MHD

MHD is the stage name of French rapper Mohamed Sylla (September 10, 1994), whose vibrant mixture of trap with West African music brought him much recognition within the Gallic hip hop scene. Born in Vendée to a Senegalese mother and a Guinean father, he later moved to Paris’ 19th arrondissement, where he grew up listening to African artists such as Koffi Olomide and Salif Keita. In 2012, he joined the hip hop collective 1.9 Réseaux at the age of 18. After a few years trying to get his foot in the door, MHD quit the gangsta rap scene and worked a series of odd jobs before considering a career in the catering industry. In 2015, a video of him freestyling over a song by P-Square went viral online, which convinced MHD to make a comeback with the incredibly popular Afro Trap video series. An eponymous full-length was released in 2016 and was greeted with widespread acclaim, reaching Number 2 on the French charts and obtaining platinum certification after selling over 200,000 copies in less than six months. He followed this success with the album 19 (2018), which featured longtime hero Salif Keita, Dadju, Orelsan, and Nigerian pop singer Wizkid. It also peaked at Number 3 in France, a feat he would repeat once again with 2021’s Mansa. “Petit cœur,” one of the singles from the album, went to Number 112 on the French Singles Chart.