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CHEIDAH Unveils “Totti,” Between Tech House and Italian Roots
With “Totti,” CHEIDAH continues to carve out a place that is difficult to fit into any single category. Blending melodic rap, club…
Hellsinky author
ZEZ XXI — Mazdak Vafaei Shalmani
Mazdak Vafaei Shalmani, also known as ZEZ XXI, is a Franco-Iranian writer-director and journalist. Active in French-language rap media for more than fifteen years, he contributed to Rapunchline and later worked with Vice France and France Maghreb. He founded Hellsinky in 2018 and leads UrbanTrackz, developing stories across music, documentary cinema, urban culture and social memory.
Published work
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Sena Unveils “Survivant,” an Independent Rapper’s Manifesto
With “Survivant,” a new visual from Citadelle, Sena is not simply saying that he made it through. The Les Lilas rapper delivers…
MUSIC FOCUS
Booba and Zoxea Reconnect: How Beat de Boul Helped Shape French Rap
A simple documentary idea was enough to reopen one of the most important chapters in French rap history. After Booba reacted publicly,…
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Soso Maness Announces the Final Chapter of “Rescapé” on Netflix
Soso Maness has something most French rappers spend their entire careers trying to earn: “street credibility.” Like Lacrim, the Marseille rapper never…
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Bag Jeune B Steps Up With “Back to Bag #4”
Freshly signed to DJ Bellek’s Morning Glory label, Bag Jeune B is kicking off this new chapter of his career with the…
StreetPress
After the Carcassonne Scandal, What Do We Really Know About the Far Right’s Influence in French Policing?
Six hours of accidentally recorded footage from a municipal police patrol in Carcassonne exposed racist, misogynistic and identitarian remarks. Beyond the scandal…
7ème Art (News Cinéma)
AI Is About to Do to Cinema What the Home Studio Did to Music
Making a track from your bedroom has become commonplace. Making a film could soon be just as accessible. Following the first revolution…
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Passi: From Ministère A.M.E.R. to Bande originale, a French Rap Pioneer
Passi is one of the founding figures of French rap. The context was very different in the late 1990s. “Rap”, rather than…
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DA Uzi Returns With “On dort pas”, a Dark Street Chronicle
DA Uzi has now become one of Sevran’s veterans. He belongs to the generation of rappers that emerged in the wake of…
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Soul Brova Teams Up With Tenor on “Venez Voir”
Currently at the centre of the Cameroonian rap conversation with his new EP “L’Homme qui fait peur à Himra”, Tenor is keeping…
CLIP
Zamdane Returns With “Bad Day” as SABR Takes Shape
He is an artist who occupies a unique place within the French urban music landscape. After his journey from Morocco, Zamdane eventually…
CLIP
Mauvais Djo: Why Did He Become No. 1 on Spotify?
Just a few years ago, whenever people tried to measure the value of a rapper, one question came up almost automatically: can…