Rapper Gims Sparks Debate on Religion in French Hip-Hop Scene

"Muslims, we have the same conviction, stop with that. [...] Please with the ’happy new year’, ’New Year’, leave me alone, you know I’ve never answered to that, and you keep sending it to me until January, February. [...] It’s mostly Muslims who send me that," said Gims, who converted to Islam in 2004. Like him, there are many rappers who were Christians at first, but have converted to Islam. This is the case of Kery James, Youssoupha, Abd al Malik, Kaaris or the former rapper Diam’s. "The succession of conversions to Islam in the rap milieu illustrates the fragility of Christian communities, especially in working-class environments," says Emmanuel Gougaud, parish priest of Sainte-Bernadette de Versailles, former head of ecumenical relations of the Conference of Bishops of France, and a connoisseur of rap, to the media La Vie.

"That Christians become Muslims is a sign of a deficient Christology: they have not encountered Jesus as Lord and Savior, they say so, and this challenges us on the transmission of the faith. Moreover, are we still a Christian community, with strong and proud landmarks? ", he wonders, noting that the Islamic Ummah knows who it is, and is proud of it. While Muslim rappers spread Islam through their songs or way of life, those of Christian confession do not do so as much. According to Gims, wishing "happy new year" is haram and he defends the precepts of Islam in his own way.

"This clash rather illustrates the ambivalence between rap and religion, judges Emmanuel Gougaud. We do dirty things, we sell drugs, we are materialistic... But we feel guilty, because Islam judges on retribution. Some therefore develop a discourse to redeem themselves. In addition, these rap stars go without transition from the neighborhood to the five-star. They are torn between this glory, this money, and the desire to be a moral conscience." The advantage of Islam over Christianity is that it is the first religion in the working-class neighborhoods from which most rappers come. "Islam is the first religion in the French working-class neighborhoods, because Muslim families are at home and outside. They display their faith, because they live it daily! It touches all aspects of their existence. Humbly, we must salute their profession of faith," says François Furtade, an evangelical pastor and rap veteran under the stage name Le Patriarche, from the group Leader Vocal, formed in 1991.