Abd al Malik, born Régis Fayette-Mikano is a French

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

and

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

artist of Congolese origin. He has also authored books in French, and directed a film adaptation of one of his books.

Musical career

In NAP: New African Poets

Talented in words and music, he formed with his brother Bilal and his cousin Aissa, a rap group they called New African Poets, also known by the abbreviation N.A.P. Other members included Mustapha, Mohammed and Karim, all from the neighborhood where he lived. Most of the group come from the Neuhof quartier of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. Having converted from Christianity to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, he took on the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Abd al Malik. This was an adaptation of his birth name Régis, being derived from ''rex'' meaning "king" in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

whereas ''Malik'' means "king" in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. NAP released their first maxi ''Trop beau pour être vrai'', produced by Sulee B, on High Skills, a label founded by Deez Nutz to promote local Neuhof hip hop talents. In 1996, they released the album ''La Racaille sort 1'' also on High Skills, selling over 25,000 copies. Based on this, NAP were signed to BMG, and their 1998 album ''La Fin du monde'' with participations from Wallen, Rockin Squat (from Assassin), Radical Kicker, Shurik'n, Freeman (from IAM), Rocca and Faf Larage. A third album followed in 1999 called ''À l'intérieur de nous'' also with BMG.

Writing career

Abd al Malik has been very active in writing as well. In 2004, he published his autobiographical book ''Qu'Allah bénisse la France'' (meaning May Allah bless France), about his childhood in Neuhof in a mono-parental family of seven kids, about his schooling, tough life and musical beginning. The book won Belgian Laurence Trân Prize in 2005. In 2009, and following trouble in the French suburbs, he authored ''La guerre des banlieues n'aura pas lieu'' about life in the impoverished French ''

banlieue In France, a banlieue (; ) is a suburb of a large city, or all its suburbs taken collectively. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80percent of the inhabitant ...

''s inhabited largely by France's immigrant populations. The book won the Prix de littérature politique Edgar-Faure, a prize for political literature in 2010. In 2013, he published a book, ''L'Islam au secours de la République''. He also announced that a film was in preparation titled '' May Allah Bless France!'' (''Qu'Allah bénisse la France''), based on his autobiographical book of same title. The film premiered at the Festival du Film Francophone d'Angoulême in August 2014, and won the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

Discovery Prize at the

2014 Toronto International Film Festival The 39th annual Toronto International Film Festival, the 39th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held in Canada from 4–14 September 2014. David Dobkin (director), David Dobkin's film ''The Judge (2014 film), The Judg ...

Theatre

In 2013, he engaged in a tour entitled ''L'art et la révolte'', a tribute to the famous French writer and philosopher

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

. It is a musical arrangement in which Abd al Malik sings, raps and recites texts from Camus or largely inspired by Camus, accompanied by classical orchestra mostly based on Camus' '' L'Envers et l'Endroit'' (English title ''Betwixt and Between'').

Personal life

In 1998, Régis Fayette-Mikano married French Moroccan singer Wallen, with whom he had a child in 2001. The following year, he converted to

taking the name Abd al Malik. He is greatly influenced by teachings of Hamza al Qâdiri al Boutchichi, a Moroccan spiritual leader and philosopher of

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widesp ...

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

Books and publications

*2004: ''Qu'Allah bénisse la République'', 208 pages, Éditions Albin Michel *2009: ''La guerre des banlieues n'aura pas lieu'', 180 pages, Éditions Le Cherche midi 180 p. *2011: ''Le dernier français'' *2013: ''L'Islam au secours de la République'' *2015: ''Place de la République'' *2016: ''Camus, l'art de la révolte'', Éditions Fayard *2021: ''Réconciliation''

Discography

Albums

;Albums with NAP *1996: ''La racaille sort 1 disque'' *1998: ''La fin du monde'' *1999: ''À l'intérieur de nous'' *2008: ''Un monde perdu'' (compilation) ;Solo albums

Singles

Filmography

*2014: ''Qu'Allah benisse la France''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malik, Abd Al Living people 1975 births 21st-century French male writers 21st-century French poets 21st-century memoirists Black French musicians Black French rappers Converts to Islam French former Christians French film directors French hip-hop musicians French male non-fiction writers French male poets French memoirists French Muslims French people of Republic of the Congo descent French male rappers French Sufis Musicians from Paris Rappers from Bas-Rhin Writers from Paris