| Paradisiaque | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 17, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1996–1997 | |||
| Genre | Rap | |||
| Length | 59:53 | |||
| Label | Polydor [1] | |||
| Producer | Boom Bass Philippe Zdar DJ Mehdi | |||
| MC Solaar chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Robert Christgau |  [3] |
| Daily Mirror | 8/10 [4] |
Paradisiaque is the third album by the French musician MC Solaar, released in 1997. [5] [6]
The Guardian called the album an "erudite but musically uneven variation on le rap francais." [7] The Daily Mirror deemed it "one of the funkiest albums you'll ever hear." [4] Skiing concluded that "Solaar mounts a ferocious lyrical attack, arguably stringing together more rhyming syllables than any other MC at work today." [8]
AllMusic wrote that Solaar's "good sense of melody turns the best moments of the album into fine pop-rap that is entertaining even if you don't understand French." [2]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (BEA) [9] | Gold | 25,000* |
| France (SNEP) [10] | Platinum | 300,000* |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [11] | Gold | 25,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Claude Honoré M'Barali, professionally known as MC Solaar, is a French rapper of Senegalese and Chadian origin. He is one of France's most famous and influential hip hop artists. Some consider him the best French rapper of all time.
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Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo is the debut studio album by French rapper MC Solaar. The album title is a pun on the French version of the Biblical proverb "qui sème le vent récolte la tempête". It was released in 1991 and gained considerable success.
Mach 6 is the sixth studio album by MC Solaar. It was released in Europe in 2003 and in the United States on June 6, 2006.
MC Solaar, the self-titled fourth album by French-Senegalese rapper, MC Solaar was a shorter effort than his previous releases. Following the funk-grooved sounds of Paradisiaque, the production style once again changed, to essentially an album of two halves. The first half was reminiscent of his previous effort, with Boom Bass and Phillip Zdar producing the tracks, while the latter half shifting to a grittier, east coast U.S. hip-hop sound. Some of these tracks were produced by the Beatminerz, known for his work with the BootCamp Clik. While different from what fans were used to, Solaar appeared to have no trouble following this new sound.
Big Willie Style is the debut solo album by American rapper and actor Will Smith. It was released on November 25, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album was primarily produced by Poke & Tone, with other contributors including L.E.S. and Smith's former collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff. The album was the first to be released by Smith since 1993's Code Red, the last by the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. Five singles were released, including Smith's first US Billboard Hot 100 number one, "Gettin' Jiggy wit It".
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"It's Like That" is the debut single of American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released in 1983 by Profile Records. The song was remixed by house DJ Jason Nevins in 1997. His version was originally released in 1997 on 10-inch vinyl in the United States and became a sleeper hit in 1998. It sold around five million copies worldwide, placing it amongst the biggest selling singles of all time. In 2008, it was ranked number 40 on VH1's "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs".
The Very Best of... Sting & The Police is a compilation album issued by A&M Records on 3 November 1997, containing a mix of Police songs and Sting's solo works. It originally featured one new track, a remix of the 1978 song "Roxanne" by rap artist Sean "Puffy" Combs. The album was reissued in 1998 by PolyGram International with "Russians" removed and three added tracks: "Seven Days", "Fragile", and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". The original European version issued by A&M Records of this compilation instead included these tracks without removing "Russians".
L'École du Micro d'Argent is an album recorded by IAM. The band became famous worldwide with this album, a classic in French hip-hop music. It was partly recorded in the US, with some aesthetic influences brought by RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. On the track "L'Enfer", a sample from Lalo Schifrin's music for Don Siegel's movie "Dirty Harry" can be heard.
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The Very Best of Elton John is a greatest hits compilation album by English musician Elton John, released in October 1990. His first career-retrospective compilation album, and fourth official greatest-hits album overall, it was released in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe, and in other countries such as Japan and Australia, but not in the United States, where the box set To Be Continued... was released the following month instead.
Prose Combat is the second studio album by French rapper MC Solaar, released in 1994 by Cohiba Records. Its success propelled him to international fame.
Cinquième As is the fifth studio album by MC Solaar, and was released in 2001. It is slightly different from his previous works because of a stronger emphasis on a string background. The album gained exposure in the United States after "La Belle et le Bad Boy" was heard on an episode of Sex and the City. Musically, the album features more R&B themes featuring a layering of a female voice on a few tracks, and it is especially notable and true to the MC Solaar character which is strong emotion expressed in the delivery and lyrics. The album pays tribute to Senegal, where he spent his childhood. He uses the album to condemn the role of the World Bank in developing nations. This is most apparent on the track "Les Colonies," where the lyrics state, "Dans cette ère de négoce où ne vivent que les big boss/ Rentabilité - instabilité - imbécillité/ N'ont fait qu'augmenter les taux de mortalité," meaning, "In this era of trade where only the big bosses live/ Profitability - instability - imbecility/ Have done nothing but increase rates of mortality," referring to policies of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
"Solaar pleure" is the 2nd song on the 2001 album Cinquième As by French hip hop artist MC Solaar, and the 1st single. The song is dubbed over in English at the close of the album. The rapper relates his feelings about the current state of the world including his views on poverty and AIDS.
"Bailando" is a song by Belgian group Paradisio. It was released in 1996 as the lead single from their debut album, Paradisio. The song is produced by Patrick Samoy and Luc Rigaux and reached number-one in Italy, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. It peaked at number 2 in Belgium. In Sweden, it was the best selling single by being triple platinum. The song was a hit in most countries across Europe during the summer of 1997.
"Inch'Allah" is a 2002 song recorded by French hip hop artist MC Solaar. The song wasn't included on the rapper's album at the time, but was only released as a single containing also four songs from his previous album, Cinquième As. The single topped the chart in France and became the most successful one of the artist.
"Alane" is a song recorded by Cameroonian artist Wes. It was released in May 1997 via various labels as the debut single from the artist's first album, Welenga (1996). The song became a hit across Europe, topping the charts in Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. It is sung in the Duala language of Cameroon though the Tony Moran remix includes English lyrics.
Eros is the first greatest hits album by Italian pop/rock singer Eros Ramazzotti.
