Qui Seme Le Vent Recolte Le Tempo

To me it's one of is best albums

Amazing debut album!!

I've been a fan of MC Solaar's for quite some time now, and have had this album a good 10 years, but I came back to it recently and felt I had to review it. The skills shown on this album make you wonder where everything changed for Claude MC, his fast pace, humour, intellect and just all good sound made him a target for hardcore rappers, as they felt his sound was too soft. Well maybe they should have slipped on "Quartier Nord" and checked his skills there? There's nothing on here that's bad, OK, I'm not keen on Ragga Jam with Raggasonic - but it's still worth a listen. Caroline ("I am the ace of clubs that stings your heart") has that beauty and some lovely play on words like "maso elle est partie avec un vieux macho qu'elle a rencontrer dans un station du métro", it's just gold! Jimmy Jay's work is amazing too on this, the scratching and sampling really does a good deal to the lyrics. An example of this is the sampling of Marvin Gaye on "Armand Est Mort" - beautiful. The humour aspect definitely comes through on "L'historie De L'art"; with Soon E MC, and that great soul sample, you really must hear this to understand what I'm saying. There's also the funnies in "Matière Gras Contre Matière Gris" with the lyrics "MC Solaar tu mange du chat". This is a classic, can be held up there with classic albums like 3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm by A Tribe Called Quest and of course closer to home Simple & Funky by Alliance Ethnik. If you can get this - buy it - it's gold and shows you what MC Solaar was really about. I only hope he gets back to this form one day rather than the pop he calls rap (Rabbi Muffin is an example, his new single).

Even after all these years, this album remains one of the few masterpieces in rap/hip-hop. The stunning vocals of Solaar are perfectly complemented by the savvy grooves, that use a wide range of samples without sounding derivative. A must-have.

A fantastic album that still sounds fresh after all these years. Makes you wonder how other rappers have success without anywhere near the amount of inspiration and originality. Brilliantly put together with some stand out tracks (caroline must be everyones favourite), MC Solaar's early stuff reminds you that English is not the only language to rap in. I'm off to dig out an old French school book...

MC Solaar at his best. "Caroline" is my all-time favourite, an amazing, beautiful song, the lyrics go under your skin. A must-buy if you're into this type of music.

Item has just arrived (item should have been delivered on the 19th now the 26th), broken case, broken insides and 3 scratches on the CD. Not the as new as described in the advert.

In 1991, Senegal-born Paris-educated hip hopper MC Solaar (born Claude M'Barali) paired with DJ friend Jimmy Jay (Christophe Viguier) as arranger and producer on this, his first and still one of his best albums. Solaar is like all the best rappers a poet of note. He is surrounded by rich, lush ensembles that at different times on the record include percussion (live and drum machine), electric bass (used as much for beat as for note), electric piano and organ, guitar, saxophone, and multiple vocalists. There are even strings at times and once, the sound of motorcycles revving up. The album sold 400,000 copies in France and included Solaar's first singles hit, "Bouge de la", which was based on a sample from the English funk band of the early '70s, Cymande's "The Message." (And is better than Cymande's version.) Drums dominate even on lyrical cuts like "Caroline", with sophisticated rhythm and musical riffs laid over them. "Armand est Mort" displays one of his signal rhythm devices. The drum machine, at the base of the rhythm, surges ahead in laid back tempo, playing in 4/4, like this: the drum machine plays three beats followed by a one-beat pause, then four straight, then repeats the pattern, over and over again throughout most of the song. Of the four beats, the first two are low, hard thuds. The third is lighter and higher, but still a thud. There is a one-beat delay and then a repeat, only with the fourth beat filled by drum. "Quartier Nord," the next track up, shows very well the rhythmic sophistication and ferocity the group brings to its work. Multiple layers of hard, driving rhythm played in different meters forms the base for a whirlwind of sound: the electric bass used principally for rhythm accent, keyboard riffs, guitar twangs, a lovely, almost full-solo jazzy alto sax, MC rapping, and backup singers. Solaar's albums have always come across as collaborative. He is generous in allowing space for the other singers and musicians. His poetry is evocative, alternately lyrical and reflective and fierce and combative, He is not afraid to take on serious subjects, political or not. On this album, fashion's victims ("Victime de la Mode"); art ("L'Histoire de l'Art"); a man's death; even one on how music softens manners ("La Musique Adoucit les Moeurs"). This is prime popular music: you don't have to understand French to appreciate it -there's a percussiveness to poetized French that makes it one of rap's best languages-but if you do, you will appreciate Solaar's sly comments on the world we live in.

Voici le 1er album de MC Solaar, rappeur des années 90 qui avait connu sa gloire à l'époque dont les chansons Victime de la mode, Caroline et Bouge de là partie 1 rappelle des souvenirs de 1991 et 1992.

mega!!!

One of my favorite french artists, and you can't find this album on itunes/amazon digital. If you like French rap/hip-hop, MC Solaar's work is smooth, catchy, and generally awesome. Give it a listen. I still enjoy it after 20 years of listening.

Je voulais acheter cet album depuis longtemps mais il était introuvable ou alors à des prix exorbitants. J'ai été ravie de voir qu'il était de nouveau disponible et je ne m'en lasse pas, excellent album !