La Belle et le Bad Boy
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| “La Belle et le Bad Boy” | |||||
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| Single by MC Solaar from the album Cinquième As |
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| Released | 2001 | ||||
| Format | CD | ||||
| Genre | Hip Hop | ||||
| Length | 3 min 12 s | ||||
| MC Solaar singles chronology | |||||
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"La Belle et le Bad Boy" (The beauty and the bad boy) is the seventh song on the album Cinquième As by the french Hip Hop artist MC Solaar and the only single released in America. This single had moderate success after being featured on the series finale of Sex and the City.[1] It was also featured in Britain on the BBC series World Cup Stories, in the episode on the French football team. Here it was used to help emphasise the multi-cultural nature of the team which won the 1998 World Cup. The song's title is a take off on the traditional folktale Beauty and the Beast. The track's instrumental was produced by Hassan Ansari.
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[edit] Story
The lyrics tell the story of two young lovers. They meet in school and the girl is quickly pulled into the world of crime by her rebellious boyfriend. While they dream of a good life, the crime-laden context in which they find themselves overcomes that dream.
- Elle vit le grand amour, qui commence dans la cour
- Se poursuit dans les tours et rime toujours avec toujours
- Mais le contexte est plus fort que le concept.
- Son mec se jette dans les flammes et il se lave avec.
- She's living the love of her dreams, the one that begins in the schoolyard,
- It follows in the [apartment] towers and rhymes always with always.
- But the context is stronger than the concept,
- Her guy throws himself into the flames and washes himself with them.[2]
The song ends with the young woman being shot to death.
- Deux balles de 22. Vingt deux ans adieu
- Two .22 bullets. Twenty-two years, goodbye[3]
[edit] Cultural Analysis
In perhaps the greatest example of French hip-hop gaining fame in the United States, "La Belle et le Bad Boy" with its tantalizing beat, even if the words were incomprehensible to most Americans, sprouted thousands of new M.C. Solaar fans when it was played during the Sex and the City finale. However, in the case of this song it is important to look past the commercial appeal and catchy beat in order to analyze the song and M.C. Solaar's true message. Solaar was born in Senegal and is of Chadian descent and finds himself with the same struggles as most French rappers with African ties, "being caught between two cultures."[4] La Belle et le Bad Boy exhibits the struggles for immigrants living in France under a culture of poverty and racism, and also outlines the materialistic dreams of riding in "en Corvette."[5] The "Belle" in the song can not escape the iron grasp of the criminal world and ultimately meets her fate with "Deux balles de 22. Vingt deux ans adieu." (Two .22 bullets, Twenty-two years goodbye) Of course Carrie Bradshaw was not meeting her death to the dangerous streets of the Upper West Side when this song was playing, but Solaar's message should be heard underneath the catchy beat and smooth flow. M.C. Solaar in arguably the most popular French rap song in the United States, takes the opportunity to point out societal inequalities for immigrants, insert immigrant culture, aspirations of wealth, and finally the tragedy of getting caught in the criminal life. In the words of Solaar, "Le contexte est plus fort que le concept."[6] The context is stronger than the concept.
[edit] References and footnotes
- ^ Sex and the City Episode Guide [1]
- ^ M.C. Solaar, "La Belle et le Bad Boy Lyrics Translated." http://kal.joffres.com/bellebadboy.html
- ^ M.C. Solaar, "La Belle et le Bad Boy Lyrics Translated." http://kal.joffres.com/bellebadboy.html
- ^ Helenon, Veronique. "Africa on their Mind: Rap, Blackness, and Citizenship in France." In the Vinly Ain't Final: Hip-Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture. 151-163.
- ^ M.C. Solaar, "La Belle et le Bad Boy Lyrics Translated." http://kal.joffres.com/bellebadboy.html
- ^ M.C. Solaar, "La Belle et le Bad Boy Lyrics Translated." http://kal.joffres.com/bellebadboy.html
[edit] External links
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