Fonky Family

A central French rap group on the Marseilles scene alongside IAM, the Fonky Family was founded in 1994 by Le Rat Luciano (Christophe Carmona), Sat l'Artificier (Karim Haddouche), Menzo (Mohamed Ali), Don Choa (François Dilhan), Pone (Guilhem Gallart), Fel (Karim Laoubi) and DJ Djel (Djelalli El-Ouzeri). The opening act for the Swiss group Sens Unik marked the birth of the Fonky Family, a name coined by Le Rat Luciano in reference to the funk color of Pone's instrumentals. From then on, the group performed tirelessly at all the hip-hop parties organized in the Phocaean city, forging their own musical identity with radical, dark rap inspired by American artists such as Mobb Deep and the Wu-Tang Clan. Endorsed by their elders in IAM, the Fonky Family rappers recorded "Bad Boys de Marseille" with Akhenaton. The single was released in September 1996, and was a huge hit in France, reaching number 13 in the charts. The IAM singer took his sponsorship a step further, signing the collective to his own label, Côté Obscur, and financing the first album, Si Dieu Veut... produced by American Mario Rodriguez, known for his work with The Notorious B.I.G. and Public Enemy. From this album emerged several tracks that have since become French rap classics: "Sans rémission", "La Furie et la Foi " and "Les Mains sales". Within a few weeks, the album was certified double gold. However, the collaboration between the Fonky Family and their label came to an abrupt end. The group's second opus, Art de Rue, was released on Sony Music France. It surpassed the performance of its predecessor and went platinum. It is followed by a live album recorded on home soil: Live au Dôme de Marseille. Most of the members took time off to release solo material, but the band returned in 2006 with Marginale Musique. Supported by a major tour of French-speaking countries, this was to be the band's last album. In 2007, the announcement became official: the Fonky Family would be breaking up. It was not until eight years later, at a concert in support of Pone, who was suffering from Charcot's disease, that the group reunited on stage. They will also be back together in 2017 at the Marsatac festival.