PNL (rap Duo)
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PNL (; acronym for Peace N' Lovés, ) is a French rap duo consisting of siblings Ademo (born Tarik Andrieu, ) and N.O.S (born Nabil Andrieu, ), from
Corbeil-Essonnes Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture building ...
. Formed in 2014, they released their debut studio album, ''
Le Monde Chico ''Le Monde Chico'' is the debut studio album by French cloud rap Cloud rap is a subgenre of Southern rap and trap music that has several sonic characteristics of lo-fi in its hazy, dreamlike and relaxed sound. Many music experts credit rapper ...
'' next year. In 2016, the duo released their second album ''
Dans la légende ''Dans la légende'' is the second studio album by French cloud rap duo PNL. It was released on 16 September 2016 through the duo's own QLF Records. The album was preceded by the singles "La vie est belle", "DA", "J'suis QLF", "Naha", "Onizuka", " ...
'', which has peaked at number one on the
French Albums chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
and sold over a million copies worldwide. PNL's third album, '' Deux frères'' (2019), supported by the number one singles "
À l'ammoniaque "À l'ammoniaque" () is a song by French rap duo PNL. It was released on 22 June 2018 as the debut single from their third studio album '' Deux frères''. The song peaked atop the charts of France. Music video The accompanying music video, dire ...
", "
91's "91's" is a song by French rap duo PNL. It was released on 10 August 2018 as the second single from their third studio album '' Deux frères''. It debuted at number one on the French SNEP singles chart. Charts Certifications Referenc ...
" and "
Au DD "Au DD" () is a song by French rap band PNL. It was released on 22 March 2019 as the third single from their third studio album '' Deux frères''. The song peaked atop the charts of France and Belgium. Background and release Through 2018, PNL r ...
". has also topped the chart in France.


Early life

Tarik and Nabil Andrieu grew up in the difficult neighbourhood of Les Tarterêts,
Corbeil-Essonnes Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture building ...
,
Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
. Tarik was born on December 26, 1986, and Nabil on April 25, 1989. Their father, René Andrieu, a
Pied-Noir The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the vast majority of whom departed for mainland France as soon as Alger ...
native of Corsica, was involved in a
bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...
and served an eight years sentence at the ''Maison centrale''— the designation of prisons for dangerous and/or long sentence detainees in France— of
Poissy Poissy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Pisciacais'' in French. Poissy is one ...
. René is an important figure in his community. The brothers were brought up in the absence of their mother, a native of Algeria (Kabylie). Ademo (Tarik) went to jail twice in 2010 and 2013 for drug trafficking. Before forming PNL, the two brothers first evolved solo. Tarik released his first mixtape ''Le Son des Halls Vol. 1'' in 2008, followed by the second volume in 2011. Nabil released a mixtape titled ''Calmement (365 Jours Pour Percer)'' in 2011. While comparing their early solo works to PNL, ''Abcdr du Son'' editor-in-chief Mehdi Maizi said: "What impressed me was their metamorphosis. It's as if they had passed through a rap laboratory and came out better".


Career


2014–18: ''Le Monde Chico'' and ''Dans la légende''

The duo released their first song together in early 2014 after Ademo got out of the prison. They released a mixtape titled ''
Que la famille ''Que la famille'' is the debut mixtape by French cloud rap Cloud rap is a subgenre of Southern rap and trap music that has several sonic characteristics of lo-fi in its hazy, dreamlike and relaxed sound. Many music experts credit rapper Lil ...
'' in March 2015, followed by the debut studio album ''
Le monde Chico ''Le Monde Chico'' is the debut studio album by French cloud rap Cloud rap is a subgenre of Southern rap and trap music that has several sonic characteristics of lo-fi in its hazy, dreamlike and relaxed sound. Many music experts credit rapper ...
'' in October of the same year. The album was certified 2× platinum for selling over 200,000 copies in France. One of the singles from the album, "Le monde ou rien", went viral becoming a political slogan for the Nuit debout social movement against proposed labor reforms known as the 
El Khomri law The loi n° 2016-1088 du 8 août 2016 relative au travail, à la modernisation du dialogue social et à la sécurisation des parcours professionnels is a piece of national legislation in France relating to employment. It is commonly known as the El ...
. Their second album ''
Dans la légende ''Dans la légende'' is the second studio album by French cloud rap duo PNL. It was released on 16 September 2016 through the duo's own QLF Records. The album was preceded by the singles "La vie est belle", "DA", "J'suis QLF", "Naha", "Onizuka", " ...
'' released on September 16, 2016, was certified diamond for selling over 1,000,000 copies in total in more than 5 countries around Europe. To promote the album, the duo went on a six-city tour in France through 2017. PNL were set to perform at
Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...
, one of the biggest music festivals in the
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during its 2017 edition. However, due to Ademo's criminal record, he was denied entry into the country. Through 2018, PNL released the singles, "
À l'ammoniaque "À l'ammoniaque" () is a song by French rap duo PNL. It was released on 22 June 2018 as the debut single from their third studio album '' Deux frères''. The song peaked atop the charts of France. Music video The accompanying music video, dire ...
" and "
91's "91's" is a song by French rap duo PNL. It was released on 10 August 2018 as the second single from their third studio album '' Deux frères''. It debuted at number one on the French SNEP singles chart. Charts Certifications Referenc ...
", both have reached number one on the
French singles chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
.


