STUPEFLIP

The embodiment of alternative hip-hop in France for the past two decades, the crew composed of Julien Barthélémy, Stéphane Bellenger, and Jean-Paul Michel formed in 2000 in Paris and infuse their sound with elements of synth-pop and punk. Conjuring their own fictional universe as the characters King Ju and Pop Hip (Julien Barthélémy), Cadillac (Stéphane Bellenger), and Jean-Paul Michel (MC Saló), the group spin enigmatic yarns rooted in concepts such as "L'Ère du Stup" ("The Stup Era"), "La Menuiserie" ("The Carpentry"), and "Le Mystère au chocolat" ("The Chocolate Mystery"). After launching themselves on the scene with their debut single "Je Fume Pu D'Shit" in 2003 and releasing their first two albums on BMG – Stupeflip (2003) and Stup Religion (2005) – they were dropped by their label in 2006, but returned in 2011 with a new self-produced offering, The Hypnoflip Invasion. The Terrora!! EP came out in 2012 and fourth album Stup Virus arrived five years later, with the group drumming up financial support from a crowdfunding campaign that became the biggest crowdfunding effort for a band in Europe. New album Stup Virus was released in 2022.