Ärsenik is a

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

group based in

Villiers-le-Bel Villiers-le-Bel is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the center of Paris. History A tragedy occurred in the town in the early evening of March 25, 1818, when a cracked 6,0 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, founded in 1992, and made up of two brothers, Lino (Gaëlino M'Bani) and Calbo (Calboni M'Bani), whose family is originally from Congo.

Career

Ärsenik started as a band in mid 1990s. Until 1997, the group also included Tony Truand, a cousin. In 1998, now a duo, Ärsenik released their first album ''Quelques gouttes suffisent'' went double gold. A new album was planned for 2005, but the two brothers instead decided to concentrate on solo albums. Lino released ''Paradis Assassiné'' en 2005, which was the name of a solo song on the group's second album. In 2007 the group released a disc titled ''S'il en reste quelque chose'' which included the most popular songs from the two brothers, such as "L'enfer remonte à la surface", "Rime & chatiments" and "Sexe, pouvoir & biftons". Revered as one of the original rap groups, their music voices the disaffection of the French underclass, combining African and Arabic melodies and beats with French lyrics. French rap is filled with slang that is hard for even French-speakers to understand; whole songs are delivered in Verlan, the ingenious, dizzying slang in which words are reversed or recombined. Like France's

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic s ...

tradition, French rap is also famous for emphasizing lyrics, and the rappers are widely viewed as heirs to the chansonniers.David Brooks vs. gangsta rap. - By Jody Rosen - Slate Magazine
/ref> ;As part of Bisso Na Bisso In the late 1990s, Lino and Calbo teamed up with a group of rappers who were also second-generation Africans, on a collaborative project called Bisso Na Bisso, an expression which means "just between ourselves" in

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...

, the most commonly spoken language in the

Congo region The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...

. Part of this group were Ben-J (from Les Neg'Marrons), Passi (from Ministère A.M.E.R.), twin brothers Doc and G Kill (from 2Bal), and Mystik and his female cousin M'Passi. The group embarked on a collective return to their African roots, featuring music with an innovative fusion of styles, that mixed modern hip-hop and

zouk Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martini ...

sounds with traditional

Congolese rumba Congolese rumba is a popular genre of dance music that originated in the Congo basin during the 1940s, deriving from Cuban son. The style gained popularity throughout Africa during the 1960s and 1970s. It is known as Lingala in Kenya, Uganda, ...

.RFI Musique - - Passi
/ref>

Members and solo/other projects

The members of Ärsenik have engaged in various personal projects besides the band. Rapper Lino has released two solo albums of his own, ''Paradis assassiné'' released in September 2005 and ''Radio Bitume'' released in May 2012. Both have charted in France and particularly ''Paradis assassiné'' released on Hostile Records was a great commercial success. The title is a title of an Ärsenik album. In 2004, he collaborated in a music project by

Kery James Alix Mathurin (; born 28 December 1977) better known as Kery James, is a French rapper, singer, songwriter, dancer and record producer from Orly, who was born in Guadeloupe to Haitian parents. Prior to his solo career, he was in Idéal J where h ...

in the single "Relève la tête" credited to "Kery James presents Lino, AP,

Diam's Mélanie Georgiades (; born 25 July 1980 in Nicosia), better known by her stage name Diam's (), is a French rapper of Greek Cypriot origin. Biography Mélanie Marie Georgiades was born on July 25, 1980 in Nicosia, capital of Cyprus. Her mother ...

, Passi, Matt & Kool Shen". In 2007, he also collaborated with three tracks on rapper Stomy Bugsy album ''Rimes Passionnelles'' and in 2009, took part in Bisso Na Bisso's project ''Africa''. In 2012 he signed with AZ, now part of Universal Music. Rapper Calbo continued with a solo music career. In 2003, he charted in a hit "Trop de peine" by

Lynnsha Sophie Jordier (born in France on 4 January 1979), better known by her stage name Lynnsha, is a French R&B-zouk singer. She has released four albums, self-titled ''Lynnsha'' (2004), ''Elle & moi'' (2008), Île & moi (2013) & Over & Other (2018) ...

featuring Calbo vocals. In 2012, he released his solo album titled ''6ème Chaudron'' and in June 2013, he released his solo single "C'est là-bas" on Trèfle record label accompanied by a music video. It featured another fellow Congolese artist known as VR.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Collaboration albums

Singles

Footnotes

External links

Lino - Paradis assassiné official
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arsenik French hip hop groups Rappers from Val-d'Oise