IAM (pronounced "I am") is a French hip hop group from Marseille. Formed in 1989, it comprises Akhenaton (AKH; Philippe Fragione), Shurik'n (Geoffroy Mussard), Khéops (Éric Mazel), Imhotep (Pascal Perez) and Kephren (François Mendy). IAM has several meanings, including Invasion Arrivée de Mars ("Invasion from Mars"; Mars is frequently used as a metaphor for Marseille in IAM songs). Another meaning is Imperial Asian Man, while AKH often refers to L'homme Impérial Asiatique.
Themes One of IAM's central themes in its songs is Africa. The group, which is one of the pioneer French rap groups, draws heavily in their music on allusions to Africa and particularly ancient Egypt. Their 1991 song "Les tam-tam de l'Afrique" was one of the first French rap hits to deal expressly with the issue of slavery. Using a sample of a Stevie Wonder song, "Les tam-tam de l'Afrique" focuses on the "abduction of its inhabitants, the Middle Passage, and the plantation system in the Americas".Helenon, Veronique. "Africa on Their Mind: Rap, Blackness, and Citizenship in France". In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 151-66. London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press
IAM promotes an ideology that is based upon images associated with ancient Egypt, primarily upon the mythical allusions to pharaohs.Prevos, Andre J. M. "Postcolonial Popular Music in France: Rap Music and Hip-Hop Culture in the 1980s and 1990s." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, 39-56. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001. By 1989 the group developed a unique rap style, mixing French beats and lyrics with Middle Eastern and Egyptian influences. Their stage names are of Egyptian origin; one of the group members, Eric Mazel, goes by the name Kheops, an allusion to the Egyptian pharaoh who built pyramids.RFI Musique - - Biography – IAM This connection with ancient Egypt allows IAM "to assert connections to the contemporary Arab world in an indirect way."Swedenburg, Ted. "Islamic Hip-hop vs. Islamophobia." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, 57-85. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
Indeed, this "pharaoism", as French rap music specialist Andre Previous calls it, represents an attempt to negotiate and maintain a cultural identity in the context of a social scene rife with racist and discriminatory ideologies.Swedenburg, Ted. "Islamic Hip-hop vs. Islamophobia." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, 69. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001. Because many Muslims don't feel at home in white French society, references to Arabic origins and Islamic fundamentalism are part of a highly socially contested discourse on identity politics in French music. Thus, by employing 'pharaoism' to hide these references to and elicitations of the Arab world, IAM successfully articulates its connections with the "Franco-Maghrebi" cause and establishes an important social space for itself. The pharaoist aspects of IAM's rap help the group stay in touch with its origins where some non-white French people have assimilated unquestioningly into the surrounding French culture. Therefore, the group's rap is both politically charged and defiant, as it attempts to subvert notions of racial superiority by "[proposing] multiracial alliance as an alternative to the 'old' [French] politics."Gross, Joan, David McMurray, and Ted Swedenburg. "Arab Noise and Ramadan Nights: Rai, Rap, and Franco-Maghrebi Identities." Diaspora 3:1 (1994): 3-39. (Reprinted in The Anthropology of Globalization: A Reader, ed. by Jonathan Xavier and Renato Rosaldo, 1) Most importantly, rap provides IAM with a place to address social issues and speak out against racial intolerance where the group can actually be heard. In fact, the first single release from their second album, "Je danse le Mia", "went on to prove an enormous hit on the French mainstream", according to French radio station RFI Musique."IAM ." RFI Musique. April 2007. RFI Musique. 20 March 2008 . In this way, the use of 'pharaoism' as a mystical and coded strategy for the injection of Arabic and Egyptian lyrics, ideas, and sentiments into the music is what makes it commercially viable. Otherwise, if the music were any more outright in its references to Arabic origins, white French conservatives might identify it with Islamic Fundamentalism's grips over North African diasporatic communities living in France and try to censor it and impede the cause it stands for.
"'Les tams-tams de l'Afrique' was one of the first hits of French rap and dealt expressly with slavery. Using a sample of 'Pastime Paradise' by Stevie Wonder, this track focused on the plunder of Africa, the abduction of its inhabitants, the Middle Passage, and the plantation system in the Americas".
