On Friday, November 17th, the release party for the “mini-tape” “InDaHouse” a 12-minute project. This collaborative project by rapper DnZl and beatmaker Chazzy Jazz featuring several rappers from Nantes is a good representation of the new underground rap scene in Nantes. On the agenda: concerts, freestyling sessions and an open mic for upcoming artists in Nantes.  

InDaHouse release party 

In the back of the Princess Abibiche Bar, a small stage is set up. Standing on it, rappers Dnzl, FKE, Baabz and Artiblock hold their mics and go back-to-back on the front of the stage. On successive beats, they go from precise lines to silly rhythms, rapping songs from their project that was released earlier that day and other exclusive ones. The front row is filled with their close ones, singing along to all the songs, even the ones that were not released yet. Soon enough the entire audience feels like a big friend’s group jumping and yelling the adlibs. Among the crowd, street artists, slam poets or even breakdancers all well-known on the underground hip-hop scene in the city… 

As the concert went, they finished with their songs and started to freestyle. Wishing to interact with the audience, Dnzl asked us to throw objects at him, so he could use those words for his freestyle, and he incorporated the clothes, keys or even glasses the crowd was handing him in his text in an impressive way. During the break, we could hear him saying how much work this had been, the consecration of almost 15 years of rap and the connection of so many people with a strong passion for music. 

The collective 

Coming from the city of Nantes, the collective NantesCityRappin was created in March 2023, by Dnzl and his friends. The goal of this collective is to create and/or organize events to give a platform to upcoming artists trying to make it or even just to try new material in front of an audience. The members count several rappers such as Denzel himself, FKE, JazzManitu or Baabz, slam poetry artists like La Fine Fleur, and even beatmakers like Tanjay. As an association to promote rap, they welcome new members with each event. A sub-group of this association is NantesCityGraffin, made to promote street graffiti artists. This past year, they’ve organized or participated to at least one event each month, and this is working; the collective platform keeps on growing and each member individually gets to participate to various events which contributes to promoting the collective even more. Recently, member FKE released an EP with other artists from Nantes which led to an event in the D3 Club. 

Open mics: from the streets to the stage 

For me as an auditor, it all started in September. After having a drink in the Bar Askip, we stumbled upon an open mics session held in the honor of the artist La Fine Fleur’s birthday; it was a jam session between friends and everyone could join them. It all started with people, friends from Nantes all passionate about street art, rap and breakdance craving to meet their audience. The goal is to create a space for rap and hip-hop lovers to meet and to put Nantes’ rap scene on the map. At the end of the concert, the stage was open, whoever wanted to sing, rap or beatbox could raise their hand and take the mic. 

In an almost family-like setting, everyone was acclaimed just for having the courage to go on the stage while the members of the collective were making adlibs in the back in the way some would during a cypher. This event was a success, as much for the bar owner who allowed us to stay an hour longer than we were supposed to, as for the artists who were truly acclaimed by the crowd.  

In my opinion, this moment was the perfect way to represent how passion and collaborative work can create something even bigger than just a project. It is all about respecting and supporting each artist’s work.  

(The mini-tape “InDaHouse” is available on every platform).  

Sira Sow