Reader Review: MC Solaar - Prose Combat (February 9, 1994)

(Today’s Reader Review is kind of special, if by “special” you mean “holy shit, Max has been holding on to this submission for four fucking years? What the hell is his problem?” Yes, it’s true: back in 2014, Tochi sent me his pitch for French rapper MC Solaar’s second album, Prose Combat, which I promptly held onto , as I had different plans for the site at the time. And then I vanished for two years. But hey, with Tochi’s blessing, it’s here today, so leave some comments for him.)

Once upon a time, I was at a club in Montreal. Gorgeous women were gyrating everywhere. I was having myself a good time when, all of a sudden, a song caught my ear and the place lit up. I went up to the DJ to ask, “What the fuck was that?” He pointed to a nearby screen playing a music video. The name of the song: “Obsoléte”, by some guy named MC Solaar.

My mind immediately flashed back to a rapper of the same name that I remembered from the 1990’s, a random French rapper who appeared on an alternate version of the Missy Elliott single “All N My Grill”, a dude that delivered a strange verse in place of the original guest star, Big Boi. And at the time I asked myself the same question: “What the fuck was that?” But, you know, it was Missy Elliott, and back then Missy Elliott did whatever strange shit Missy Elliott wanted to do, including inviting rappers from foreign countries to the studio for cameos just because.

When I got home that night I downloaded the album “Obsoléte” appeared on, Prose Combat, which ended up being MC Solaar’s second album. Let me just say up front that Prose Combat is one of the best hip hop albums I’ve ever heard, without a doubt. I’m not sure what was in the water back in 1994, but somehow that juice made its way to France, because this album gives The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die and Nas’ Illmatic a run for their money on the production tip.

Do I have your attention yet?

Let’s start off with some basics. MC Solaar is a Senegalese-born French rapper. He’s done some work with Gang Starr and is widely considered to be one of the greatest French rappers of all time. He has a smooth delivery reminiscent of Q-Tip, which is an instrument unto itself. Even if you don’t understand French, his flow on Prose Combat sounds so great it won’t even matter, as you’ll find yourself enjoying it regardless.

Given that I lived in Montreal for two years and know even less French now than I did before moving there, I will not be covering the rhyme content today, as that wouldn’t be fair. My French-speaking friends have assured me that MC Solaar speaks some potent-ass shit on here, for those of you still interested in the words. Instead, my review will focus on the chill jazz-rap beats from producers Boom Bass and Jimmy Jay, along with the smooth flows of our host.

So without further ado.

1. AUBADE

A fine introductory beat that contains no vocals, aside from some French girl who harmonizes the word “Solaar”. I guess the female-says-your-name-in-a-breathy-voice concept was hot even way back in 1994. (See: Maybach Music, Mike Will Made It, any number of additional examples.)  DJ Premier would later end up borrowing the short instrumental to introduce Nine’s “Every Man 4 Himself” on his Crooklyn Cuts Vol. III mixtape.

2. OBSOLÈTE

Considering my story above, this beat is the definition of nostalgia for me: it’s feel-good music, and it still bangs.  Apparently, the song is about things in life that he used to come across on a regular basis but have since been rendered, well, obsolete. I looked up the English-translated lyrics, but they made no sense. As expected.

3. NOUVEAU WESTERN

This instrumental was kind of goofy for me in parts, but it still makes for a pleasant listen. You’ll notice that Jimmy Jay and Boom Bass bring in a new melody for Solaar after his first verse ends. By the time “Nouveau Western” is finished, they’ve worked in two or three distinct melodies, beat patterns, and variations into the course of one track. You’ll hear them do this a lot throughout Prose Combat.

4. A LA CLAIRE FONTAINE

This beat is ridiculous! I can rap this song word-for-word and I can’t understand a single thing Solaar is saying, his flow is that sharp.

5. SUPERSTARR

I’ve never cared for this song. The singing doesn’t help much either.

6. LA CONCUBINE DE L’HÉMOGLOBINE

Another great instrumental. I have no idea what this song is about, but its accompanying music video seems to be about war, suffering and all things that shed blood, which just depresses me. And yet, the sexiness of the beat throws me off completely.

