Soolking

Abderraouf Derradji was born on December 10, 1989 in Baïnem near Algiers, Algeria. He first tried to break into dance, and moved to France in 2008. Back in Algeria, he devoted himself to rap under the name MC Sool as a member of the group Africa Jungle. Two albums later, he returned to France in 2014 and launched his solo career as Soolking in 2016. Based in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Soolking collaborates with local artists Alonzo or Soprano before taking off in 2018 with the tracks "Milano" and "Guérilla". Although converted to trap, Soolking likes to let oriental and raï flavors float over his beats. This explains the international success of his "Dalida" (No. 11 in France), a tribute to the Franco-Egyptian diva. Her debut album Fruit du Démon was released in November 2018, and took a fine fifth place in the French charts. Always close to his country and the Algerian people, in March 2019 Soolking released the track "Liberté" in support of the demonstrations that led to the resignation of President Bouteflika on April 2. The same year, he lent his voice to tracks by Heuss l'Enfoiré and Lacrim, and continued his dynamic breakthrough in the French charts, notably with "Zemër", a duet with Dhurata Dora. The year 2020 sees him back in the spotlight with the release of Vintage (No. 3), featuring duets with Cheb Mami, SCH, Heuss l'Enfoiré, Jul, 13 Block, Gambi, Dadju, as well as German rapper Mero, whose track "Hayati " reaches No. 10 in Germany. Fourteen of Vintage 's twenty tracks reach the SNEP 200 Top. Two years later, Soolking returns with a new opus entitled Sans Visa. It reached number 2 in France, and featured collaborations with Niska, Naps, Heuss l'Enfoiré, Reynmen and Kendji Girac. From his rap beginnings, Soolking gradually shifted towards urban pop and R&B, with Latin and Oriental accents, as evidenced by the singles "Suavemente" and "Casanova" in 2022, then "Tiki Taka" and "Qué Miras Bobo", included on the fourth album Africa Jungle Pt. 1 (2025, no. 14), joined by Franglish, Gims, Ghali, Niro, Gazo, SCH and SDM.