Gaëlino M'Bani better known by his stage name Lino is a French rapper. He was a member of the French rap duo

Ärsenik Ärsenik is a rap group based in Villiers-le-Bel, France, 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. ...

with his brother Calboni M'Bani known as Calbo in the duo. He has also his solo output independent of Ärsenik. Lino's family originates 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. 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". In the late 1990s, Lino and his brother 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
In 2004, Lino collaborated in a music project launched 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''. Lino has released two solo albums of his own, ''Paradis assassiné'' released in September 2005 which was the title of a solo song on the group's second album. Lino also released ''Radio Bitume'' in May 2012. Both have charted in France. In 2012 he signed with AZ, now part of Universal Music.

Discography

Albums

;in duo Ärsenik See discography of

;Solo

Singles

;in Ärsenik See discography of

;Singles ;Featured in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lino French rappers French people of Republic of the Congo descent Living people Year of birth missing (living people)