7. DÉVOTION

On an album full of highlights, “Dévotion” is certainly one of them. MC Solaar sounds perfect over this musical backing, which only gets cooler as the track moves forward.

8. TEMPS MORT

A fine, jazzy backdrop for you. (This description can be adapted for every goddamn song on Prose Combat, but I digress.)

9. L'NMIACCD'HTCK72KPDP (FEAT. LES SAGES POÈTES DE LA RUE, MÉNÉLIK, & SOON-E MC)

Regarding the title: huh? Thankfully, this song isn’t one of the high points of the evening, but that’s solely because there are so many of them littered throughout, as this track is still pretty great. The various guest rappers don’t sound nearly as good as our host, but the cypher-like energy of the beat props them up. So if you’re trying to tell your friends about this fly-ass foreign hip hop track you heard once, well, good luck telling them the title. 

10. SÉQUELLES

Someone told me the English translation of this title is “Consequences.”  I looked these lyrics up as well, and this time around everything makes sense. That instrumental also makes love to yoru eardrums from the moment it drops.  A superb track.

11. DIEU AIT SON ÂME (FEAT. DERIN YOUNG)

Sadly, on an album full of excellent beats, this one was only okay. I wonder whose idea it was to have the guest vocalist sing in English. It threw me off, not unlike Blue Raspberry suddenly performing the hook on whatever Wu-Tang Clan song in German.

12. A DIX DE MES DISCIPLES

I skip this track every time I play through Prose Combat. It isn’t that bad of an instrumental, but it sounds extremely dated, and not in a pleasant, nostalgic way. But if you decide you want to bump this one regardless, make sure to bring out your broken-down cardboard boxes and Kangol hat.

13. LA FIN JUSTIFIE LES MOYENS

This is simply one of the best beats that came out of 1994. Bow down to those drums when they kick in.

14. RELATIONS HUMAINES (FEAT. BAMBI CRUZ)

One of those songs where it sounds like everyone involved had a good time in the studio. I loved the piano, and the guest isn’t bad. Every time I hear this one, I think about calling up my friends, which is the correct response to fun stuff such as this.

15. PROSE COMBAT

Remember that fly instrumental from the album intro? The producers decided to add some drums to it, so Prose Combat ends with its title track as MC Solaar does his thing. The beginning is the end, and what a fitting end it is.

(Readers in the UK who come across Prose Combat will find that their version of the album has an altered tracklisting with some of the tracks mentioned above swapped out for different songs, including “I’m Doin’ Fine”, MC Solaar’s collaboration with The Roots. You want to talk about it? See the comment section below.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Prose Combat is easily the best French rap album I’ve ever heard, and I’ve listened to quite a few. MC Solaar has true star quality: his flow is just perfect throughout the entire project. Jimmy Jay and Boom Bass have also helped craft one of the best-produced hip hop albums in history: it sounds exactly like a hidden basement lounge in the artsy, but not bougie, side of your town. Nearly every track is a standout, and Prose Combat can be played from start to finish without skips, which is often the mark of a great album. (I know I wrote above that I skip one of the tracks during each of my replays, but that was still a good song.) The power and influence of hip hop comes from the music and the artist’s delivery, which is how the genre crosses languages and cultures. For all I know, MC Solaar’s bars could be wack as fuck, but he sounds great and powerful while reciting them, so the fact that I don’t understand French could be a blessing, as once you nail those components of a song, you’ve pretty much already won. I think hip hop heads miss the point when they focus too much on wordplay, since what draws people to music is… the music! Perhaps I’m biased as a self-proclaimed beat junkie, but when you personally witness Saudis blasting 2Pac and enjoying the hell out of his work even though they clearly can’t understand a word of it, it changes your perspective on what draws people to hip hop.

BUY OR BURN: This is a definite buy. You likely won’t find it in any store, as I’m pretty sure Prose Combat is currently out of print, but maybe you’ll find a used copy or something.

BEST TRACKS: "Obsolete"; "A La Claire Fontaine"; "La Concubine De L'Hémoglobine"; "Dévotion"; "Temps Mort"; "Séquelles"; "La Fin Justifie Les Moyens"; "Relations Humaines"

-Tochi

(Questions? Comments? Do you wish you could go back in time and ask me why I didn’t run today’s write-up four years ago? Leave your thoughts below.)