Kekra

French rapper Kekra rarely gives interviews and wears a full face mask when performing to preserve his anonymity. He emerged on the music scene in 2014 with his single *“Sous la veste,”* which was followed by the release of his first album of remixes *Freebase, Vol. 01* in 2015. *Freebase, Vol. 02* followed in 2016 and his debut album *Vréel* was also released in that year on the Because Music label. Singles released from this album include *“Pas Joli”* and *“Roll Deep Style.”* His witty lyrics and unique style of rap have led him to become popular on the French rap scene and he has had a prolific output, releasing both his second album *Vréel 2* and his third mixtape *Freebase, Vol. 03* in 2017. The singles *“9 milli”* and *“Sans visage”* were released from *Vréel 2* and were instantly popular on video streaming platforms, achieving 2 million views in the first week of release. Kekra is a well-travelled artist, shooting videos for his songs in various different countries, including Thailand and Japan. His album *Land* (2018) featured the singles *“10 balles”* and *“Wing Chun,”* which have been streamed nearly 3 million times each, with *“Vréalité”* featuring Niska (2019) proving to be just as popular. Following the release of the album *Vréalité* in 2019 and 2020’s *HLM Bootleg EP and Freebase, Vol. 04*, Kekra returned in 2021 with an eponymous full-length that put him front and center of the French hip-hop scene with the infectious single *“Dans l’dos.”* A bona fide commercial success, the track peaked at Number 59 and the album hit Number 4 in his native France.