French rap group
Idéal J originally Idéal Junior was a French rap group with members from Val-de-Marne and was active in the 1990s until its dissolution in 2001. It released two albums: "O'riginal MC's sur une mission" in 1996 and "Le combat continue" in 1998. Their most famous single is "Hardcore", a track that created huge controversy. The group was also part of the French music collective Mafia K-1 Fry.
Members.
Idéal Junior was formed by an initiative of Alix Mathurin, known by his stage name Daddy Kery. The group had adopted the name in recognition of a crew of bigger brothers called Idéal, thus the name Idéal Junior for the 13- to 14-year-old original members of Idéal Junior at the time who were:
In 1992, DJ Mehdi joined in. In 1993, Alter MC and Selim du 9.4 left the band. When the band released its debut studio album, the band consisted of Kery James, Teddy Corona and Rocco and Mehdi as DJ.
Career.
Starting in the early 1990s, the formation rose in popularity after taking part in a number of music festivals. 1992 saw the release of the maxi single "La vie est brutale". The same year, DJ Mehdi joined in and became a major contributor to the music for the band. A difference between Idéal Junior members and their producer delayed the issuing of a full album as they continued touring and performing and recording some songs for Alariana, a label created by friends.
After being released from contractual obligations with their previous producer, they appeared notoriously in soundtrack of the 1995 film "Raï" in "Mauvais Garçon" and in "Ce soir" and also released the same year contributed to a mixtape entitled "Orly City Bronx" performing its title release.
1996 saw the release of their long-awaited album entitled "O'riginal MC's sur une mission". The band rebaptized Ideal J was made up of Kery James, Teddy Corona and Rocco at the time. It became renowned and respected as one of the top French rap formations with well-known tracks like "Le ghetto français", "Show bizness" and "Je dois faire du cash" and a number of versions of "Ghettolude". Ideal J became popular in maxi releases as frequently featured acts, reaching fame with the single "J'désole mes parents" present on the compilation "Nouvelle donne".
A second album followed in 1998 called "Le combat continue". It contained great collaborations from other artists mainly through the collective Mafia K-1 Fry including Rohff, Demon One, AP, Karlito, Dry, OGB. Others included Hasheem, Zahariya, Leila, Different Teep etc. Kery worked extensively on writing new material, his texts reflecting a life that involved altercations with the police, street rivalries and an omnipresent fear of death.
The band also faced many controversies for their lyrics. Their single "Hardcore" was banned from mainstream radio, and the music video for the song had to be withdrawn and some images removed before being re-released. "Hardcore" became a classic French rap reference track with lyrics about the French police, black policemen ("Les flics noirs ne sont que des traîtres et j'en bave de rage"), homosexuals ("Deux pédés qui s'embrassent en plein Paris, Hardcore") considered within the context of the song a homophobic slander), and news items like deforestation, war in Yugoslavia, the right-wing Front National, the Ku Klux Klan, or historic context like the French Revolution, colonisation, World War II etc. Another controversial release was "Pour une poignée de dollars". The band's success was reflected in Idéal J, in particular Kery James becoming a spokesman for youth and became notorious with his provocative opinions about homosexuality, the record industry and youth problems.
Idéal J was decimated by departure of members, death of Montana, a close friend of his called Las Montana in very tragic circumstances in 1999 after which he decided to stop performing after a final concert in Élysée Montmartre in 1999. The official splitting of the band was announced in 2001.
References.
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