Hip-Hop/Rap
France
Vald
About Vald
Vald has spent the late 2010s and early 2020s as one of France’s most dependable hip-hop acts. His loquacious verses -- spanning absurdist humor and social conscience -- have netted him four number one albums at home and more than 20 Top Ten hits, including chart-toppers “Désaccordé” and “Peon.”
Born Valentin Le Du in 1992 outside Paris in Aulnay-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, he enjoyed math in school and acquired a computer science degree. The extent of his creativity initially involved making Internet videos with friends, but upon encountering the work of political rapper Kery James in his teens, Le Du belatedly fell in love with the genre as a whole. In 2012, he began releasing his own EPs of hip-hop material: 2012’s NQNTMQMQMB (Ni Queue Ni Tête Mais Qui Met Quand Même Bien) and Cours de rattrapage, then 2015’s NQNT2, which just missed the Top Ten at home and featured the creative breakthrough “Bonjour.”
Signing to Capitol's French branch in 2017, Vald released the acclaimed Agartha that year, celebrated for its versatile rhymes and double-meanings in turns of phrase. Tracks “Ma meilleure amie” and “Vitrine” would become notable streaming hits. Follow-up XEU (2018) fared even better: it topped the French charts and proved an extension of his talents, namely on the number one single “Désaccordé.” 2019’s Ce monde est cruel followed XEU to number one, deepening Vald's commitment to socially and politically astute songcraft.
Vald kicked off 2020 on his own Echelon label -- he'd released the collaboration album Horizon vertical with fellow rapper Heuss l’Enfoiré by year’s end. He re-emerged in 2022 with the personal V, later reissuing it with another 13 unreleased tracks as VV5. (The original V featured his second number one single, “Peon.”) 2025’s Pandemonium would notch Vald a fourth chart-topper in France, and would be followed by a live set that fall in Paris La Défense Arena, the largest indoor venue in Europe. ~ Mike Duquette
Influenced by ValdVald has influenced the music of Marie-Gold, Jess, Gemini and more.
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