Alix Mathurin () (born December 28, 1977), publicly known as Kery James, is a French- Haitian rapper, singer, actor, director, and screenwriter from

Les Abymes Les Abymes (; ) is the most populous commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is located on the west side of the island of Grande-Terre, and is part of the largest metropolitan area of Gua ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

. James' music has addressed suburban life and social inequalities in contemporary France. He was a member of the rap collective Mafia K-1 Fry.

Career

James began his rap career in 1991 as a co-founder of the group Idéal J, with

DJ Mehdi Mehdi Favéris-Essadi (20 January 1977 – 13 September 2011), better known by his stage name DJ Mehdi, was a French-Tunisian hip hop and house music producer and DJ. He was signed to the label Ed Banger Records, founded by his friend Pedro W ...

joining as a producer the following year. The group disbanded in 1999 after the death of Las Montana, a close friend of James, leading to a hiatus in James' career. After a two-year break, he returned as a solo artist and released his debut album, ''Si c'était à refaire'' (''If I Had to Do It Again''), in 2001. In 2005, after contributing the track ''"Je ne crois plus en l'illicite"'' (''I No Longer Believe in the Illicit'') to the soundtrack for the film ''Illicite Projet'', he released his second solo album, ''Ma vérité'' (''My Truth''). The album included songs such as ''"J'aurais pu dire",'' ''"Les miens,"'' and ''"Hardcore,"'' with a guest appearance by Iron Sy. His third solo album, "''À l'ombre du show business"'' (''In the Shadow of Show Business''), was released in 2008 and debuted at number three on the French charts in its first week. In 2016, James released his sixth album, ''Mouhammad Alix''. James has also worked as an actor and director. In 2003, he appeared in the documentary ''Si tu roules avec la Mafia K'1 Fry'' (''If You Roll with the Mafia K'1 Fry''). Following the

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

attacks, he directed ''Savoir et vivre ensemble'' (''Know and Live Together''), a project featuring rappers, singers, and athletes promoting unity. He appeared as a juror in the 2017 film ''À voix haute'' (''Speak Up''). In 2019, his film ''Banlieusards'' (''Street Flow'') was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, with the sequel premiering on Netflix on September 27, 2023. He co-wrote and directed both films with Leïla Sy.

Idéal J

Idéal J released singles "Hardcore", "Pour une poignée de dollars" and a debut album titled ''Original MC's sur une mission''. In 1992, their single "La vie est brutale" was released, and Alter MC (later known as Jessy Money) left the group. In subsequent years, as

developed as a producer, Kery focused on writing new material addressing subjects like confrontations with police, street rivalries, and fear of death. In 1996, under the name Ideal J, the group released singles such as
Ghetto français
, "Show Business," and "Je veux du cas"." The group also appeared on EPs and as featured artists. Their single "J'désole mes parents" was featured on the compilation ''Nouvelle Donne''.

Solo career

In October 2001, he released his solo album "Si c'était à refaire", which included tracks such as "28 décembre 1977," "Soledad," and "Y'a pas d'couleur." The album features collaborations with Nubians and Salif Keita. The music incorporates African, Arabic, and Cuban influences, using percussion and traditional instruments. In 2004, James's second album, ''Ma vérité,'' addressed the war in Iraq and reality television. He also collaborated with artists such as Diam's, Mélanie Giorgadès, and

Amel Bent Amel Bent Bachir (; born 21 June 1985), better known by her stage name Amel Bent (), is a French pop singer who gained fame after reaching the semi-finals of season 2 of French TV singing competition ''Nouvelle Star''. She is best-selling artist ...

. In March 2008, he released a new album, ''À l'ombre du show business,'', whose title track was a collaboration with French

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

singer

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...

. Other tracks included ''Le combat continue part III'', "''Banlieusards",'' and "''Vrai Peura".'' In its first week of release, the album reached third place on the French charts with 24,459 albums sold. For the music videos for this album, he worked with

Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French filmmaker. He directed and produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Associated with the '' Cinéma du look'' film movement, he h ...

Mathieu Kassovitz Mathieu Kassovitz () is a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has won three César Awards: Most Promising Actor for '' See How They Fall'' (1994), and Best Film and Best Editing for '' La Haine'' (1995). He also re ...

, J.G. Biggs, and

Chris Macari Christian Gabriel Ledru Macari (born February 8, 1980) is a French music video director and producer from the French West Indies. Through his company, Tchimbé Raid Production, he has released more than 50 videos of Hip Hop, RnB, Reggae-Danceh ...

Personal life

James was raised by his mother in Orly, a suburb 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 January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He moved to mainland France at seven, where he began rapping, dancing, and writing.

MC Solaar Claude Honoré M'Barali (; born 5 March 1969), professionally known as MC Solaar (), is a French rapping, rapper of Senegalese people, Senegalese and Chadian people, Chadian origin. He is one of France's most famous and influential hip hop musi ...

noticed him when he was 10 years old in a cité (suburban housing estate) in

. According to James, the influence of Islam in his environment led him to adopt the name Ali.

Discography

Albums and EPs

Solo studio albums

;Others * 2013: ''Coffret integral''

Live albums

Other albums and EPs (collaborations)

;with Idéal Junior / Idéal J * 1992: ''La vie est brutale'' (Maxi-single) (credited to Ideal Junior) * 1996: ''O'riginal MC's sur une mission'' (credited to Ideal J) * 1998: '' Le Combat Continue'' (credited to Ideal J) ;with Mafia K-1 Fry * 1997: ''Les liens sacrés'' * 1999: ''Légendaire'' * 2003: ''La cerise sur le ghetto'' * 2007: ''Jusqu'à la mort'' (+ reissue)

Singles

Collaborations

(Refer to relevant section in French Wikipedia)