Young Paris

Young Paris, a flamboyant producer and rapper, infused hip-hop with a distinctly contemporary African perspective by fusing ancestral rhythms and EDM elements throughout his productions. Born Milandou Badila in 1989 in Paris to Congolese immigrant parents who later relocated to New York, he spent his formative years moving between the three countries. An arts-rich household shaped his outlook, as his father had founded the Congolese National Ballet and his mother worked as a playwright. The Congo’s thriving fashion scene, paired with its traditional music, sparked his early work as a model and dancer, which brought appearances in Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and prompted him to launch the diversity-focused lifestyle brand Melanin. After absorbing influences from hip-hop and house, he entered music in 2011 with the single “Euro Swag,” though the 2014 EP Rap/Electronic first drew substantial notice. That release established the template for his later output by weaving traditional African rhythms into contemporary electronic production while he delivered rhymes in a languid style. Performances at Kanpe Kanaval in Montréal and the Afropunk festival in Paris followed, and in 2016 he signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label, which issued his debut album African Vogue. The EPs Let Me Love You and Afrobeats appeared the next year.