I Don't Understand French Rapping, French People or French Humor

by Matthew Powell on Mar 12, 2007 1:27 AM CDT in YouTube

First clip is via SlamOnline, the rest I dug up from YouTube.

Hmm. Apparently there aren't French words for "DJ" or "boom." And are they saying "banos banos banos banos banos troi?" Because in Spanish that's pretty much "bathroom bathroom bathroom bathroom bathroom three." And I'm no rap producer, but you don't hear Jay-Zizzle rapping about three bathrooms. Maybe seven, or eight bathrooms, but not three.

Just what the shit are Brent Barry and Nazr Mohammed doing in a rap video? And just what the shit does Brent Barry have on his head? And why can't I buy a Nike sweatshirt with Tony Parker's logo?

I... umm... I... just... well... yeah.

Frenchie McWonderbutt in full effect!

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Re: I Don't Understand French Rapping, French Peop

What a generous world....
I can see Manu joining Slash, David Lee Roth and another washed up 80's rock star to form "The Sickness Crossover", and Timmy singing a Sinatra`s cover album....
Shit! I would buy those CD's....

by Chilai on Mar 12, 2007 4:29 AM CDT 0 recs

Re: I Don't Understand French Rapping, French Peop

I found the first puppet clip to be straight up true to the streets, yo. (Plus, Tony kind of looks like Alec Bladwin, which I find compelling.)

by flickup17 on Mar 12, 2007 12:08 PM CDT 0 recs

Re: I Don't Understand French Rapping, French Peop

Someone put a lot of work, thought, and effort into those puppet clips... and that depresses me more than anything else I've come across so far this year. Matt... is your therapist hooking you up with any Prozac? I haven't even watched the clips with the sound on yet, and I don't know if I can handle them without some drugs to counteract the effects.

Ya know... if Tony Parker was a Laker, he'd probably be one of the most hated people in San Antonio. Right behind Rick Fox circa 2000.

Just a thought.

chaos... panic... pandemonium... my work here is done.

by rick2g on Mar 12, 2007 1:27 PM CDT 0 recs

Re: I Don't Understand French Rapping,

Oh my God Matthew.

I'm going to have nightmares thanks to those 3rd and 4th videos. Who the fuck greenlighted that shit? That's the most disturbing thing I've ever seen.

What marketing genius came up with this gem?

"Hey you know how we could really get Tony Parker's name out there in the mainstream? Let's creat a bunch of short clay-mation spots where he looks like Eric Stoltz from 'Mask.'"

Yeah I can't possibly see how this wouldn't work.

I hate you, I hate the people who thought of this ad campaign and most of all I HATE TONY.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

by Aaronstampler on Mar 12, 2007 9:35 PM CDT 0 recs

Re: I Don't Understand French Rapping, French Peop

OK, it seems a bit of context is sorely needed here. The puppets videos are not a marketing trick, and they do not make Parker endearing at all, quite the contrary -- at least to the French speaking. They paint him as a fool, a big head talking trash to get some street cred, mimicking the street gangs in quite a pitiful way : in the second segment, TP is threatening the waiter because he dared to suggest him to order white wine with the seafood and not red wine. When time comes to pay the bill, he mocks a man who has a visa card and not an american express, and sees it as a sign that San Antonio is a poor backwater place. All he does in the clips is to whine about how miserable he feels, how desolated is his neighbourhood, and how this situation fuels his inspiration -- which must explain why his music is so bad ;-)
And it's quite funny really.
The videos come from a hugely popular TV show in France, named "Les Guignols de l'Info" : it is a satire of the evening news. To have a puppet on this show is both coveted and dreaded : it signals public success but at the same time it can make you a public joke.

by samu on Mar 13, 2007 2:29 AM CDT 0 recs