Amira Kiziamina, known better by his stage name Kalash Criminel, is a French rapper. He is

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

and chooses to wear a balaclava, because when his musical activities began, he had to hide his face as his mother did not want him to rap. However, he received positive reactions for wearing the balaclava, and now wears it by choice. He is signed to

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

and

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

. He collaborates often with

Kaaris Okou Gnakouri Armand Olivier (; born 30 January 1980), better known by his stage name Kaaris (, ; stylized as KΛΛRIS), is a Ivorian-born French rapper, record producer, composer and actor. ''Or Noir'', his major album on Therapy Music / AZ / U ...

, with whom he notably made the song "Arrêt du Cœur" on his album ''R.A.S''.

Biography

Kalash Criminel was born in Zaïre, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 14 February 1995. Initially, he lived in Kinshasa with his family, but with the onset of the

First Congo War The First Congo War, group=lower-alpha (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo), with major spillo ...

, he and his family fled to France. He and his family arrived in Rougemont, in Sevran and have been living there since. In his youth, he began to rap, initially becoming a part of the group Hall 14 avec les rappeurs Daystiil, Kifa, Krimo JS et Zino5."Biographie de Kalash Criminel" rchive sur ''genius.com'' (retrieved on 2 October 2016). This group was later signed to the label 10/12 Records. In 2012, they released a demo, titled ''Traumatiser'', which solidified their collaboration and work. In 2015, Kiziamina began his solo career and released the song "10 12 14 Bureau", and subsequently released a series of freestyles titled ''Sauvagerie''. He subsequently collaborated with rappers Ixzo, Sofiane,

et JUL. His collaboration with

yielded the song "Arrêt du cœur" which guaranteed and launched his career in French rap. On 23 September 2016, he released his first music video titled "Sale Sonorité". This video has in excess of 10 million views on YouTube. On 26 September 2016, he announced the release of his first mixtape, titled ''R.A.S.'', which was slated for release on 28 October 2016. In its first week, ''R.A.S'' sold 2,970 copies."Kalash Criminel : les chiffres de vente de sa mixtape "R.A.S." rchive sur ''booska-p.com'', 4 novembre 2016 (retrieved on 5 November 2016). On 23 November 2018, Kiziamina released his first studio album, ''La Fosse aux lions'', under his label, Sale sonorité Records. Response was favourable, with 13,388 copies sold in the first week.

Discography

Mixtapes

Singles

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Other charted songs

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Featured in

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

References

{{Authority control French rappers Living people French people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Rappers from Seine-Saint-Denis People with albinism Year of birth missing (living people)