Rising Moroccan-Born Rapper Zamdane Takes Marseille’s Hip-Hop Scene by Storm

Zamdane is undoubtedly the young prodigy of rap in Marseille. In July 2015, when he was only 17 years old, the teenager left his native Morocco, crossed the Mediterranean and joined France, his dream country, where his cousins live, reports BFMTV. He settles in Marseille, where he discovers rap, particularly the work of Nekfeu, who had just released Feu. In October of the same year, he signs up for "open-mics", freestyle sessions open to all and meets "personalities in the field who predict a brilliant future for him".

In 2017, Zamdane records his first track, Favaro. The success is there: more than 2.5 million views on YouTube. He receives offers from record labels, but declines them to focus on his next tracks. He creates his own label called "Affamé Records" between 2018 and 2021, with seven projects. These new proposals are not successful. Zamdane does not despair. "I realized that I had completely lost the fiber of the listener, so I started listening to rap again, especially American. It unlocked something in me, I tried other approaches, other melodies," he explains to Mehdi Maïzi.

In 2018, he launches a series of "Affamés" freestyles. His flow begins to seduce the public again, but the young rapper is forced to take a break due to many events: friendly breakups, disappearances of loved ones and family members. However, this break does not harm his young career. This episode of his life served as a lever to move forward. His first album entitled "Couleur de ma peine" was released on February 25. He tells his pain and sorrow there.

"I have traumas for that I’m euphoric, every time I talk about my brothers in blood in the studio," he reveals in the track "Bonne année". Already, more than 5,000 copies sold the first week. Enough to confirm the talent of the young prodigy of rap in Marseille. On the eve of the album’s release, the rapper organized a charity concert in Marseille in favor of SOS Méditerranée to raise 14,000 euros, the cost of funding a day of sea rescue.