A journalistic investigation that is about to shake the world of French rap. This Wednesday, October 29, Flammarion presents The Empire, research at the heart of French rapan extensive behind-the-scenes investigation of the most listened to genre in France carried out by three journalists, Paul Deutschmann, editor-in-chief of Africa Intelligence, Simon Piel, of Le Monde, and Joan Tilouine, author of Mafia Africa from the same publisher.
The result of more than two years of research, this specially documented work is based on hundreds of testimonies and unpublished legal documents to describe the functioning of an environment that is as lucrative as it is opaque.
To avoid pressure from record companies or people close to the artists, the publication of the book occurred with the greatest discretion: Flammarion did not publish any digital version before its publication, and the cover remained secret until this Wednesday.
Multi-million dollar contracts
From July to NLP via Gims or Booba, the empire It thus highlights the rise of French rap stars, who have become truly successful businessmen by freeing themselves from the music industry, and analyzes the murky links between some of them and organized crime, with the participation of some major players in the sector.
The authors thus reveal the ins and outs of a market in which colossal contracts worth several million euros circulate, arranged by major record labels (Sony, Warner, Universal, Believe…) to sign some rap headliners, such as the rapper Werenoi, who died last May and was the biggest seller of albums in 2023 and 2024.
“The sums involved in rap today are colossal, with contracts that can reach several million euros per album. This money obviously attracts desire and has given rise to the phenomenon of ‘drug producers’: illegal businessmen who have inserted themselves into the rap financing circuit,” explains Paul Deutschmann to AFP.
“The real problem is that these large companies, some of which are multinationals listed on the stock exchange and have benefited from public funds in France, pay millions of euros to these structures without being able to detail their compliance process (or conformity, controls aimed at ensuring compliance with standards and ethics, ed.). They consciously turn a blind eye to certain gray areas,” adds Joan Tilouine.
The influence of organized crime on French rap
The approximately 300 pages of this work also detail how powerful criminal organizations, such as the DZ mafia or the BMF (Black Manjak Family), flirt from Marseille, Paris, Barcelona and even Marrakech, with some of the greatest French artists and put pressure on others, such as SCH, whose car was shot up in La Grande-Motte in 2024 and who now lives under high protection in Paris.
“For some rappers, success can now be a curse, because it attracts criminal groups who pressure them to get a piece of the pie,” says Paul Deutschmann.
“According to those around them, some artists live almost underground, they have to use decoy cars to get around and go to their showcases with close surveillance by a dozen men,” he adds.
“Another consequence is that it dries up creativity because there is less and less production. For example, in Marseille, there is not much left. There are even artists who say: ‘I don’t want to publish my master’s degree because, otherwise, they will extort me,'” explains Joan Tilouine. “In fact, today rap production is declining and, according to some recording actors, the French rap ecosystem could end up suffocated by this violence.”
Connections with business and politics.
Among the many revelations in this book, Paul Deutschmann, Joan Tilouine and Simon Piel also point out the relationships, sometimes unexpected, between the world of rap and that of business or politics.
It is known, for example, that Jul met twice with Rodolphe Saadé, general director of the company CMA-CGM, based in Marseille, and owner of numerous media outlets, including BFMTV, while Booba reportedly spoke on several occasions with businessman Vincent Bolloré.
the empire It also evokes the friendship between Gims and Hélène Arnault Mercier, wife of Bernard Arnault, director of the LVMH group, as well as the behind-the-scenes of the meeting between Aya Nakamura and Emmanuel Macron, which recorded the singer’s participation in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games. Between music, money and power, the empire He thus paints an unadorned image of an environment that has become as powerful as it is uncontrollable.
Source: BFM TV
