Editing MC Solaar (section)

==Biography==
===Early life===
Claude M'Barali was born in [[Dakar|Dakar, Senegal]], to parents from [[Chad]]. When he was six months old, his parents immigrated to France where they settled in the Parisian suburbs; initially in [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]], subsequently Maisons-Alfort and finally [[Villeneuve-Saint-Georges]]. When he was twelve, he went to live with an uncle in [[Cairo|Cairo, Egypt]] for nine months where he discovered the [[Universal Zulu Nation]] and became fascinated with the rapping styles of [[Afrika Bambaataa]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Q&A|publisher=[[CNN International]]|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/02/03/cairo.qa/|access-date=12 December 2006}}</ref> Upon his return to France, he passed the [[baccalauréat]]. The constant support from his mother was one of the reasons that he was able to pass the baccalauréat and still make music. He coined the stage name "MC Solaar" during his adolescence from his graffiti tags "SOAR" and "SOLAAR".<ref name="islandia biography"/>

[[File:MC Solaar on Zulu Nation.ogg|thumb|MC Solaar describing his early influences before a London gig in 2011, to radio producer Pete Shevlin]]

He studied languages at the [[Jussieu Campus|Jussieu university campus]] and was a postgraduate in philosophy. He released his first single in 1990. MC Solaar went to Paris in the summer of 1991 with his friend Jimmy Jay in hopes of succeeding in the music industry. Success came quickly when his first single, "Bouge de là" ("Get Out of There"), based on a sample from [[Cymande]]'s song "The Message" (1973) became a hit in the early 1990s. Many rappers who came out of Africa at the time spoke a lot about slavery and other topics in order to bring the history of their people into light.<ref name="autogenerated1">Helenon, Veronique. "Africa on Their Mind: Rap, Blackness, and Citizenship in France." In ''The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Glmmobalization of Black Popular Culture'', ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, London; Ann Arbor, Michigan: Pluto Press, 2006. pp.151-66.</ref> Nevertheless, the song went platinum in France and reached #5 on the national charts.

===1991–1997: Early success and ''Prose Combat'' breakthrough===
After the success of "Bouge de là", Solaar went on to support the American rap group [[De La Soul]] when they performed at the Olympia in Paris in September 1991. At the close of 1991, Solaar released ''[[Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo]]'' which went on to sell over 400,000 copies in France.<ref name="islandia biography"/> With the success of his debut album in France, Solaar embarked upon extensive tours of Poland and Russia. In December 1992, he performed in twelve countries across West Africa, where his French rap style proved popular with African music fans.<ref name="RFI on Solaar">{{cite web|title=MC Solaar |publisher=RFI Musique |url=http://www.rfimusique.com/siteEn/biographie/biographie_6039.asp |access-date=25 July 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061030044422/http://www.rfimusique.com/siteen/biographie/biographie_6039.asp |archive-date=30 October 2006 }}</ref>

MC Solaar released ''[[Prose Combat]]'' in 1994. It sold 100,000 copies in the first week of being released and became a bestseller in 20 other countries. In February 1995 he received an award for Best Male Singer of the Year at the 10th edition of the French "Victoires de la Musique" awards. Also in 1994, MC Solaar appeared on the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s compilation album, ''[[Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool]]''. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the [[AIDS]] epidemic in relation to the [[African American]] community, was heralded as Album of the Year by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''.

Solaar returned to the studio in 1997 with longtime friend and producer Jimmy Jay to record his third album, ''[[Paradisiaque]]''. The album was another success, which led to an extensive European tour starting on 9 January 1998 at the [[Le Zénith (Paris, France)|Zénith]] in Paris. MC Solaar toured internationally, including Germany, Japan and the United States. He was included as a guest on American rapper Guru's "[[Jazzmatazz]]" project and one of Solaar's songs was included in the Tommy Boy rap compilation in the United States.<ref name="islandia biography"/>

Early in Solaar's career, it was important for him to share the struggles and the different hardships for black people that had emigrated to France and tried to make a better life. Most of his music was dedicated to enlightening the population of a specific deeper message that connected to him in his life. "[...] he addresses the conditions under which Black people have emigrated to and settled in France. In the piece "Leve-toi et rap," he describes his Chadian parents' migration from Senegal to a Parisian suburb, the main stages of his teenage years and how he finally came to discover rap."<ref name="autogenerated1"/> In an interview, MC Solaar described the feeling of making a song and the thought process while just writing any part of lyrics that go into his music. "I write quickly, because of the music, he tells me. It's much easier if you have the music, the rhythm, but I am fast. First, I have taken in "everything". Do you never write before the music? Ah. I used to, he admits. But when I met the music, I changed."<ref name="Age of MC Solaar"/>

