Youssef Soukouna (born 20 April 1981 in Goutte d'Or,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

), better known by his stage name Sefyu (, his first name in ''

verlan () is a type of argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words. The wor ...

''), is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

rapper of

Senegalese Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

descent. He comes from

Aulnay-sous-Bois Aulnay-sous-Bois () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the Île-de-France region in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aulnaysiens ...

, a city in the French department of

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobig ...

of which is located within the northern suburbs of

. Sefyu originally aspired to become a professional soccer player, but his dream was derailed after he sustained an injury whilst playing for English club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

. He emerged upon the hip-hop scene in the early 2000s to commercial and critical acclaim.

Biography

Born in

, Sefyu played football for a great deal of time in the role of a left-winger. He went on to England to feature for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

club

where he got an injury which eventually ended his playing days. As so he then changed his focus towards a career in hip hop. A member of the crews “NCC” (Natural Court Circuit –“ Natural Short Circuit”) and “G-Huit”, he started his ascent to fame by rapping with

Rohff Housni M'Kouboi (; born 15 December 1977), better known as Rohff and at times stylized as Roh2f, is a French rapper. Born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, to a family of Comoran origin, he immigrated in 1985 to France living in Vitry-sur-Seine, in ...

on his album La Fierté des nôtres, released in June 2004. He has worked with a vast array of French rappers, including Moystaff du Bengale, Nemesis, Ritmo, La K-Bine crew,

Passi Passi () is a hip hop artist who became famous in the mid-1990s with the group Ministère AMER, which included himself and Stomy Bugsy. He is most widely known, however, as a solo artist, as well as a participant in many other groups, such as ...

Sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

and Daddy Lord C. He performed publicly in 2001 at the Francofolies de la Rochelle. In 2005, he released an EP entitled Molotov 4, which was produced by Kore et Skalp. In April 2006, Sefyu released his first album, titled Qui Suis-je ?. Sefyu's style of rap is characterised by a few features: a deep, husky voice, and a range of unique phrases. These include Crrr!, an onomatopoeia imitating the sound of a gun being cocked and Crouille, French slang for riffraff or undercover. Some of his songs belong to the hardcore hip-hop genre such as “La vie qui va avec”, whereas others are inspired by R’n’B music like that of “Un point c’est tout”. His 2007 song “”Lettre du Front” was released on R&B singer Kenza Farah's album Authentik. Authentik was released in the same year and as well garnered gold status. On May 12, 2008, Sefyu released his second album, Suis-je le gardien de mon frère? Prior to its release, Sefyu made public the acclaimed singles “Mon Public”, “Molotov 4” and “Au pays du zahef” which contributed to the album's commercial success. According to Planète Rap Magazine, 106,453 copies of Sefyu's second LP were sold in France in 2008. Suis-je le gardien de mon frère? was eventually certified gold.« les 20 meilleures ventes d'albums en France », dans Planète Rap Mag, no 25, février 2009 On March 1, 2009, Sefyu went on to win the Victoire de la Musique Award, in the category “Revelation of the year”. Sefyu seldom shows his face, and often hides it by wearing a hoody or covering it with his fist, a ski mask, or his fitted hat. The reason for this is twofold, firstly out of respect for those struggling to be noticed within the music industry as well so that persons would comprehend that one's image is of little note within such altogether.

Discography

;Albums *2006 : Qui suis-je ? *2008 : Suis-je le gardien de mon frère ?' *2011 : Oui je le suis *2019 : Yusef ;Collaborations: *2001 Sefyu - "La lutte libère" on "Sachons dire NON Vol.1" La K-Bine Feat Sefyu - "Des hommes en kolère" on "Le Rap est mort" (By La K-Bine) *2002 Gentlemen Feat Sefyu - "Vision 200" on The Gentlemen's album, "Mortelle Saint-Valentin" *2003 Sefyu Feat Rohff, Zesau & Dry - "Baiser" on "Talents fâchés Vol.1" La K-Bine Feat Sefyu - "Crimes impunis" on La K-Bine's album, "Rapport de force" *2004 Rohff Feat Sefyu, Alibi Montana & Kamel L'ancien - "Code 187" on Rohff's album, "La fierté des nôtres" Sefyu - "Flow du Malawi" on "Talents fâchés Vol.2" *2005 Ol' Kainry & Dany Dan Feat Sefyu, Alibi Montana & Nubi - "Crie mon nom Remix" on the street CD of the same name K.ommando Toxic Feat Sefyu - "Pucc fiction Remix" on K.ommando Toxic' album, "Retour vers le futur" Seth Gueko Feat Sefyu - "Patate de forain" on Seth Gueko's street CD, "Barillet plein" Sefyu - "Interlude explicit" on "De la poudre au Rap" Samat Feat Sefyu, Larsen & Alibi Montana - "Ghetto guerrier" on Samat's mixtape, "Samat Feat Hip Hop de rue" Mic Fury Feat Sefyu & Alonzo - "Street zoologie" on Mic Fury's album, "Au bout du tunnel" Sefyu Feat Kuamen - "On vit comme on peut" on "Patrimoine du ghetto" Gentlemen Feat NCC - "Sourire de la haine" on The Gentlemen's mixtape, "Cobra" *2006 Sefyu Feat RR & A.P. - "On va te douiller" on "Illegal radio Alibi " *2007 Aketo Feat Sefyu, Tunisiano & Six Coups Mc - "Style certifié" on Aketo's street CD, "Cracheur 2 venin" Rim'K Feat Sefyu - "Parloir fantôme" on Rim'K's album, "Famille nombreuse" Kenzah Farah Feat Sefyu - "Lettre du front" on Kenza's album, "Authentik" Alibi Montana Feat Sefyu&LIM - "Honneur aux ghettos" *2008 Participated in ''Urban Peace 2'', a hip-hop concert in 2008 *2009 La Fouine Feat Sefyu & Soprano - "Ça fait mal Remix" Sefyu Feat RR - "L'œil du ghetto" on "Les yeux dans la banlieue Vol.2"

Awards

*2009 : Artiste ou révélation du public aux Victoires de la musique avec son album « Suis-je le gardien de mon frère ? ».

References

External links

Sefyu upon Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sefyu 1981 births Living people French hip hop musicians French rappers French people of Senegalese descent Rappers from Seine-Saint-Denis Because Music artists