Black M

French-Guinean rapper Black M, whose name is short for Black Mesrimes, rose to widespread popularity and commercial dominance through his contributions to the rap collective Sexion d'Assaut and a string of solo projects. The artist’s vibrant persona, intricate lyrical delivery, and playful wordplay propelled releases such as the 2014 album Les Yeux Plus Gros Que le Monde to multi-platinum status.

Born Alpha Diallo in 1984, he entered the hip hop collective Sexion d'Assaut at age twenty while the group was still forming its foundation. Throughout the 2000s, Sexion d'Assaut issued a series of mixtapes and independent recordings before achieving their first official album and commercial breakthrough with 2010’s L’École des Points Vitaux. Outside the collective, Diallo collaborated on the 2006 EP Le Pacte under the name Bakry et Black Mesrimes and contributed to singles by DJ Abdel and Major Lazer.

His first solo effort, Les Yeux Plus Gros Que le Monde, appeared on Wati-B in March 2014 and achieved immediate widespread acclaim, attaining quadruple-platinum certification while every song except the intro and interlude reached the French singles chart, among them the chart-topping “Sur Ma Route.” Later that year the project was reissued as Le Monde Plus Gros Que Mes Yeux with an added disc containing eight new tracks. In 2015 he released the live recording Les Yeux Plus Gros Que l’Olympia, issued simultaneously as an audio CD or download and as a DVD.

Diallo’s eagerly awaited second studio album, Éternal Insatisfait, surfaced in 2016. Portions of the record were shaped by the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, yet the overall tone remained upbeat and celebratory. Guest spots included Shakira on “Comme Moi” and Manu Dibango together with Amadou & Mariam on the bonus track “Je Suis Chez Moi [African Version].” Black M resurfaced in September 2019 with his third album, Il Etait Une Fois…, which leaned further into pop through melodic, high-energy songcraft and luminous production that framed both his vocals and rhymes.