Karl Appela better known as Blacko, also known as Afrikaf, Tikaf Lakour, Solitary Lion and Black Renega (born in

Montfermeil Montfermeil () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in ...

, Seine-Saint-Denis, France on 5 February 1979) is a French singer 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- ...

artist of

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

origin. He was member of the hip hop group

Sniper A sniper is a military or 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 telescopic si ...

from 1997 until his departure in July 2007. After his split, he has moved to solo performances.

Career

He started performing at the age of 12 and sang with the American rapper Issa Dina when he was just 16. With his friends, he formed a hip hop formation called KDM (Killer du Microphone) in South of France. Moving to Deuil-la-Barre in 1995, he was associated with the A.R. Possee group and later at 15, Kaotik. His association in the hip hop collective Comité de Deuil and his meeting with

Tunisiano Bachir Baccour (born 19 May 1979), better known by his stage name Tunisiano, is a Tunisian rapper living in France. Prior to pursuing a solo career, he was a member of M, Sniper (group), Sniper and other rap groups. Career Bachir Baccour's paren ...

resulted in created the character Personnalité Suspecte and thanks to his skills in ragga hip-hop, he became a noteworthy part of the collective with M Group piece "9.5.1.7.0." In 1997, he became part of the hip hop group

with musical event FrancoFolies in La Rochelle. Sniper included Blacko in addition to

(Bachir Baccour), Aketo (Ryad Selmi) and initially DJ Boudj. The group mixed rap, reggae and songs in its repertoire. DJ Boudj left after the initial two albums, ''Du rire aux larmes'' (2001) and ''Gravé dans la roche'' (2003). With Dj Boudj leaving, the remaining trio had two more albums ''Trait pour trait'' and ''À toute épreuve'' in 2006. A final tour in 2007 would mark the end of Sniper. Even prior to break-off in 2005, he had success with a joint work with

113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year *113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group *113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run to ...

in "Un jour de paix". Immediately upon break-off of Sniper in 2007, he was featured in French rapper

Soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

's hit "Ferme les yeux et imagine toi". This gave him great exposure as a solo artist. In 2009, his first solo reggae album ''Enfant du soleil'' halted with the Desh Musique label refusing its release. Instead Blacko took part in Kool Shen's 2009 album ''Eldorado''. In 2010, he released his 17 track album ''Enfant du soleil'' independently online, explaining his fall-off with Desh Musique and his musical orientation for ragga and reggae. This created further legal problems with the label through the courts. End of 2011, he released an EP of 5 title under the title ''Instin Kaf'' made available for free downloads. In 2014, his single "Le temps est compté" has charted on

SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

, the official French singles chart.

Discography

Albums

;with

*2001: ''Du rire aux larmes'' *2003: ''Gravé dans la roche'' *2006: ''Trait pour trait'' *2006: ''À toute épreuve'' ;Solo

EPs

Singles

;with Sniper *2001: "Pris pour cible" *2001: "Quand on te dit" *2002: "Du rire aux larmes" *2002: "On s'en sort bien" *2003: "Gravé dans la roche" *2003: "Sans (re)pères" *2006: "Trait pour trait" ;Others *2005: "Un jour de paix" (with 113) *2006: "Être un homme" featuring Krys ;Solo *Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts. ;Featured in ;Others *2007: "Leur France" – Dragon Davy featuring Blacko *2010: "Femme de courage" – Atheena featuring Blacko

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blacko French male singers French reggae singers French male rappers Living people 1979 births Because Music artists Musicians from Val-d'Oise