Booba
Élie Yaffa (French pronunciation: [eli jafa]; born December 9, 1976), better known under his stage name Booba, is a French rapper. After a brief stint as a break dancer in the early 1990s, Booba partnered with his friend Ali to form Lunatic. The duo released a critically acclaimed album in 2000 but disbanded in 2003. Booba has since embarked on a successful solo career, selling more than 10 million discs over his career[1] and becoming the most legally downloaded artist in French history.[2] Booba is praised for the quality of his flow and beats but often criticized because of the controversial nature of his lyrics. He has also established the rap label Tallac Records, and developed a line of jewellery.
Booba | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Élie Yaffa |
| Also known as | B2OBA, B2O, Kopp, Le Duc de Boulogne (The Duke of Boulogne), Saddam Hauts-de-Seine |
| Born | 9 December 1976 |
| Origin | Boulogne-Billancourt, Île-de-France, France |
| Genres |
|
| Occupation(s) | Rapper |
| Instruments | Voice |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Tallac, Universal, Barclay, Because, 45 Scientific, Musicast l'Autreprod |
| Associated acts | Ali, Diddy, Ryan Leslie, Akon, Bushido, T-Pain, Nessbeal, La Fouine, 92I, Tony Parker, 113, Rock City, Alborosie, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, Kaaris, Lacrim |
Life and career
Élie Yaffa was born on December 9, 1976, in the outskirts of Paris in Sèvres. His father is Senegalese and his mother is French of Mosellan and Belgian descent.
With his friend Ali they formed the duo Lunatic in 1994. Unable to secure a record deal from a major label because of their controversial lyrics, they created their own independent record label 45 Scientific in 1999. The following year, Lunatic released its first and only album entitled Mauvais œil.
In 2002, Booba released his debut solo album Temps mort. He followed this up with four further albums: Panthéon, Ouest Side (the most successful),[3] 0.9 and Lunatic. In late 2012, he released his sixth solo album Futur. In whole, Booba has ten disks certified, six Disques d'Or (Gold album), three Disques de platine (Platinum album) and one Double disque de platine (Double-Platinum album).[4] In 2011, Booba won the "My Youtube" contest, ahead of popular artists like Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Sexion D'Assaut, Shakira, Stromae,...[5]
Musical style
Booba was influenced by the American hip-hop scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s--Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, 2Pac, and Biggie Smalls. Dark melodies accompanied with raw lyrics, typical of the rap from New York, are present on every album of his. He is often criticized for being an apologist for easy money and murder. Booba advocates a reduction in the taxes and claims himself in support of individual freedom.[6] Racism is a recurring topic of his songs (see for example "Couleur ébène", "Pitbull", "Ma Couleur"), although he sometimes deliberately advocates communitarian positions.[7]
Other ventures
Booba is also the creator of a streetwear brand, Ünkut, one of the most popular brands of this type in France.[8][9]
Distinctions
Booba has a total of eight gold discs, five platinum discs and three double platinum discs. He holds the record for mixtape sales in France, with Autopsie Vol. 3 and Autopsie Vol. 4, and with Ali, and within the group Lunatic, Booba is the first French singer of all time to obtain a gold record with a totally independent label, for the album Mauvais œil. It also holds the sales record for a new edition, Futur 2.0 having sold 19,000 copies in a single week. It broke the French record for digital sales, all musical categories combined, with more than 15,500 copies in a single week, dethroned since 2013 by Daft Punk.
