorgadès and Amel Bent.[4]
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.[7]
Personal life
[edit]James was raised by his mother in Orly, a suburb of Paris. He moved to mainland France at the age of seven, where he started to rap, dance and write his own texts. MC Solaar noticed him when he was 10 years old in a cité (suburban housing estate) in Paris. He described the setting as "a place where the Islamic faith was omnipresent," which then influenced him to add Ali to his name.[8]
Discography
[edit]
Albums and EPs
[edit]Solo studio albums
[edit]| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [9] |
BEL (Wa) [10] |
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 [11] |
6 | 16 |
|
| 2018 | J'rap encore | 19 |
6 | 42 | |
- Others
- 2013: Coffret integral
Live albums
[edit]| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certification | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [9] |
BEL (Wa) [10] |
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 [9] |
BEL (Wa) [10] | |||
| 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 [12] |
– | ||
| 2019 | "À qui la faute" (featuring Orelsan) |
94 [13] |
– | |
Collaborations
[edit](Refer to relevant section in French Wikipedia)
References
[edit]- ^ "RFI Musique - - Kery James". www1.rfi.fr. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ^ Mouv', Team (30 August 2016). "Kery James : toutes les infos sur l'album "Mouhammad Alix"". Mouv' (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ AlloCine. Banlieusards (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2025 – via www.allocine.fr.
- ^ a b c "Kery James". Cosmopolitan.fr (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ "Punchlines Kery James". CULTURAP (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ "Les groupes de rap mythiques : Pourquoi se sont-ils séparés ?". www.booska-p.com (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ Kery James Feat. Béné: L'impasse (Court-métrage, Musical), retrieved 4 March 2025
- ^ "Biographie Kery James : focus sur la carrière de Kery James". CULTURAP (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ 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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