Philippe Fragione (; ; born 17 September 1968), better known by his stage name Akhenaton, 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
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
producer. He has also worked under the aliases Chill, AKH, Sentenza and Spectre. He is best known as member of hip hop group
IAM and has since made a number of records, both with IAM and as a solo artist.
Akhenaton has worked as a producer, producing songs for several French rappers and groups such as
Passi,
Stomy Bugsy,
Fonky Family,
Freeman
Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to:
Places United States
* Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Freeman, South Dako ...
(a fellow member of IAM who has since made his break as a solo artist), La Brigade, Le 3ème Œil, etc. He is the creator of the
record label
"Big Three" music labels
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
Côté Obscur, the publishing house La Cosca and the vinyl record label 361.
Biography
Akhenaton was born Philippe Fragione in
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
in 1968 and spent his youth in
Plan-de-Cuques, a small village on the outskirts of the city. His family is of Italian origins. His paternal grandmother, Immacolata Scotti, was of
Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
n descent, his great-grandfather Francesco Fragione, emigrated from
Sperlonga
Sperlonga (locally ) is a coastal town in the province of Latina, Italy, about halfway between Rome and Naples. It is best known for the ancient Roman sea grotto discovered in the grounds of the Villa of Tiberius containing the important and spect ...
and on his maternal side a great-great-grandfather, Pierre Malano, emigrated from
Porte, a great-great-great-grandfather Barthelemy Gionotti, emigrated from
Camporgiano and another great-grandmother Maria Lanzarotti, emigrated from
Bedonia. In 1981, he discovered hip hop music and started traveling frequently to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
where he received the nickname "Chill Phil." At about the same time, back in Marseille, he met Éric Mazel, a DJ who would later be known as "
Khéops". Mazel and Fragione started working together to advance the cause of French hip hop.
In 1988, Fragione debuted as a hip hop theorist, publishing the essay ''La deuxième génération du hip-hop'' (The second generation of hip-hop) in the
fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...
''Vé''. The same year, he appeared on the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
of the US rapper MC Choice's single "Let's Make Some Noise". Having returned to Marseille, he met Geoffroy Mussard (
Shurik'n) and Malek Brahimi (
Freeman
Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to:
Places United States
* Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Freeman, South Dako ...
). Fragione became known as Akhenaton, and together with Khéops and Shurik'n formed the group ''B.Boys Stance'', renamed
IAM in 1989. The group was later joined by Freeman, Imhotep and
Kephren.
Four of the six members of IAM chose ancient Egyptian names as stage names. Akhenaton converted 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 ...
from
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
Musicologists argue that Akhenaton and the other members of IAM index the modern Arab world through the use of their names. Instead of overtly pointing out North African countries and the turmoil that has surrounded the contemporary Arab community, the Egyptian names allow the audience to covertly draw parallels between IAM and North Africa.
Instead of focusing on violence and rebellion like many other French rappers, Akhenaton and IAM remain true to their hometown, Marseille. In Marseille rap has reportedly remained relatively peaceful. Akhenaton posits that rappers in Marseille are more socially conscious because they feel a strong sense of community.
After IAM's first three albums' success, Akhenaton released his first solo album, ''Métèque et mat'', in 1995. The album sold 300,000 copies and was followed by ''
Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus (, "Invincible Sun" or "Unconquered Sun") was the official Solar deity, sun god of the late Roman Empire and a later version of the god Sol (Roman mythology), Sol. The emperor Aurelian revived his cult in 274 AD and promoted Sol Inv ...
'' in 2001. He began to delve into his other projects, such as producing
Passi's album ''Les tentations'' (1997) and the 2001 film ''
Comme un aimant''. He continued working with IAM, releasing the album ''
Revoir un printemps'' in 2003 and ''Saison 5'' in 2007.
Discography
Albums
;Compilations
*2000: ''Electro Cypher'', compilation
;Soundtracks
Singles
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
;Featured in / collaborations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhenaton
1968 births
French male rappers
Rappers from Bouches-du-Rhône
French former Christians
Converts to Islam from Roman Catholicism
Living people
French Muslims
French people of Italian descent
Cultural depictions of Akhenaten