His Killer clip was voted second best web clip of the year 2011. He also won "MyYoutube", a competition organized by YouTube involving 38 French and international artists.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certification in France | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [10] |
BEL Fl |
BEL Wa [11] |
SWI [12] | |||
| 2002 | Temps mort | 2 | – | 41 | – | Gold |
| 2004 | Panthéon | 3 | – | 26 | 25 | 2× Gold |
| 2006 | Ouest Side | 1 | – | 12 | 18 | Platinum |
| 2008 | 0.9 | 6 | – | 27 | 60 | Gold |
| 2010 | Lunatic | 1 | – | 1 | 24 | 2× Platinum |
| 2012 | Futur | 4 | 74 | 5 | 14 | 3× Platinum |
| 2013 | Futur 2.0 (reissue) | 6 | – | – | 28 | |
| 2015 | D.U.C | 1 | 40 | 1 | 2 | 2× Platinum |
| 2015 | Nero Nemesis | 7 | 127 | 7 | 9 | 2× Platinum |
| 2017 | Trône | 2 [13] |
39 | 3 | 12 | 3× Platinum |
Mixtapes
| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certification | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [10] |
BEL Wa [11] |
SWI [12] | |||
| 2005 | Autopsie Vol. 1 | 66 | – | – | |
| 2007 | Autopsie Vol. 2 | 8 | 98 | – | |
| 2009 | Autopsie Vol. 3 | 2 | 19 | – | FRA: Gold |
| 2011 | Autopsie Vol. 4 | 2 | 32 | 64 | FRA: Gold |
| 2017 | Autopsie 0 | 20 [14] |
48 | ||
Singles
As lead artist
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Certification | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [10] |
BEL Wa Ultratop [11] |
BEL Wa Ultratip* [11] |
SWI [12] | ||||
| 2002 | "Destinée" (feat. Kayna Samet) |
41 | – | – | – | Temps mort | |
| 2004 | "Avant de partir" (feat. Léya Masry) |
24 | – | 17 | – | Panthéon | |
| 2006 | "Au bout des rêves" (feat. Trade Union & Mister Rudie) |
22 | – | 4 | – | Ouest Side | |
| 2010 | "Caesar Palace" (feat. P. Diddy) |
– | – | – | – | ||
| "Ma couleur" | – | – | 24 | – | Lunatic | ||
| "Jour de paye" | – | – | – | – | |||
| 2011 | "Paradis" | 99 | – | – | – | ||
| "Comme une étoile" | – | – | 36 | – | |||
| "Paname" | 48 | – | – | – | Autopsie Vol. 4 | ||
| "Bakel City Gang" | 30 | – | 43 | – | |||
| "Vaisseau Mère" | – | – | – | – | |||
| "Scarface" | 20 | – | 33 | – | |||
| 2012 | "Caramel" | 10 | 42 | – | – | Futur | |
| "Tombé pour elle" | 16 | 44 | – | – | |||
| 2013 | "A.C. Milan" | 7 | 19 | – | – | Futur 2.0 | |
| "T.L.T" | 16 | 44 | – | – | |||
| "Turfu" | 11 | 34 | – | – | |||
| "RTC" | 13 | – | 15 | – | |||
| "Parlons peu" | 5 | 27 | – | – | |||
| "Longueur d'avance" (feat. Maître Gims) |
13 | 48 | – | – | |||
| 2014 | "La mort leur va si bien" | 7 | – | – | – | D.U.C | |
| "OKLM" | 1 | 7 | – | 72 | |||
| 2015 | "Tony Sosa" | 14 | 46 | – | – | ||
| "LVMH" | 28 | – | 35 | – | |||
| "Mon pays" | 37 | – | – | – | |||
| "Validée" (feat. Benash) |
2 | 41 | – | – | Nero Nemesis | ||
| "Attila" | 35 | – | – | – | |||
| "Génération Assassin" | 40 | – | – | – | |||
| 2016 | "JDC" | 10 | – | 21 | – | Autopsie 0 | |
| "Salside" | 8 | – | 23 | – | Gold | ||
| "E.L.E.P.H.A.N.T." | 1 | 39 | – | – | Platinum | Trône | |
| "DKR" | 1 | 42 | – | 42 | Diamond | ||
| 2017 | "Daniel Sam" | 27 [15] |
