Antonio Salieri

IAM is a group of French Rap, originating in Marseilles, created in 1989 and composed of Akhenaton (Philippe Fragione), Shurik' NR, (Geoffroy Mussard), Freeman (Malek Brahimi), Kheops (Eric Mazel), Imhotep (Pascal Perez), and Kephren (François Mendy). In addition to the anglophone translation “I am”, initials IAM has several significances, in particular “Arrived Invasion of Mars”, “Imperial Afro-asiatic Men” or “Marseilles Autonomous Freedom fighters”, or “Italian - Algerian - Madagascan”.

Biography

The group is born in 1984-85 under the name of Lively Crew , and is first of all composed of two members, the rappor Akhenaton and the DJ Kheops. The third member, Shurik' NR, arrive in 1988. The group changes name then and becomes B Servant boys Stanza . Lastly, the following year, Freeman, former dancer become rappor, Imhotep and Kephren join the group, from now on called IAM . They leave individual then named attack (which will know a continuation attack 2 ) which is full with humor, follow-up of their first album, Concept . They sign then a contract with Virgin Records and leave … the planet Mars in 1991, renamed " Planet meurtre" by Front National, criticized many times in the disc. The exit in 1993 of Ombre is light enables them to increase still a little more their popularity, grace in particular to the song “I dance the mia” which takes again Marseilles Expressions, which becomes an enormous tube, running out with more than 600.000 specimens and reaching the first place of the Top 50 for eight weeks in 1994, there remaining classified almost nine months of at a stretch!

But the greatest business success of the group was the school of the money microphone , left in 1997, which was worth two rewards with the to him Victoires of the music. It became gold disc in only two days. It will be sold on the whole with more than one million and half of specimens as much in France that abroad, reaching the statute of diamond disc. This album, become a reference for the French rap, will give to IAM an international repute. The famous American group Sunz off Man in featuring on the album probably took part in the success of the album on the other side of the Atlantic.

After the colossal success of the school of the money microphone , the members of the group followed careers “solos” (Akhenaton had do it already with its Métèque and Mat in 1995), with in particular Where I live of Shurik' NR in 1998, or Law courts of Freeman in 1999. They also will work on other projects, such as for example Akhenaton with the exit in 2000 of the film Like a magnet . It will publish thereafter three albums solos, Sol Invictus (2001), Black Album (2004) and Soldats of Fortune (2006).

The group leaves in 2003 another album: To re-examine one spring , with the shared critical success, which does not renew the exploit of its predecessor. The following year, IAM leaves its first compilation which recalls its career since its beginnings; one of the news present, " Where does the life go? " , left into individual, functions rather well in the classifications.

IAM leaves a new album entitled Saison 5 on April 2nd 2007 which begins directly in the 2nd place in the Charts, showing that the group ultimately did not lose anything of its popularity after more than fifteen years of existence and varied successes.

Discography

Albums

1989 : Concept (cassette)
1991: … of the planet Mars
1993: Ombre is light
1997: the school of the money microphone
2003: To re-examine one spring
2007: Season 5

Original soundtracks

Compilations/Lives/Mixtapes

2004 : IAM - Anthology 1991-2004
2005: IAM Live with the Dome of Marseilles
2005: IAM Platinum
2007 : IAM Mixtape Official

Individual maxis/

1991 : Red, Black and Green
1992: Tam Tam of Africa
1992: Planet Mars
1993: Gives me the microphone (ep)
1994: I dance the mia
1994: Fire
1995: a Woman alone/White Sachet
1997: Saga
1997: Empire on the obscure side

1997: the school of the money microphone

1997: Born under the same star

1998: Little brother

1999: Independenza

2003 : Noble art

2003: Us (Swiss and Belgium only)

2003: To re-examine one spring

2004: Strategy of a pawn

2005: Where goes the life?

2007 : Another brick in the wall

2007: Ca comes from the street

2007: Offishall

2007 : Rap of right-hand side (the clip has been just turned)

DVD

2004 In the middle of IAM (Genesis of the album To re-examine one spring ), accompanied by CD
2004 IAM Live with the Dome of Marseilles : Video in the concert in Marseilles in 2004

Participations

In 1995 the group takes part with Daddy Nuttea in compiles Hatred, musics inspired of the film
the members of the group change pseudonym and take part in June 1998 in the album Sad Hill of Kheops. The title Sad Hill takes again by sample the band its in French version of the film the Good, the Rough one and the Gangster of Sergio Leone. Akhénaton becomes Sentenza, Shurik' NR takes to the name of Joe the Indian, whereas Freeman becomes Tuco.
In 1998, Luc Besson required of IAM to compose the original soundtrack of the film Taxi. The artists present on this compilation are amongst other things the Fonky Family, Chiens of Straw, 3rd eye, K-reen.
In 2000, IAM collaborates again with Luc Besson and publishes the original soundtrack of Taxi 2 with this time of the new artists gathered in collective under the name of One Shot , which included/understood in particular Nuttea, Disiz the plague, Jalane, Taîro, Vasquez Lusi, Faf Larage and Freeman.

External bonds

Official site of IAM
official Myspace of IAM
Interview for Hit West and Nantes.maville.com (March 22nd, 2007)
Interview for bokson.net (April 1998)
audio Interview of IAM (July 2004)

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