Abderraouf Deradji (; born 10 December 1989), known professionally as Soolking, is an Algerian singer and rapper. He started his career under the pseudonym MC Sool until 2013 before adopting his new stage name. He incorporates

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

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. Hi ...

and Algerian

raï Raï (, ; , , ), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian folk music that dates back to the 1920s. Singers of Raï are called () or (), i.e. 'young', as opposed to (, 'shaykh'), i.e. 'old', the name given to Chaabi singers. The tradi ...

in his music.

Life and career

Derradji was born in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in a northern suburb of the capital

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, also known as Staouali. His father was a percussionist and he started very young in a rock band that incorporated music and dance. He arrived in France in 2008 but returned to Algeria to join the Algerian rap group Africa Jungle. The band released two albums. He started his solo career in 2016 and is signed to the label Affranchis Music launched by Sofiane. He had initial success with 'Milano' and 'Guérilla' before achieving phenomenal success with 'Dalida', an homage to the singer

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (, ; ), was an Italian naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...

, sampling her hit " Paroles, paroles". On November 2, 2018, Soolking released his debut solo album, ''Fruit du Démon'', which was certified Gold in France. The singles " Guérilla" and "Dalida" were certified Platinum. He released his second studio album, ''Vintage'', in 2020. On 26 May 2022, he released ''Sans visa'', his third album. In February 2025, he released his fourth album, ''Africa Jungle Part 1''.

2019 accident

On August 23, 2019, Soolking held a large concert at Stade 20 Août 1955, accompanied by

L'Algérino Samir Djoghlal (; born 2 May 1981), better known as L'Algérino (), is an Algerian-French rapper and singer whose family came from the Chaoui-Berbers, Berber tribes in Khenchela, Algeria A childhood friend of Jul (singer), JUL, he was discovered ...

, Fianso,

Alonzo Alonzo is both a given name and a Spanish language, Spanish surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Alonzo de Barcena, 16th-century Spanish Jesuit missionary and linguist *Alonzo de Santa Cruz (–1567), Spanish cartographer, ...

, and Dhurata Dora. During the entrance to the stadium, five people died due to the stampede. Soolking said after the concert that if he had known what happened he would have cancelled the concert. One of the reasons for the accident was that more tickets were sold than the stadium's capacity could accommodate.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charting songs

Various releases

*2016: "Vida Loca" *2016: "Barbe noire" *2017: "Fuego" (feat. Ghost ST) *2017: "Dounia" *2017: "Yeah!" *2017: "Blanco Griselda" *2017: "T.R.W" (feat.

) *2017: "Bilal" (feat. 7Liwa) *2017: "Mi Amigo"

References

External links

Soolking Official
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YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

{{Authority control Algerian rappers 1989 births Living people 21st-century Algerian male singers 21st-century rappers 21st-century male rappers People from Algiers Province