Featured In
ALBUMHHHistoryIAM
Albums by IAM
ALBUMHHHistoryIAM
ALBUMRimes essentiellesIAM
ALBUMSloMo MindIAM
ALBUMYasukeIAM
ALBUMRêvolution (Deluxe)IAM
ALBUMArts MartiensIAM
ALBUMIAMIAM
ALBUMSaison 5IAM
ALBUMLive au Dôme de MarseilleIAM
ALBUMrevoir un printempsIAM
IAM's Popular Music Videos
Nés Sous la Même Étoile
IAM
Petit Frère
IAM
L'empire Du Côté Obscur
IAM
La Saga
IAM
Une femme seule
IAM
Revoir un Printemps
IAM
Independenza
IAM
Chanson d'automne
IAM
Ils ne savent pas
IAM
Où Va La Vie
IAM
Artist Playlists
IAM Essentials
These veterans helped found the French rap scene.
IAM Video Essentials
The French rappers dabble in ‘90s cool and 3D animation.
IAM: Deep Cuts
Uncovering gold rhymes and priceless beats from the mystical hip-hop legends.
Artist Biography
For more than 30 years, the pioneering French hip-hop collective IAM has made politically charged, globally minded music. The group has worked with the likes of Wu-Tang Clan, Redman, and Beyoncé.
• The collective formed in the port city of Marseille in 1988. With 1991’s De la Planete Mars, IAM became the country’s first hip-hop group to release an album.
• The lineup included Philippe “Akhenaton” Fragione, Geoffroy “Shurik’n” Mussard, Éric “Khéops” Mazel, Pascal “Imhotep” Perez, François “Kephren” Mendy, and Malek “Freeman” Brahimi.
• Their 1993 single “Je Danse le Mia,” which samples George Benson’s hit “Give Me the Night,” reached No. 1 on the French charts. Future Oscar winner Michel Gondry directed the music video.
• IAM’s 1997’s single “Petit Frere” samples the Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” Wu producer RZA later recruited IAM for the 2003 compilation The World According to RZA.
• As with Wu-Tang, IAM juggled group projects with frequent solo releases, especially by Akhenaton and Freeman.
• For 2003’s Revoir un printemps, IAM recruited Beyoncé for “Bienvenue” and Redman and Method Man for “Noble Art.” The album topped the charts in France and Belgium.
• In the early 2010s, IAM signed with a division of legendary label Def Jam. The 2013 album Arts Martiens topped the French charts.
Hometown
Marseilles, France
Genre
Hip-Hop/Rap