===1997–2004: ''Cinquième As'' and ''Mach 6''===
Solaar released ''[[Cinquième As]]'' in 2001, to critical acclaim and ''[[Mach 6 (album)|Mach 6]]'' in 2003. In the album's third track, "Lève-Toi et Rap", Solaar describes his parents' move to France as well as his own roots growing up in [[Villeneuve-Saint-Georges]] and [[Cairo]].<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
Critic [[Dan Gennoe]] attests to Solaar's "flow et vocabulaire" by noting "the flow of his words is staggering, as are the low-slung grooves that they roll to; deftly vaulting all language barriers."<ref>Gennoe, Dan. [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cinquieme-As-Mc-Solaar/dp/B00005OB0K Review: ''Cinquieme As''], [[Amazon.com|Amazon.co.uk]], accessed 20 March 2008.</ref>

In 1998, MC Solaar embarked on a tour beginning at the [[Le Zénith (Paris)|Zénith de Paris]]. The concert he presents is a show with DJs and dancers (as the hip-hop dancer [[Bintou Dembélé]]) which overpasses the musical frame.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2014|title=Un témoignage de Bintou Dembele: S/T/R/A/T/E/S. Trente ans de Hip-Hop dans le corps|journal=Africultures|volume=99 - 100|pages= 250–261}}</ref> The cover of ''Cinquieme As'' depicts Solaar topless, and draws comparisons to captives about to be taken onto a [[slave ship]]. However, a look at the inside cover reveals Solaar to be in a wrestler's costume, along with the other men in the picture.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000062TAK ''Cinquieme As''] at Amazon.com</ref> As Veronique Helenon discusses in her article concerning the French hip hop scene, references to Africa and "blackness" are a very important part of Solaar's music. Solaar recognises and pays tribute to the African presence in France by using boxing and wrestling references. Senegalese boxer [[Battling Siki]] is referenced in the album's booklet. Although Siki won the light heavyweight boxing championship in 1922, he still faced racism from journalists.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> This image combined with songs concerning colonial oppression and the migration experience from Africa to France show Solaar's "blackness," something that is extremely important in the French hip-hop scene. For example, in his song "Les Colonies", Solaar discusses the similarities between the oppression of Africans by colonialists to the modern day exploitation of "third world" countries. "Cinquième As" includes lyrics in French, English, and Spanish, which represents his ideals that rap should be inclusive of all people.<ref name="Age of MC Solaar"/>  In early 2004, his 2001 song "La Belle et Le Bad Boy" was featured on the final episode of the U.S. television series ''[[Sex and the City]]''. The MTV series "The Hills" featured the song as well.

===2005–present: ''Chapitre 7'' and international acclaim===
"Da Vinci Claude", the first single from Solaar's album ''[[Chapitre 7]]'', was launched in March 2007. The album was released on 18 June 2007. MC Solaar is best known outside France for his work on Guru's ''[[Jazzmatazz]]'' project and as a featured artist on the [[Missy Elliott]] track "[[All N My Grill]]". His collaboration with her propelled him to higher popularity in the U.S market. The single "Le Bien, Le Mal" (The Good, The Bad) has been a hip hop/dance crossover hit and has received playtime on [[Music Television|MTV]], which characterizes his work this way: "His fluid phrasing makes up for his lack of English, and the production on his solo work (by DJ Jimmy Jay and Boom Bass of La Funk Mob) surpasses that of most of his hip-hop contemporaries."<ref name="MTV bio">[https://web.archive.org/web/20060416040054/http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/mc_solaar/artist.jhtml#bio MC Solaar biography] at MTV.com</ref>

MC Solaar is one of the few French rappers having success in the English-dominated American hip hop culture. American rapper [[will.i.am]] admitted he prefers MC Solaar to American rapper [[Tupac Shakur]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.greenroom.fr/110898-fallait-preferer-mc-solaar-a-tupac-pour-etre-branche-a-l-a-dans-les-90s-2/|title=Fallait préférer MC Solaar à Tupac pour être branché à L.A. dans les 90's - Greenroom|date=2016-11-01|work=Greenroom|access-date=2017-02-26|language=fr-FR}}</ref>