
Meet France’s Toughest Rappers
Cleo Le-Tan drives into the banlieues ringing Paris to find the rappers mainstream France mostly ignores. She starts in Clichy-sous-Bois with Byron, a veteran of the 2006 riots era who has appeared in Romain Gavras videos, smoking through an account of what changed in the northern suburbs after the unrest. South of the city, in Grigny's La Grande Borne estate, she meets the group La Comera, who let her attempt to drive a BMW while an instructor flirts and local kids look on. Later stops bring her to gangster rappers Morsay and Al K-Pote, whose lyrics and reputations run closer to the criminal world than most French rap gets, and to mainstream star Mokobe, who takes her to the opera. Le-Tan also films part of a music video in a trash-strewn basement, a long way from a polished set. The film closes at Le Baron, a former brothel turned Paris nightclub, watching her subjects off duty. It plays less like reportage than a road trip through parallel Frances.