Nicknamed “The Black Jacques Brel” (look him up- one of the greatest francophone singers of all time), Oxmo Puccino is a Malian-born French rapper who’s stood out since 1995 for his dedication to lyricism. Having grown up in the “dix-neuvième” in 1970s and 1980s, he was surrounded by the violence of the Parisian north-east suburbs where people are stacked into decrepit HLM (public housing) and drug addiction and crime are left essentially unchecked by the government. Like in Compton or the Brooklyn for giants of hip-hop like NWA or Biggie Smalls respectively, the Parisian banlieues have also made huge artists.

Abdoulaye ‘Oxmo’ Diarra is a born artist: he grew up doing slam poetry and stage acting. He took up rap when he was 13 and hung out with now-platinum-selling rapper Kery James and his first recorded feature came out in 1995. Oxmo’s original with Booba (Now France’s top-selling musician of all time) “Pucc Fiction” (From his earliest success, “Opéra Puccino”, one of the best French rap albums from the 1990s, themed to the darkness and politics of the 90s rap scene) they made waves. The hit combined Oxmo’s lyrics with Booba’s powerful gangsta vibes to make one of French hip-hop’s greatest ever tracks. While some rappers lose their skills and flow with age, Oxmo’s lyrics have only matured. Since the 90s, he gracefully aged from the spliff-rolling poet he was to the suavest MC in France, rhyming to smooth jazz tunes. His songs–like “J’te connaissait pas“, “Quitte moi” (In which he retakes the classic “Ne me quitte pas” by Jacques Brel, , flipping Brel’s “Don’t leave me” for “Leave me”) and “La danse couchée“–demonstrate the creativity of the mature, experienced rapper he is and the lyrics and romanticism, the true artist and poet.

Oxmo can be listened to beyond just the usual hip-hop listeners, but also those who seek jazz-infused, easy, listening with deep, metaphoric lyrics perfect for after-party chilling or a dive into the anthology of French hip-hop.

By Henri-Nicolas Grossman