Sound of The Suburbs: Meet France's Toughest Rappers

[Jimaz]

Total duration 26 minutes:

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Sound of The Suburbs: Meet France's Toughest Rappers

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They seem like good kids, not at all like the stereotypical thugs the media or right-wing grannies would make of them.

Compare/contrast with Detroit. Remarkable similarities IMHO. From where do these similarities come? Mimicry? Common humanity? Both?

[Jimaz]

So what accounts for the inversion of Detroit vs. Paris affluence topology?

Detroit geographically concentrates poverty, Paris concentrates wealth.

Why the difference? Sincerely.

[canuck]

So what accounts for the inversion of Detroit vs. Paris affluence topology?

Detroit geographically concentrates poverty, Paris concentrates wealth.

Why the difference? Sincerely.

The ghettos of Paris are actually the result of mass migration of people from former french colonies in black Africa, the maghreb and asia as well to a degree. Paris's core has kept a high value because of several factors; inherent wealth, tourism, high density with high quality infrastructure designed to support the central boroughs. Paris and France by extension is the most visited country on earth and so the real estate values are extremely high.

The unemployment rate in these suburbs of Paris may actually be higher than Detroit. There is abandonment, emulation of values you see in the slums of US cities and the rest of the world really. It's all in your face and not meant to be subtle. Since everything is out in the open and screaming for attention in a society with thousands of channels of communication; subtlety is minimally invasive.

In french, we call this; "le nivellement par le bas" or levelling toward the bottom, the lowest common denominator, same diffrenz. But obviously this reaction from kids without much sense of belonging is exactly the same in both contexts, they are poor, bored, afraid, impulsive and rudderless. You will also notice the absentee father problem is the same in many families of african and arabic families in Paris.

[Jimaz]

Thanks for that lucid explanation.

I found it interesting that Paris seems to use police to enforce the segregation. "If you leave your hood you get f*cked up by a cop for no reason."

[Bham1982]

Though keep in mind that the ghettos in Paris aren't really suburban.

Paris [[city proper) has tiny city limits, so almost everything in the metropolitan region is suburban. Paris proper is just the core.

Most of the poorest neighborhoods in Paris Metro are inner suburbs, just outside the city limits. But there are also many poor neighborhoods within Paris city limits [[in the far fringes of the city, in basically every direction).

[Zozo]

I found it interesting that Paris seems to use police to enforce the segregation. "If you leave your hood you get f*cked up by a cop for no reason."

It appears these young "men" also impose a type of segregation upon themselves. Frankly with their juvenile gun play and crime boasting and careless anger they seem like just the type to rob people because they are white. They complain about there being no investment in their neighborhoods, but they certainly don't seem like hospitable chaps.

[canuck]

Though keep in mind that the ghettos in Paris aren't really suburban.

Paris [[city proper) has tiny city limits, so almost everything in the metropolitan region is suburban. Paris proper is just the core.

Most of the poorest neighborhoods in Paris Metro are inner suburbs, just outside the city limits. But there are also many poor neighborhoods within Paris city limits [[in the far fringes of the city, in basically every direction).

True, there is poverty in Paris proper too. And there are extremely rich suburbs like Neuilly-sur-Seine. Even Clichy featured in the video, the suburb that Henry Miller lived in when he hit Paris in the early thirties was a mix of bon bourgeois and everything else and is still a suburb with a good mix of economic strata.

In the suburbs of major french cities, there is a whole ghetto language that has developed alongside french slang and black folks are called black in english as opposed to "noir" in french. Le black ou les blacks. Therefore, an imitation of black americans has become important to african and carribean kids in french cities. The same can be said of blacks in Montreal or London England; a sizable bunch of black kids take their cues from afro-american culture.

[Jimaz]

... Therefore, an imitation of black americans has become important to african and carribean kids in french cities. The same can be said of blacks in Montreal or London England; a sizable bunch of black kids take their cues from afro-american culture.

I find it fascinating that afro-american culture can have such a great international influence while at home they are commonly considered the underclass. There seems to be an underestimated power there to influence foreign affairs.

[canuck]

Well popular american culture really had an impact in Europe in the first world war when soldiers displayed a particular looseness that jarred with the rigid codes of french, german, british society. The Jazz age which came about because of black music becoming more dominant in popular music influenced social mores and relaxed europeans for a century. But black musical forms had already had that power to change social codes in the United States in spite of resistance in certain channels of communication relegating expression to race radio, race records, so to speak. Some of that resistance existed in Europe defining Jazz or modern art, primitive art as decadent, but it was maybe not as scary to french people until they also felt invaded by massive immigration after world war 2. In my opinion, what makes France and England interesting today is the cosmopolitan character they now enjoy.