Hocus Pocus is a French hip hop /

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band from

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. Formed in 1995, their music is a mix of hip hop, jazz,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

. Originally being

20syl Sylvain Richard (born 17 February 1979), better known by his stage name 20syl (pronounced "vain-seel", ), is a French rapper, disc jockey and producer. He is a composer and MC in the group Hocus Pocus, member of beatmaker collective of DJs C2C ...

's brainchild, Hocus Pocus was formed in 1995, and gradually gained attention in the late '90s. The band, however, reached significant commercial and critical success in 2006 with the re-release of 2005 LP ''73 Touches'', the "Hip Hop?" single (featuring

The Procussions The Procussions are an American hip hop group based in Los Angeles, California, consisting of rapper Mr. J. Medeiros and rapper-producer Stro Elliot (Stro the 89th Key) and rapper Resonant. Known for their eclectic production, socially consciou ...

) having hooked many listeners who were curious about its blend of French, English, and acoustic/

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

elements. Though quite far removed from legendary bands evolving in that same category (like

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

), Hocus Pocus' more radio-friendly recipe happened to be very effective. The band came back in 2007 with a mixed live/studio LP, ''

Place 54 ''Place 54'' (pronunciation: PLAHS cen-KAHNT KAHTR as it is a French-language title) is the third studio album by Nantes-based rap group Hocus Pocus, released in 2007. The album title refers to a seat in a passenger train car. Some of the tra ...

'', featuring more international collaborations and another hit single, "Vocab!".

Members

20syl

(real name Sylvain Richard), the MC of the band, got his name from switching the "syl" and "vain" in his name to form "vainsyl". The number 20 in French, "vingt", pronounced "vain", was then substituted in for "vain", creating "20syl". He has also worked on individual projects, including the release of a solo EP ''Motifs'' in 2014, which included his collaboration with

Oddisee Amir Mohamed el Khalifa (born February 24, 1985), better known by his stage name Oddisee, is an American rapper and record producer from Washington, D.C. He is one third of rap trio Diamond District. He was also part of the Low Budget Crew. He is ...

, resulting in a charting single, "Ongoing Thing". ''Motifs II'' was released in 2015.

Members

*Matthieu Lelièvre – guitar *Hervé Godard – bass *Antoine Saint-Jean – drums *DJ Greem – DJ Earlier members included Cambia, Yves-Dominique Richard and Yannick Busi.

Discography

Albums

Maxi singles

* "On and On" (October 2001) * "Conscient" (January 2003) * "On and On – Part 2" (December 2004)

Collaborations

Discography: 20syl

EPs

Singles

References

External links

Official Site of On and On Records

Interview: 20syl (of Hocus Pocus) , The Find Magazine

Hocus Pocus on Last.fm
{{Authority control French hip hop groups Musical groups from Pays de la Loire