Collaborations IAM have a long history of collaborations with the American hip hop group, the Wu-Tang Clan. IAM have sampled an Inspectah Deck lyric from the Wu-Tang Clan song "C.R.E.A.M", which states "Life as a shorty shouldn't be so rough" in their 1998 single, "Petit frère". Additionally, they featured a number of Wu-Tang affiliated artists on their 1997 single "La saga" and later members Method Man and Redman on their 2004 single "Noble Art" the video was directed by New York-based artist "Brad Digital". They were also featured in the song of RZA "Seul face à lui". These hip hop groups have a number of similarities, probably due to the fact that IAM member Akhenaton has listed Wu-Tang as one of his five favorite hip hop artists of all time. One notable example is that both groups have connections to Islam. The Wu-Tang Clan are known members of the Five-Percent Nation and often include Islamic references in their music. On the previously mentioned IAM collaboration, "La saga," rapper Prodigal Sunn states that "IAM, sunz of man from the royal fam, never ate ham, never gave a damn", referencing the dietary restrictions that Muslims have to follow. Similarly, French rappers IAM have used their music to display an alternative Muslim identity [Ref. necessary]. IAM also collaborated with US rapper Lucas on the song "Spin the Globe" with rappers from 5 different countries spitting in 5 different languages showcasing the universal appeal and voice of hip hop.Prevos, Andre J. M. "Islamic Hip-Hop versus Islamaphobia" In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, 57-85. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
Discography Albums YearAlbumPeak positionsUnitsCertifications FR BEL (Fl) BEL (Wa) SWI1991...De la planète Mars Label: Labelle Noir, Virgin———— SNEP: Gold1993Ombre est Lumière Label: Delabel195———1997L'École du micro d'argent Label: Delabel, Côté Obscur3—5— IFPI Switzerland: Platinum SNEP: Platinum2003Revoir un printemps Label: Hostile Records1—12 IFPI Switzerland: Gold SNEP: Gold2007Saison 5 Label: Polydor2—415 IFPI Switzerland: Gold2013Arts Martiens Label: Def Jam Recordings France16044 SNEP: Gold...IAM Label: Def Jam Recordings France10—25252017Rêvolution Label: Def Jam Recordings France315135 SNEP: Gold2019Yasuke Label: Def Jam Recordings France8—1912 FRA: 15,471 SNEP: Gold2021Rimes essentielles Label: Côté Obscur74121——2023HHHistory Label: Côté Obscur————
Mixtapes 1990: IAM Concept 2007: Official Mixtape 2012: Assassins Scribes 2013: Assassins Scribes 2
Live albums YearAlbumPeak positions FR BEL (Wa) SWI2005IAM Live au Dôme de Marseille97632008Retour Aux Pyramides2023 Warrior Tour Live Studio Recordings
DVD Live 2007: Live au Dôme de Marseille (DVD)
Compilation albums YearAlbumPeak positions FR BEL (Wa) SWI2004Anthologie 1991–20043143Anthologie 1 & 2 2008L'IntégraleIAM 20962009Galaxie842013Best of 2013–16 classiques73512025Planète Mars
Singles YearSinglePeak positionsAlbum FR BEL (Wa) BEL (Wa) SWI1991 "Red, Black & Green"...De la planète Mars"Tam-tam de l'Afrique"1992 "Planète Mars"1993"Donne-moi le micro"Ombre est Lumière1994"Je danse le Mia"1"Le feu"171995"Une femme seule" / "Sachet blanc"301997"L'empire du côté obscur"1431L'école du micro d'argent"Nés sous la même étoile"41381998"Petit frère"50"L'école du micro d'argent"84"Independenza"19182003"Noble Art" 3416812004"Revoir un printemps"58"Nous" 1694"Stratégie d'un pion"6982005 "Où va la vie" 2417682013"Les raisons de la colère"77"Spartiate Spirit"184"CQFD"1072017"Monnaie de singe"47"Grande rêves, grandes boîtes"191"Orthodoxes"1392019"Self Made Men"199
Other releases 1997: "La saga" (featuring Timbo King, Dreddy Krueger and Prodigal Sunn) 2004: "Second souffle" 2007: "Une autre brique dans le mur" 2007: "Ca vient de la rue" 2007: "Offishall 2008: "Coupe Le Cake"
Discography (solo projects) Year Album IAM member1995 Métèque et mat Akhenaton 1998 Sad Hill DJ KhéopsChroniques de Mars ImhotepOù je vis Shurik'n1999 L'palais d'justice Freeman2000 Sad Hill Impact DJ Kheops 2001 Sol invictus AkhenatonMars Eyes Freeman2000 Black album Akhenaton2005 Double Chill Burger – Quality Best Of Akhenaton2006 Soldats de fortune Akhenaton2008 L'espoir d'un crève Freeman2011 We luv New York Akhenaton2012 Tous m'appellent Shu Shurik'n2012 Kheper Imhotep2014 Je suis en vie Akhenaton2016 Adamant-ium Shurik'n2020 Astéroïde Akhenaton2022 Latin quarter Akhenaton2023 Monopolium Akhenaton
Soundtracks Year Film Film director IAM member1998 Taxi Gérard Pirès Akhenaton2000 Comme un aimant Kamel Saleh and Akhenaton Akhenaton2010 Conte de la frustration Didier Daarwin and Akhenaton Akhenaton2010 Il reste du jambon ? Anne Depetrini Akhenaton
References
External links
Official website