2019–present: ''Deux frères''

On April 5, 2019, PNL released their third album, '' Deux frères'', which sold more than 100,000 copies in its first week of release, a record for French rap. The album's third single, "
Au DD "Au DD" () is a song by French rap band PNL. It was released on 22 March 2019 as the third single from their third studio album '' Deux frères''. The song peaked atop the charts of France and Belgium. Background and release Through 2018, PNL r ...
", has topped the French singles chart. They shot the music video for "Au DD" on the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...
, becoming the first duo or band to do so. The album was nominated for IMPALA's European Independent Album of the Year Award. In June 2019, the duo presented their QLF collection of sneakers, tracksuits, jeans and T-shirts, followed by their appearance in the
Off-White Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme or yellow that looks like brown. In color theo ...
fashion show in Paris. In July, it was announced that
Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
has signed PNL and will co-brand their music videos and promote special joint events. In the same month, PNL released the song "Tahia" in honor of Algeria after the country's victory in the
2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football championshi ...
. In July 2020, PNL released an hour-long tour documentary on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
France from a 2017 concert. In September 2020, Ademo was arrested in Paris on drug use and public disorder charges. The arrest was filmed by several fans and appeared to show him being held on the ground by police officers, and then handcuffed.


Artistry


Musical style and influences

PNL's music is labeled as
cloud rap Cloud rap is a subgenre of Southern rap and trap music that has several sonic characteristics of lo-fi in its hazy, dreamlike and relaxed sound. Many music experts credit rapper Lil B and producer Clams Casino as the early pioneers of this styl ...
and their style has been described as "raw, hypnotic and moving" by French journalist Olivier Cachin. According to
France Info France Info (stylised as franceinfo:) is a French Public broadcasting, public broadcasting service produced in collaboration with France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel. The serv ...
's Laure Narlian "the contrast between the softness of the music and the rawness of the lyrics is what characterizes them best now". The main themes of the duo's songs are money,  drug trafficking, family and the feeling of being different from other people.
Apple Music 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod) ...
’s
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
has described the duo as melding modern U.S. hip-hop production sonics with “that struggling sound of a community
hich is Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
burdened with unemployment, austerity measures, drugs, gangs, racism, and a whole host of other social issues”. Writing for
openDemocracy openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage de ...
, Adem Ferizaj said: "On the one hand, PNL stands out sound-aesthetically from other rap artists through their choice of atmospheric and often sentimental instrumentals. On the other hand, they are innovative, in terms of flows signifying the rap technique in hip hop culture, in their use of technical voice tools – especially the
vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder was ...
. Through these means, they are constantly crossing boundaries between music genres". ''
Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...
'' magazine's editor Joram Vuille wrote; " NL isthe first French rap group to really master
Autotune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-T ...
and finally use it like an instrument, adapting their flows and lyrics to beats borrowed from the internet. PNL gave their French compatriots what they could only get from the Americans. They made you forget the lyrics and brought a certain atmosphere to the fore; an atmosphere that can also be found in their videos. It seemed as if for the first time a French group had managed to completely translate the new codes from across the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
into French. And French rap finally proved that it could be sad, melancholy, depressed without using the otherwise inevitable and the utmost dead piano samples." As practising Muslims, Islam is one of their major artistic influences. In the song "Chang" from their third album, there's a line by Ademo rapping “I'm not leading a life according to Din but I'm always trying to become a better person”. PNL often make references to cartoons (''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...
'', ''
The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, w ...
''), films ('' Scarface'') and video games; naming one of their singles "Onizuka" after the Japanese manga ''
Great Teacher Onizuka ''Great Teacher Onizuka'', officially abbreviated as ''GTO'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from January 1997 to February 20 ...
''.


Public image

The duo is characterized by total absence of interviews in the media, as well as innovative music videos shot in Iceland, Namibia, Italy, Japan, United States, South Africa, Jamaica, and elsewhere in the world. PNL was featured on the cover of ''
The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...
'' American magazine's June/July 2016 issue. ''Gonzaï'' magazine writer Albert Poriton has called PNL "the Daft Punk without robot masks and with sunglasses", noting that other rap groups have started to "copy and paste" their "raw arrogance and urban melancholy". In an 2015 article for '' i-D'', Gino Delmas described PNL: "Long hair for one, slicked back for the other, tight polo shirt, a mix of sport and designer clothes. The PNL style, without make-up or overplay, takes a backhanded rap game where luxury and ostentatiousness are omnipresent, at the same time as it gives a glimpse of the 2015 vintage suburb look." In 2020, '' GQ France'' named N.O.S as one of the most stylish French rappers, stating that his generally
sportswear Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical sport-specific garments ...
-oriented choices and hair daring make him "look effortlessly classy".


Discography

* ''
Le Monde Chico ''Le Monde Chico'' is the debut studio album by French cloud rap Cloud rap is a subgenre of Southern rap and trap music that has several sonic characteristics of lo-fi in its hazy, dreamlike and relaxed sound. Many music experts credit rapper ...
'' (2015) * ''
Dans la légende ''Dans la légende'' is the second studio album by French cloud rap duo PNL. It was released on 16 September 2016 through the duo's own QLF Records. The album was preceded by the singles "La vie est belle", "DA", "J'suis QLF", "Naha", "Onizuka", " ...
'' (2016) * '' Deux frères'' (2019)


Awards and nominations


Filmography


Tours

*Dans la légende Tour (2017) *PNL Tour 2022 (2022)


References


External links


Official website

PNL
at
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
* * {{PNL (rap duo) French hip hop groups French people of Corsican descent French people of Algerian descent French people of Berber descent Rappers from Essonne Sibling musical duos French musical duos Hip hop duos