For many of us who were devotees of MTV in
their glory days in the early to mid 1990’s, there
was no end to moments of inspiration through
music. Where hip-hop was concerned, the main
wellspring was ‘Yo! MTV Raps’ of course. But a
keen eye in 1994 would soon note a certain
shift. A new frontier that was brought about by
forays into international rap via the bridge of
fusion created by rap and jazz. And in the midst
of these early days, one name and one song
sticks out. MC Solaar and his remarkable track
from his second album, Prose Combat, ‘Nouveau
Western’. Solaar managed to craft a track that
although underrated by some and ignored by
others, made an impact in a subliminal fashion
that you might not expect until you take a closer
listen.
Photo Credit: soundamental.org
Let’s begin with MC Solaar. Now. many will know
him from his work with Guru of Gangstarr. Mainly,
the track ‘Le Bien, Le Mal’ in 1993 off of Guru’s
highly influential Jazzmatazz album. Sleek and
full of horns and funk, it was a bold step for hip-hop
and yet one that directly channeled the spirit of
Black American expatriate culture and dressed it
up for a new era. France has been well documented
as a haven for Black Americans disillusioned with
their country, from James Baldwin to Melvin Van
Peebles to Josephine Baker to many more artists
in between. France has also been a shelter for the
numerous emigrants from their former colonial
lands now thriving as independent nations. MC
Solaar’s parents took advantage of that soon after
he was born leaving Dakar, Senegal to settle in the
suburbs of Paris. But his love of hip-hop wouldn’t
be born there - it found life during a stay with his
uncle in Cairo, Egypt where he got down with the
Zulu Nation and Afrika Bambattaa. On his return
to France to finish schooling, Solaar steeped himself
in the culture and began rapping. 1991 was a major
year for him and producer Jimmy Jay. They had a
smash first single, ‘Bouge De La(Get Out Of There)’
and opened up for De La Soul that September at
their Olympia concert date. His debut album, Qui sème
le vent récolte le tempo dropped the following month.
Solaar then spent the next year touring through
Poland and Russia and heavily in West Africa. Once
he linked with the UK acid jazz label Talkin’ Loud, that
led to his work with Guru and set the stage for his
second album. Take note: Solaar stepped onto the
acid jazz scene just as groups like US3, Incognito and
the Brand New Heavies were settling into our CD players
and turntables. He was distinct, compelling, and
even though he rapped in French you felt his lyrics
were cool as hell. With his name now buzzing on a
global scale, Solaar would release Prose Combat in 1994
and break new ground. Especially with his first single.
‘Nouveau Western’ at first listen is just a bold
embodiement of CHILL. But when you get into
the meat of the track, the metaphors are striking.
Firstly, the sample source. The steady chill rhythm
is taken from a classic hit from the iconic French
musician Serge Gainsbourg. It’s a track he did with
actress/singer and bombshell Brigitte Bardot, ‘Bonnie
& Clyde.’ The song itself is based on a poem reportedly
written by Bonnie Parker before she and her man
Clyde Barrow were shot by cops, ‘The Trail’s End’.
Solaar was the first musician to use this sample,
which is significant. More on that in a bit. But think
about this: ‘Nouveau Western’ was a heavy piece
of commentary on racism and colonialism and how
it’s peddled as cowboys blazing a new frontier. Peep
the beginning of his second verse:
“They say watch out for sambo
but watch out for Gary Cooper
modern cowboy around the corner”
You can check for that in two forms. One, Solaar
speaks on the way Westerns are throwback pieces
to a simpler time for whites, code for ‘when people
of color knew their place.’ The second meaning is
a possible reference to aggressive cops. Now, quite
a few folks wouldn’t peep that until NTM came on
the scene a couple of years later with their highly
anti-imperialist tone in response to the growing
right-wing extremism of the National Front led by
Le Pen. We also saw that meaning in La Haine, a
gripping film from 1995 that depicts the struggles
of emigrant youth in the hard streets of Paris. (A
side note: Solaar’s music is also featured in the film.)
The core of ‘Nouveau Western’ is in Solaar’s third
verse where he goes for the throat and bluntly
expresses how the U.S. exports Western movies
as a blueprint for capitalistic minds to grab and
snatch land and money from others, and how
a person of color won’t get the same benefits. Now
we go back to the Gainsbourg track. Two things
must be noted. One, Gainsbourg and Bardot did a
song about two infamous American bank robbers
and made it seductive, almost rebellious. If you
want more proof of that, check out the video they
did for it. And second, Brigitte Bardot would go from
this to her present unfortunate position of bigoted
xenophobe against Arab emigrants in France in a
vocal manner. So one could say Solaar was on the
money with the sample choice.
The video for ‘Nouveau Western’ itself is symbolic
of the times - heavy use of steadicam, set in various
locations in New York City, Paris and out in the
American west. Even in the locales you get some
meaningful symbolism. The first frame has us out
by the famed Moulin Rouge as if it’s raising the curtain
on a titilating, bold spectacle. Even the Chinatown
settings sit with you in a way when you realize that
the business Solaar is rapping in front of, really the
entire block doesn’t look like that anymore as yet
another victim of gentrification. It only goes to show
how MC Solaar was a true navigator of a burgeoning
frontier not only in hip-hop, but overall culture. The
song itself, by using the Gainsbourg sample was then
sampled by hit house musician St.Germain, also from
France. This would lead to the rise of ambient music
in Europe having a poignant hip-hop feel in a small
part along with others like Tricky and Jamiroquai.
‘Nouveau Western’ should be seen as a quiet piece
of the homestead in hip-hop culture that broke new
ground besides just being a really chill track. And MC
Solaar should get more props for his part in creating
that new frontier back then.