Abd al Malik, born Régis Fayette-Mikano is a French

rapper 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 ...

and

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

artist of Congolese origin. He has also authored books in French, and directed a film adaptation of one of his books.

Musical career

In NAP: New African Poets

Talented in words and music, he formed with his brother Bilal and his cousin Aissa, a rap group they called New African Poets also known by the abbreviation N.A.P. Other members included Mustapha, Mohammed and Karim, all from the neighborhood where he lived. Most of the group come from the Neuhof quartier of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. Having converted from Christianity to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, he took on the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Abd al Malik. This was an adaptation of his birth name Régis, being derived from ''rex'' meaning "king" in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

whereas ''Malik'' means "king" in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. NAP released their first maxi ''Trop beau pour être vrai'', produced by Sulee B, on High Skills, a label founded by Deez Nutz to promote local Neuhof hip hop talents. In 1996, they released the album ''La Racaille sort 1'' also on High Skills, selling over 25,000 copies. Based on this, NAP were signed to BMG, and their 1998 album ''La Fin du monde'' with participations from Wallen, Rockin Squat (from Assassin), Radical Kicker, Shurik'n, Freeman (from

IAM IAM may refer to: Concepts * Identity and access management, a concept that combines business processes, policies and technologies * Indo-Aryan migration, the theory that speakers of Indo-Aryan languages migrated into the Indian subcontinent dur ...

), Rocca and Faf Larage. A third album followed in 1999 called ''À l'intérieur de nous'' also with BMG.

Writing career

Abd al Malik has been very active in writing as well. In 2004, he published his autobiographical book ''Qu'Allah bénisse la France'' (meaning May Allah bless France), about his childhood in Neuhof in a mono-parental family of seven kids, about his schooling, tough life and musical beginning. The book won Belgian Laurence Trân Prize in 2005. In 2009, and following trouble in the French suburbs, he authored ''La guerre des banlieues n'aura pas lieu'' about life in the impoverished French ''

banlieue In France, the term banlieue (; ) refers to a suburb of a large city. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80% of the inhabitants of the Paris Metropolitan Are ...

''s inhabited largely by France's immigrant populations. The book won the Prix de littérature politique Edgar-Faure, a prize for political literature in 2010. In 2013, he published a book, ''L'Islam au secours de la République''. He also announced that a film was in preparation titled '' May Allah Bless France!'' (''Qu'Allah bénisse la France''), based on his autobiographical book of same title. The film premiered at the Festival du Film Francophone d'Angoulême in August 2014, and won the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Discovery Prize at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Theatre

In 2013, he engaged in a tour entitled ''L'art et la révolte'', a tribute to the famous French writer and philosopher

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

. It is a musical arrangement in which Abd al Malik sings, raps and recites texts from Camus or largely inspired by Camus, accompanied by classical orchestra mostly based on Camus' '' L'Envers et l'Endroit'' (English title ''Betwixt and Between'').

Personal life

In 1998, Régis Fayette-Mikano married French Moroccan singer Wallen, with whom he had a child in 2001. The following year, he converted to

taking the name Abd al Malik. He is greatly influenced by teachings of Hamza al Qâdiri al Boutchichi, a Moroccan spiritual leader and philosopher of

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

Books and publications

*2004: ''Qu'Allah bénisse la République'', 208 pages, Éditions Albin Michel *2009: ''La guerre des banlieues n'aura pas lieu'', 180 pages, Éditions Le Cherche midi 180 p. *2011: ''Le dernier français'' *2013: ''L'Islam au secours de la République'' *2015: ''Place de la République'' *2016: ''Camus, l'art de la révolte'', Éditions Fayard *2021: ''Réconciliation''

Discography

Albums

;Albums with NAP *1996: ''La racaille sort 1 disque'' *1998: ''La fin du monde'' *1999: ''À l'intérieur de nous'' *2008: ''Un monde perdu'' (compilation) ;Solo albums

Singles

Filmography

*2014: ''Qu'Allah benisse la France''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malik, Abd Al Living people French hip hop musicians French rappers French former Christians French people of Republic of the Congo descent Musicians from Paris Converts to Islam French Sufis French Muslims French film directors French memoirists Writers from Paris 21st-century French poets 21st-century French male writers French male poets Rappers from Bas-Rhin French male non-fiction writers 21st-century memoirists 1975 births