contemporary Arab community, the Egyptian names allow the audience to covertly draw parallels between IAM and North Africa. Instead of focusing on violence and rebellion like many other French rappers, Akhenaton and IAM remain true to their hometown, Marseille. In Marseille rap has reportedly remained relatively peaceful. Akhenaton posits that rappers in Marseille are more socially conscious because they feel a strong sense of community. After IAM's first three albums' success, Akhenaton released his first solo album, Métèque et mat, in 1995. The album sold 300,000 copies and was followed by Sol Invictus in 2001. He began to delve into his other projects, such as producing Passi's album Les tentations (1997) and the 2001 film Comme un aimant. He continued working with IAM, releasing the album Revoir un printemps in 2003 and Saison 5 in 2007. Discography Albums Compilations 2000: Electro Cypher, compilation Soundtracks Singles *Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts. Featured in / collaborations References 1968 births French rappers Rappers from Bouches-du-Rhône French former Christians Converts to Islam from Roman Catholicism Living people French Muslims French people of Italian descent French people of Campanian descent People of Lazian descent People of Tuscan descent People of Emilian descent People of Piedmontese descent