Rap hit France in 1990 thanks to new star MC Solaar. Alain Souchon, who had been on the scene since the 1970s, had a hit with his critique of consumerist society. The '90s were an era of ever-more variety in French pop. Music at the time ran the gamut from Enzo Enzo's cabaret-style crooning to Cheb Mami's Raï rap collaboration with K-Mel, which evolved the Raï genre a bit more.
MC Solaar - Nouveau western (1993)
MC Solaar jump-started French rap with his fun "Bouge de là" in 1990. His intellectual bent is something rarely heard in American rap; he drops names like psychoanalyst Lacan and mentions verb conjugations in his songs. "Nouveau western" is a biting condemnation of Hollywood culture and American foreign policy. The song has a sample of Serge Gainsbourg's "Bonnie and Clyde" and references Georges Brassens' hit "Gare au gorille."
Alain Souchon - La foule sentimentale (1993)
With his distinctive, emotional singing style, Alain Souchon became popular in the mid-'70s. Like singers Jacques Dutronc and Jacques Brel, Souchon went on to act in films. But he continued to make albums and tour. "La foule sentimentale" is a criticism of materialism that encourages listeners to be aware of how the media creates desire. There's some clever wordplay using famous names at the end, like in "Tout le monde."
Zazie - Tout le monde (1998)
Almost all the lyrics to this super-pop song are names: Miguel, Farid, Marcel, David, Keïko, Solal, Antonio, Pascual... A mix of ethnicities. At the chorus, Zazie sings, "Tout le monde il est beau," i.e., everyone's beautiful. It's an obvious celebration of multicultural France. At the end of the chorus there's a line that's a play on words which references Jean-Marie Le Pen, the ultra-right politician who doesn't like immigrants. Clever!
Louise Attaque - Léa (1997)
Lead singer Gaëtan Roussel has one of those "I smoke a pack of Gitanes a day" voices, like Thomas Fersen. "Léa" is one of several big hits from Louise Attaque's eponymous first album. Full of wordplay, it is about a Parisian woman who isn't a lot of things: she's not a terrorist, she's not anti-terrorist. She's not pretty, but she's not ugly, either.
Enzo Enzo - Juste quelqu'un de bien (1994)
Listening to this song, someone could easily be led to think it's from the late '50s or early '60s. The mellow vibes, twinkling piano, and drums played with brushes all highlight chanteuse Enzo Enzo. Like Souchon's "La foule sentimentale," the message here is a philosophical one about the true meaning of life.
Cheb Mami & K-Mel - Parisien du Nord (1999)
Raï music originated in Oran, Algeria and became popular in France in the early '90s thanks to Khaled. He took the form and updated it with synthesizers; Cheb Mami went a step further and collaborated with rapper K-Mel. The result is this bilingual hit. Algerian Arabic sounds so lush and beautiful, most of France didn't care that they couldn't understood all the lyrics.
The '90s ended with a multicultural bang: Cheb Mami's unique voice combined with fellow Algerian K-Mel's rapping, and Zazie's love song to "Tout le monde." But Enzo Enzo did well singing classic chansons, too. So did Alain Souchon - because sometimes all you need is a guitar, a good voice, and smart lyrics.
For more French pop music:
French '80s Hits: Great Pop Songs from France in the 1980s
French '70s Hits: Great Pop Songs from France in the 1970s
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