Abdoulaye Plea Diarra (French pronunciation: [abdulaj plea djaʁa]; born 3 August 1974), better known by his stage name Oxmo Puccino (French: [ɔksmo putʃino], Italian: [putˈtʃiːno]), is a French-Malian rapper.

Oxmo Puccino
Oxmo Puccino in 2013
Oxmo Puccino in 2013
Background information
Birth nameAbdoulaye Plea Diarra
Also known asJon Smoke
Jonxmoke
Black Desperado
Black Popeye
Black Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel du hip-hop
Born (1974-08-03) 3 August 1974 (age 49)
Ségou, Mali
OriginParis, France
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)Rapper, singer, songwriter, composer
LabelsCinq7, Wagram Music
Websitehttps://www.oxmo.net/
Oxmo Puccino

Career edit

A longtime hip hop fan, at age 21 Diarra began his collaboration with the fledgling rap collective Time Bomb, honing his craft alongside future superstars like Booba and Diam's. He quickly developed into a lyricist with a metaphorical ingenuity far more advanced than his contemporaries, crafting violent yet strangely poetic portraits of urban Paris life and drawing on the street-smart American hip-hop of the Notorious B.I.G. and other icons to document life in Paris' hardscrabble 19th district. In 1996 Oxmo Puccino made his recorded debut with Pucc. Fiction, a contribution to the compilation L432. A series of subsequent mixtape appearances solidified his growing reputation within the French rap underground, and in 1998 he issued his solo debut, Opéra Puccino. Its 2001 follow-up, L'Amour Est Mort, proved Puccino's creative and commercial breakthrough, while 2004's Le Cactus de Sibérie confirmed his star status. After signing to the venerable jazz label Blue Note, Puccino assembled a new backing group, the Jazzbastards, to record 2006's Lipopette Bar.[1][2][3][4]

In popular culture edit

  • In 2007, rapper Styles P. used the instrumental of "Black Desperado" in his own album Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman), in the song "Holiday". The track was produced by DJ Green Lantern.
  • In 2011, he was in a Nike ad promotion reciting a passage from Cyrano de Bergerac
  • He has appeared in 2011 music video for "1990" by Orelsan, as a tribute to the 1990s. He was invited to sing the track in Orelsan's live tour as a guest in the Paris Olympia gig in 2012.
  • He is featured as the spoken word artist on Ibrahim Maalouf's track, "Douce", from the 2011 studio album, "Diagnostic".

Personal life edit

Puccino was born in 1974 in Ségou, Mali. He came to Paris one year later, and lived in the 19th arrondissement from the age of 5. Oxmo Puccino is the older brother of the French international basketball player Mamoutou Diarra.

Discography edit

Albums edit

Studio albums

Year Album Charts Certification
BEL
Wa

[5]
FRA
[6]
SWI
[7]
1998 Opéra Puccino 7
2001 L'amour est mort 37 13
2004 Le cactus de Sibérie 20
2007 Lipopette Bar
(Oxmo Puccino & The Jazzbastards)
22
2009 L'arme de paix 41 8 68
2012 Roi sans carosse 28 15 41
2014 Au pays d'Alice
(Ibrahim Maalouf & Oxmo Puccino)
113 43
2015 La voix lactée 147 34 84
2019 La nuit du reveil 63 17
[8]
47

Live albums

Year Album Charts Certification
FR
[6]
2005 Black Tour Desperado 154
2010 Minutes magiques

Mixtapes edit

Year Album Charts Certification
FR
[6]
2005 La Réconciliation
(DJ Cream présente Oxmo Puccino)
45
Non-charting
  • 2003: The Best of Puccino Tape (Vol.8 - Mixed by DJ Nels)
  • 2004: Puccino Airlines
  • 2004: Time Bomb, Vol.8 - Puccino Tape
  • 2012: Doux or Die Mixtape (Mixed by DJ Cream)

Singles / Maxi singles edit

Year Single Charts Certification Album
FR
[6]
1998 "Mama Lova"
(Kheops / Oxmo Puccino)
96
"Amour et Jalousie"
"Le mensongeur" 55
1999 "L'enfant seul" 84
"Le jour ou tu partiras"
2001 "Ghetto du monde"
2002 "Avoir des potes" 52
2004 "Quand j'arrive / J'ai mal au mic"
"On danse pas"
2015 Une Chance

Featured in edit

Year Single Charts Album
FR
[6]
2016 "Bal de Bamako"
(M, Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté
feat. Fatoumata Diawara & Oxmo Puccino)
140 Lamomali
2019 "26 décembre 1999"
(Lacrim feat. Oxmo Puccino)
130 Lacrim
2022 "ça veut rien dire"
(Achile
feat. Oxmo Puccino)
- Achile

Filmography edit

Writer
  • 2005: Dans tes rêves
Actor
  • 2006: Arthur and the Invisibles (French title Arthur et les Minimoys) as Mover (film directed by Luc Besson)
  • 2006: Sheitan (film directed by Kim Chapiron)
  • 2008: Écrire pour un chanteur as Harry in episode "Demain peut-être" (TV series)
  • 2009: Storytelling, la machine à raconter des histoires as host and himself (documentary)
  • 2010: Rubik's Cube as Teacher (short film)
  • 2010: Histoires de vies as François in episode "Conte de la frustration" (TV series)
  • 2015: Adama as Djo (voice)

References edit

  1. ^ Oxmo Puccino - track details, ringtones, covertones, downloads, MP3, CDs
  2. ^ Schwartz, Mark. "Planet Rock: Hip Hop Supa National." In The Vibe History of Hip-hop, ed. Alan Light, 361-72. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1999.
  3. ^ "Behind Pathe's TV Slate Filled With Period Epics and Contemporary Series". Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  4. ^ "Strong presence for French films at the Jeonju International Film Festival in South Korea". Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  5. ^ "Discographie Oxmo Puccino". Ultratop. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e LesCharts.com: Oxmo Puccino page
  7. ^ "Discographie Oxmo Puccino". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 37, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 16 September 2019.[permanent dead link]

External links edit