– | 11 | – | Gold | Non-album single |
| "Nougat" | 2 [16] |
42 | 25 | 61 | Platinum | Trône | |
| 2018 | "Gotham" | – | 17 | – | 48 | Gold | |
| "BB" | – | 17 | – | 42 | Gold | ||
| "Kyll" (with Médine) |
2 | 34 | – | 62 | |||
| 2019 | "PGP" | 1 [17] |
9 | – | 22 | Non-album singles | |
| "Arc-en-Ciel" | 1 [18] |
16 | – | 37 | |||
| "Freestyle Pirate" | 42 [19] |
– | 28 | – | |||
| "Glaive" | 10 [20] |
– | 13 | – | |||
| 2020 | Cavaliero | 28 | – | 29 | – | ||
| Jauné (featuring Zed) |
1 [21] |
25 | – | 26 | |||
As featured artist
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [10] |
BEL Wa Ultratop [11] |
BEL Wa Ultratip* [11] |
SWI [12] | |||
| 2011 | "Corner" (Gato feat. Booba & Philly Poe) |
– | – | – | – | |
| "Cruella" (Shay feat. Booba) |
– | – | – | – | ||
| 2012 | "Call of Bitume" (Rim'K feat. Booba) |
72 | – | – | – | Rim'K album Chef de famille |
| 2013 | "L.E.F" (Kaaris feat. Booba) |
122 | – | – | – | |
| 2014 | "Même tarif " (Alonzo feat. Booba) |
8 | 39 | – | – | Alonzo album Règlement de comptes |
| 2015 | "A.T.R" (Twinsmatic feat. Booba) |
145 | – | – | – | Twinsmatic album Nowhere |
| 2016 | "Here" (Christine and the Queens feat. Booba) |
52 | – | – | – | |
| "Rouge et bleu" (Kalash feat. Booba) |
15 | – | 33 | – | Kalash album Kaos | |
| "N.W.A." (Kalash feat. Booba) |
49 | – | – | – | ||
| "M.L.C" (Niska feat. Booba) |
46 | – | – | – | Niska album Zifukoro | |
| "Infréquentables" (Dosseh feat. Booba) |
19 | – | 13 | – | ||
| "Kiname" (Fally Ipupa feat. Booba) |
10 | 38 | – | – | ||
| 2017 | "Mula" (Siboy feat. Booba) |
9 | – | 32 | – | |
| "Ghetto" (Benash feat. Booba) |
10 | – | 16 | – | ||
| "Oh bah oui" (Lacrim feat. Booba) |
2 | – | – | 48 | Lacrim album Force & Honneur | |
| "Tuba Life" (Niska feat. Booba) |
2 | – | 9 | 29 | Niska album Commando | |
| 2018 | "MQTB" (Dosseh feat. Booba) |
1 | – | 25 | – | |
| "Madrina" (Maes feat. Booba) |
24 | 31 | – | – | Maes album Pure | |
| "Sale mood" (Bramsito feat. Booba) |
1 | 48 | – | – | ||
| 2019 | "Médicament" (Niska feat. Booba) |
1 [22] |
26 | – | 43 | Niska album Mr Sal |
| "Haï" (Gato feat. Booba) |
21 | – | – | – | ||
| 2020 | "Blanche" (Maes feat. Booba) |
2 | 49 | – | 10 | Maes album Les derniers salopards |
| "La zone" (SDM feat. Booba) |
28 | – | – | – | ||
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
Other charted songs
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [10] |
BEL Wa Ultratop [11] |
BEL Wa Ultratip* [11] |
SWI [12] | |||
| 2012 | "Jimmy" | 108 | – | – | – | Futur |
| "Kalash" (feat. Kaaris) | 116 | – | – | – | ||
| "Wesh Morray" | 121 | – | – | – | ||
| "Rolex" (feat. Gato) | 131 | – | – | – | ||
| "Tout c'que j'ai" | 150 | – | – | – | ||
| "C'est la vie" (feat. 2 Chainz) | 153 | – | – | – | ||
| "1.8.7" (feat. Rick Ross) | 158 | – | – | – | ||
| "2Pac" (feat. Rick Ross) | 191 | – | – | – | ||
| 2013 | "2.0" | 41 | – | – | – | Future 2.0 |
| "Une vie" | 44 | – | – | – | ||
| "Billets verts" | 87 | – | – | – | ||
| 2015 | "Temps mort 2.0" (feat. Lino) |
58 | – | – | – | D.U.C |
| "G-Love" (feat. Farruko) |
