IAM (band) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
IAM
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Marseille, France |
| Genres | French hip hop |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels |
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| Members | Philippe Fragione (Akhenaton) Geoffroy Mussard (Shurik'n Chang-Ti) Éric Mazel (Khéops) Pascal Perez (Imhotep) François Mendy (Kephren) |
| Past members | Abdelmalek Sultan (Freeman) |
IAM (pronounced "I am") is a French hip hop band from Marseille, formed in 1989, and composed of Akhenaton (Philippe Fragione), Shurik'n (Geoffroy Mussard), Khéops (Éric Mazel), Imhotep (Pascal Perez), and Kephren (François Mendy).
Contents
Themes
One of IAM's central themes in its songs is Africa. The group, which is one of the pioneer French rap groups, draws heavily in their music on allusions to Africa and particularly ancient Egypt. Their 1991 song "Les tam-tam de l'Afrique" was one of the first French rap hits to deal expressly with the issue of slavery.
IAM promotes an ideology that is based upon images associated with ancient Egypt, primarily upon the mythical allusions to pharaohs. By 1989 the group developed a unique rap style, mixing French beats and lyrics with Middle Eastern and Egyptian influences. Their stage names are of Egyptian origin; one of the group members, Eric Mazel, goes by the name Kheops, an allusion to the Egyptian pharaoh who built pyramids.
The group's rap is politically charged and defiant, addressing social issues and speaking out against racial intolerance where the group can actually be heard.
Collaborations
IAM have a long history of collaborations with the American hip hop group, the Wu-Tang Clan. IAM have sampled an Inspectah Deck lyric from the Wu-Tang Clan song "C.R.E.A.M", which states "Life as a shorty shouldn't be so rough" in their 1998 single, "Petit frère". Additionally, they featured a number of Wu-Tang affiliated artists on their 1997 single "La saga" and later members Method Man and Redman on their 2004 single "Noble Art" the video was directed by New York-based artist "Brad Digital". They were also featured in the song of RZA "Seul face à lui". IAM also collaborated with US rapper Lucas on the song "Spin the Globe" with rappers from 5 different countries spitting in 5 different languages showcasing the universal appeal and voice of hip hop.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak positions | Units | Certifications | |||
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| FR |
BEL (Fl) |
BEL (Wa) |
SWI |
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| 1991 | ...De la planète Mars
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— | — | — | — |
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| 1993 | Ombre est Lumière
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195 | — | — | — | ||
| 1997 | L'École du micro d'argent
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3 | — | 5 | — |
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| 2003 | Revoir un printemps
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1 | — | 1 | 2 |
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| 2007 | Saison 5
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2 | — | 4 | 15 |
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| 2013 | Arts Martiens
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1 | 60 | 4 | 4 |
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IAM
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10 | — | 25 | 25 | |||
| 2017 | Rêvolution
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3 | 151 | 3 | 5 |
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| 2019 | Yasuke
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8 | — | 19 | 12 |
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Mixtapes
- 1989: IAM Concept
- 2007: Official Mixtape
- 2012: Assassins Scribes
- 2013: Assassins Scribes 2
Live albums
| Year | Album | Peak positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR |
BEL (Wa) |
SWI |
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| 2005 | IAM Live au Dôme de Marseille | 97 | 63 | – |
| 2008 | Retour Aux Pyramides | – | – | – |
- DVD Live
- 2007: Live au Dôme de Marseille (DVD)
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Peak positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR |
BEL (Wa) |
SWI |
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| 2004 | Anthologie 1991–2004 | – | 31 | 43 |
| Anthologie 1 & 2 (plus Live au Dôme de Marseille (DVD)) |
– | – | – | |
| 2008 | L'Intégrale | – | – | – |
| IAM 20 | – | 96 | – | |
| 2009 | Galaxie | – | 84 | – |
| 2013 | Best of 2013–16 classiques | 73 | 51 | – |
| L'école du micro d'argent 2013 | 45 | – | – | |
| 2021 | Rimes essentielles | 74 |
121 | – |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR |
BEL (Wa) |
BEL (Wa) |
SWI |
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| 1991 | "Red, Black & Green" | – | – | – | – | ...De la planète Mars |
| "Tam-tam de l'Afrique" | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1992 | "Planète Mars" | – | – | – | – | |
| 1993 | "Donne-moi le micro" | – | – | – | – | Ombre est Lumière |
| 1994 | "Je danse le Mia" | 1 | – | – | – | |
| "Le feu" | 17 | – | – | – | ||
| 1995 | "Une femme seule" / "Sachet blanc" |
30 | – | – | – | |
| 1997 | "L'empire du côté obscur" | 14 | 31 | – | – | L'école du micro d'argent |
| "Nés sous la même étoile" | 41 | 38 | – | – | ||
| 1998 | "Petit frère" | 50 | – | – | – | |
| "L'école du micro d'argent" | 84 | – | – | – | ||
| "Independenza" | 19 | 18 | – | – | ||
| 2003 | "Noble Art" (featuring Method Man & Redman) |
34 | – | 16 | 81 | |
| 2004 | "Revoir un printemps" | 58 | – | – | – | |
| "Nous" (featuring Kayna Samet) |
– | – | 16 | 94 | ||
| "Stratégie d'un pion" | 69 | – | 8 | – | ||
| 2005 | "Où va la vie" (featuring Moïse) |
24 | – | 17 | 68 | |
| 2013 | "Les raisons de la colère" | 77 | – | – | – | |
| "Spartiate Spirit" | 184 | – | – | – | ||
| "CQFD" | 107 | – | – | – | ||
| 2017 | "Monnaie de singe" | 47 | – | – | – | |
| "Grande rêves, grandes boîtes" | 191 |
– | – | – | ||
| "Orthodoxes" | 139 |
– | – | – | ||
| 2019 | "Self Made Men" (featuring Psy 4 de la Rime) |
199 | – | – | – | |
Other releases
- 1997: "La saga" (featuring Timbo King, Dreddy Krueger and Prodigal Sunn)
- 2004: "Second souffle"
- 2007: "Une autre brique dans le mur"
- 2007: "Ca vient de la rue"
- 2007: "Offishall
- 2008: "Coupe Le Cake"
Discography (solo projects)
| Year | Album | IAM member |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Métèque et mat | Akhenaton |
| 1998 | Sad Hill | DJ Khéops |
| Chroniques de Mars | Imhotep | |
| Où je vis | Shurik'n | |
| 1999 | L'palais d'justice | Freeman |
| 2000 | Sad Hill Impact | DJ Kheops |
| 2001 | Sol invictus | Akhenaton |
| Mars Eyes | Freeman | |
| 2000 | Black album | Akhenaton |
| 2005 | Double Chill Burger – Quality Best Of | Akhenaton |
| 2006 | Soldat de fortune | Akhenaton |
| 2008 | L'espoir d'un crève | Freeman |
| 2012 | Tous m'appellent Shu | Shurik'n |
- Soundtracks
| Year | Film | Film director | IAM member |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Taxi | Gérard Pirès | Akhenaton |
| 2000 | Comme un aimant | Kamel Saleh and Akhenaton | Akhenaton |
| 2015 | Le Transporteur: Héritage | Camille Delamarre | Akhenaton |
See also
In Spanish: IAM (banda) para niños
