Freeze Corleone

Freeze Corleone is the stage name of Issa Lorenzo Diakhaté (born on June 6, 1992), a French-born Senegalese rapper, known for being the co-founder of the hip-hop collectives Ligue des Ombres (also known as 667) and CFR. Throughout his career, he has used several pseudonyms, such as Proffeseur Chen Zen, Tom Elvis, and LRH. Raised between France, Canada, and Senegal, the rapper is famous in the French-speaking world as one of the pioneers of drill, a subgenre of trap music. Inspired by fellow MCs Fredo Santana and Roi Heenok, Diakhaté kicked off his career with the mixtapes À la Recherche de la Daillance (2011), Vieilles Merdes (2012), Vieilles Merdes Vol.II (2016), and the apocalyptic F.D.T. (2017), all of which attained underground cult status in the French rap scene. Hailed by critics as an instant classic, Projet Blue Beam (2018) found the MC delving deep into conspiracy theories, biological warfare, and systemic racism in a bleak yet fascinating piece of work. The mixtape spawned a Lean-fueled “chopped and screwed” version in 2019 and was followed by the single “Desiigner” in 2020. Featuring cameos by Alpha 5.20, Alpha Wann, Despo Rutti, Stavo, Roi Heenok, and Shone, his controversial studio debut LMF (La Menace Fantôme) arrived later that year and went to Number 2 on the French charts, obtaining platinum certification in 2021. Despite the success of the album, the rapper was criticized by the International League Against Racism and Antisemitism for propagating hate speech, causing distributor Universal to sever ties with him. In 2022, Freeze Corleone joined forces with fellow MC Ashe 22 on the collaborative mixtape Riyad Sadio, which included the Top 50 hit "Cartier."