69 | – | – | – | ||
| "3 G" | 70 | – | – | – | ||
| "Caracas" | 116 | – | – | – | ||
| "D.U.C" | 84 | – | – | – | ||
| "Bellucci" (feat. Future) |
86 | – | – | – | ||
| "Loin d'ici" | 112 | – | – | – | ||
| "Les meilleurs" (feat. 40 000 Gang) |
151 | – | – | – | ||
| "Billets violets" | 161 | – | – | – | ||
| "All Set" (feat. Jeremih) |
163 | – | – | – | ||
| "Jack Da" | 165 | – | – | – | ||
| "Mr. Kopp" | 146 | – | – | – | ||
| "Comme les autres" | 169 | – | – | – | Nero Nemesis | |
| "Habibi" | 119 | – | – | – | ||
| "4G" | 109 | – | – | – | ||
| "Walabok" | 124 | – | – | – | ||
| "Talion" | 137 | – | – | – | ||
| "92I Veyron" | 57 | – | 16 | – | ||
| "Charbon" | 168 | – | – | – | ||
| "Pinocchio" (featuring Damso and Gato) |
115 | – | – | – | ||
| "Zer'" (feat. Siboy and Benash) |
120 | – | – | – | ||
| 2017 | "Petite fille" | 28 | – | – | 32 | Trône |
| "Trône" | 32 | – | – | 34 | ||
| "113" (feat. Damso) |
– | – | – | 38 | ||
| "Ridin'" | 40 | – | – | – | ||
| "Ça va aller" (feat. Niska and Sidiki Diabaté) |
40 | – | – | – | ||
| "Friday" | 43 | 30 | – | 74 | ||
| "Drapeau noir" | 48 | – | – | 91 | ||
| "À la folie" | 55 | – | – | – | ||
| "Terrain" | 74 | – | – | – | ||
| "Centurion" | 85 | – | – | – | ||
| "Bouyon" (feat. Gato) |
98 | – | – | – | ||
| "Magnifique" | 130 | – | – | – | ||
See also
- French hip hop
- List of French hip hop artists
References
- Booba : Lunatic – Chroniques – Booba – Toutes les chroniques sur Waxx-music Archived 2010-12-09 at the Wayback Machine. Waxx-music.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-30.
- Booba : L'année nous appartient, interview vidéo sur NRJ12. melty.fr (2011-01-03). Retrieved on 2012-12-30.
- BOOBA : Biographie de BOOBA. Monsieur-Biographie.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-30.
- fr:Booba
- "Le grand gagnant du concours "MyYouTube" est Booba".
- Interview at. lehiphop.com
- HHQC Entrevue Avec Booba (Partie 3). Dailymotion.com (2006-10-26). Retrieved on 2012-12-30.
- Le rappeur Booba se reconvertit a la boxe – nils leblanc sur LePost.fr (10:23). Lepost.fr (2007-12-19). Retrieved on 2012-12-30.
- "Ünkut : Comment Booba a fait de sa marque un incontournable du style ?". 30 September 2014.
- "lescharts.com - Discographie Booba". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2011-12-11.
- "Booba". Hung Medien.
- "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 49, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums - SNEP (Week 11, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 2, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 28, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 5, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 21, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 30, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 32, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- "Top Singles (Week 20, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 20, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Booba. |
Authority control  |
|
|---|