X-Men Essentials

After an appearance with the Time Bomb crew, this rap duo quickly became part of the inner circle of Paris hip-hop heads. Signing to Universal in the ‘90s, X-Men (later, Les X) marked themselves out as game-changers, raising the bar for French hip-hop. With their debut album Jeunes, Coupables et Libres, Ill and Cassidy defied convention and helped usher in a new era of French rap, defined by a technical writing style, maximising on creative assonance and alliteration. This playlist spans their captivating careers, plotting a course from the group's early years as well as later solo work.