"Ils sont cools" ("They are cool" ) is a song by French rapper

Orelsan Aurélien Cotentin (; born 1 August 1982), better known by his stage name Orelsan, sometimes stylized as OrelSan (), is a French Rapping, rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor and film director. He has released four studio albums: his debut ...

featuring fellow French rapper and

Casseurs Flowters Casseurs Flowters () is a French hip hop duo established in 2004 by rappers Orelsan and Gringe. The duo's name is a reference to the two "Wet Bandits" from the movie ''Home Alone'', called the ''"Casseurs Flotteurs"'' in the French dialogue. Hi ...

member Gringe. Produced by Spanish producer- DJ duo Cookin' Soul, it was released on 22 June 2012 as the sixth and final single from Orelsan's second studio album '' Le chant des sirènes''. It entered the French Singles Chart at number 143 on 23 June 2012, and has since peaked at number 66.

Music video

Background and concept

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for "Ils sont cools" was released on 22 June 2012 on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

as part of the single's release. It was directed by David Tomaszewski. The video takes inspiration from the

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

universe. Orelsan, being passionate about Japanese culture, drew inspiration from the manga series ''

Knights of the Zodiac , also known as ''Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac'' or simply ''Knights of the Zodiac'' (translated from the French title ''Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque''), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It w ...

'' for the special effects and the costumes. The two rappers took the place of the knights

Pegasus Seiya , simply known as Seiya, is a fictional character in the '' Saint Seiya'' manga series created by Masami Kurumada. He is the eponymous protagonist who makes his debut in the first chapter , published in '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on Janua ...

(Orelsan) and

Dragon Shiryū is a fictional character from the ''Saint Seiya'' universe created by Masami Kurumada. As one of the protagonists of this media franchise, he has made appearances in the several manga, the original anime adaptation, OVAs, films and video games. ...

(Gringe). For the scenery, Tomaszewski chose to spend two days at Nîmes at the

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectato ...

, the Temple of Diane and the

Maison Carrée Maison (French for "house") may refer to: People * Edna Maison (1892–1946), American silent-film actress * Jérémy Maison (born 1993), French cyclist * Leonard Maison, New York state senator 1834–1837 * Nicolas Joseph Maison (1771–1840) ...

, and one morning at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label=Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the ...

for the ocean scenes. Orelsan and Gringe had to change some of the song's lyrics to fit well with the video.

Synopsis

Orelsan and Gringe are two superheroes preparing themselves for an imminent attack. For most of the video, the two rappers are seen visiting several sites of the city and training themselves, and towards the end they freerun across the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are conside ...

. In the early stages of the video, 7th Magnitude co-founder Ablaye makes an appearance as a cook in a

shawarma Shawarma (; ar, شاورما) is a popular Middle Eastern dish that originated in the Ottoman Empire, consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone-like shape, and roasted on a slowly-turning vertical rotisserie or spit. Traditional ...

restaurant, who is serving the two rappers. The rappers' habitual producer Skread is also seen having a beer at the bar. Towards the end of the video, at the Parthenon, the two are seen looking up to the sky at a giant Sexion d'Assaut member Maître Gims, who looks down at and taunts them from the clouds, after which the two rappers perform a fusion technique, resulting in a transformation that includes Orelsan's hair, Gringe's beard, a combination of their two faces and a monkey's tail. He then goes on to say: "''Mes amis m'appellent Orelsinge; mes ennemis appellent les renforts.''" ("My friends call me Orelsinge; my enemies call for reinforcements." – "Orelsinge" is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsFrench 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 ...

for "monkey"). Orelsinge is then seen jumping up with his right fist towards the sky, before the video shifts to a clip saying "''À suivre...''" ("To be continued...").

Cultural references

Several cultural references are made throughout the video.: * The

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

and their battle cry "Kowabunga!", which the 2 rappers shout towards the end. * ''

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 ''t ...

'' (''Hokuto no Ken''), by citing Kenshiro, the protagonist of the series. * ''

Hunter × Hunter ''Hunter × Hunter'' (stylized as ''HUNTER×HUNTER'' and pronounced "hunter hunter") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. It has been serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ...

'' by citing the characters Gon and Killua. * In the middle of the video, Skread is seen pouring himself a beer in the same bar he was in earlier, after which he freezes his glass with his hand and then drinks. This is a reference to '' Mortal Kombat'' character Sub-Zero. * The scene where Orelsan gets out of the ocean towards the end of the video is a reference to

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to ' ...

's beach scene in '' Casino Royale'' as

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

. * The Orelsinge fusion is a reference to Gogeta from ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

'', who is the result of a fusion between

Goku Son Goku is a Character (arts), fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is based on Sun Wukong (known as Son Goku in Japan and Monkey King in the West), a main character o ...

and

Vegeta ( ), also referred as is a Character (arts), fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appears in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on November ...

Reception

The video was nominated for the Trace Urban Music Award for Best Music Video in 2013. On 10 July 2012, an animated video of Orelsinge and Maître Gims doing battle entitled "Sharingan" was uploaded on YouTube by Chapokane Animation. The animation style is almost identical to that of ''Dragon Ball Z''. In the video, Maître Gims portrays Frieza in his final form (but with Gims' face and skin colour), and as such, he is given the name "Gimzer" (Frieza's name is "Freezer" in French versions of ''Dragon Ball Z''), while Orelsinge very closely resembles Goku in the video. Throughout the duration of the video the two are seen performing various techniques seen in Dragon Ball Z, such as Instant Transmission, Goku's ''Kamehameha'' and Frieza's Death Ball.

Track listing

* Digital download # "Ils sont cools" – 3:37

Chart performance

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ils sont cools 2012 songs 2012 singles Orelsan songs French hip hop songs 7th Magnitude singles Songs written by Orelsan Songs written by Gringe