Booba Explained

Booba
Birth Name:	Élie Thitia Yaffa^[1]
Birth Date:	9 December 1976
Birth Place:	Sèvres, Île-de-France, France
Occupation:	Rapper
Years Active:	1994–present
Associated Acts:	Ali, Diddy, Ryan Leslie, Akon, Bushido, T-Pain, Nessbeal, La Fouine, 92I, Tony Parker, 113, Rock City, Alborosie, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, Kaaris, Lacrim

Élie Thitia Yaffa (in French pronounced as /eli jafa/; born 9 December 1976), better known under his stage name Booba, is a French rapper.

After a brief stint as a break dancer in the early 1990s, Booba partnered with his friend Ali to form Lunatic. The duo released a critically acclaimed album in 2000 but disbanded in 2003. Booba has since embarked on a successful solo career, selling more than 10 million discs over his career^[2] and becoming the most downloaded artist (legally) in France.^[3] Booba is praised for the quality of his flow and beats but often criticized because of the controversial nature of his lyrics. He has also established the rap label Tallac Records, and developed a line of jewellery.

Life and career

Élie Yaffa was born on 9 December 1976 in the outskirts of Paris in Sèvres. His father is Senegalese and his mother is French of Mosellan and Belgian descent.

With his friend Ali they formed the duo Lunatic in 1994. Unable to secure a record deal from a major label because of their controversial lyrics, they created their own independent record label 45 Scientific in 1999. The following year, Lunatic released its first and only album entitled Mauvais œil.

In 2002, Booba released his debut solo album Temps mort. He followed this up with four further albums: Panthéon, Ouest Side (the most successful),^[4] 0.9 and Lunatic. In late 2012, he released his sixth solo album Futur. In whole, Booba has ten disks certified, six Disques d'Or (Gold album), three Disques de platine (Platinum album) and one Double disque de platine (Double-Platinum album).^[5] In 2011, Booba won the "My Youtube" contest, ahead of popular artists like Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Sexion D'Assaut, Shakira, Stromae,...^[6]

Musical style

Booba was influenced by the American hip-hop scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s – Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, 2Pac, and Biggie Smalls. Dark melodies accompanied with raw lyrics, typical of the rap from New York, are present on every album of his. He is often criticized for being an apologist for easy money and murder. Booba advocates a reduction in the taxes and claims himself in support of individual freedom.^[7] Racism is a recurring topic of his songs (see for example "Couleur ébène", "Pitbull", "Ma Couleur"), although he sometimes deliberately advocates communitarian positions.^[8]

Other ventures

Booba is also the creator of a streetwear brand, Ünkut, one of the most popular brands of this type in France.^{[9] [10]}

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album	Peak positions				Certifications
		FRA ^[11]	BEL (Fl)	BEL (Wa) ^[12]	SWI ^[13]
2002	Temps mort	2		41		FRA: Gold^[14]
2004	Panthéon	3		26	25	FRA: Gold
2006	Ouest Side	1		12	18	FRA: Platinum
2008	0.9	6		27	60	FRA: Gold
2010	Lunatic	1		1	24	FRA: 2x Platinum
2012	Futur	4	74	5	14	FRA: 3× Platinum^[15]
2013	Futur 2.0 (reissue)	6			28
2015	D.U.C	1	40	1	2	FRA: Platinum
2015	Nero Nemesis	7	127	7	9	FRA: Platinum
2017	Trône	1	39	3	12	FRA: Diamond
2021	Ultra	2	4	2	2	FRA: Platinum
2024	Ad vitam æternam	1 ^[16]	137	1	3

Mixtapes

Year	Album	Peak positions			Certifications
		FRA	BEL (Wa)	SWI
2005	Autopsie Vol. 1	66
2007	Autopsie Vol. 2	8	98
2009	Autopsie Vol. 3	2	19
2011	Autopsie Vol. 4	2	32	64
2017	Autopsie 0	20	48		FRA: Gold

Singles

As lead artist

Year	Single	Peak positions			Certification	Album
		FRA	BEL (Wa)	SWI
2002	"Destinée" (featuring Kayna Samet)	41				Temps mort
2004	"Avant de partir" (featuring Léya Masry)	24	17 (Ultratip*)			Panthéon
2006	"Au bout des rêves" (featuring Trade Union & Mister Rudie)	22	4 (Ultratip*)			Ouest Side
2010	"Caesar Palace" (featuring P. Diddy)
	"Ma couleur"		24 (Ultratip*)			Lunatic
	"Jour de paye"
2011	"Paradis"	99
	"Comme une étoile"		36 (Ultratip*)
	"Paname"	48				Autopsie Vol. 4
	"Bakel City Gang"	30	43*(Ultratip*)
	"Vaisseau Mère"
	"Scarface"	20	33 (Ultratip*)		FRA: Gold
2012	"Caramel"	10	42			Futur
	"Tombé pour elle"	16	44
2013	"A.C. Milan"	7	19			Futur 2.0
	"T.L.T"	16	44
	"Turfu"	11	34
	"RTC"	13	15 (Ultratip*)
	"Parlons peu"	5	27
	"Longueur d'avance" (featuring Maître Gims)	13	48
2014	"La mort leur va si bien"	7				D.U.C
"OKLM"	1	7	72
2015	"Tony Sosa"	14	46
	"LVMH"	28	35 (Ultratip*)
	"Mon pays"	37
	"Validée" (featuring Benash)	2	41			Nero Nemesis
	"Attila"	35
	"Génération Assassin"	40
2016	"JDC"	10	21 (Ultratip*)			Autopsie 0
"Salside"	8	23 (Ultratip*)		FRA: Gold
"E.L.E.P.H.A.N.T."	1	39		FRA: Platinum	Trône
"DKR"	1	42	42	FRA: Diamond
2017	"Daniel Sam"	27 ^[17]	11 (Ultratip*)		FRA: Gold
	"Nougat"	2 ^[18]	42	61	FRA: Platinum	Trône
2018	"Gotham"		17	48	FRA: Gold
	"BB"		17	42	FRA: Gold
	"Kyll" (with Médine)	2	34	62	FRA: Gold
2019	"PGP"	1	9	22	FRA: Platinum	rowspan="9"
	"Arc-en-Ciel"	1	16	37	FRA: Diamond
	"Freestyle Pirate"	42	28 (Ultratip*)
	"Glaive"	10	13 (Ultratip*)		FRA: Gold
2020	"Cavaliero"	28	29 (Ultratip*)
	"Jauné" (featuring Zed)	1	25	26	FRA: Diamond
	"Dolce Vita"	6	47	51	FRA: Platinum
	"5G"	1	16	28
2021	"Ratpi World"	1	27	34	FRA: Platinum
"Mona Lisa" (featuring JSX)	1	2	1	FRA: Diamond	Ultra
"Azerty"	11	23
"Kayna"	4	40	55	FRA: Gold	rowspan="8"
"Plaza Athénée"	10
"Dragon"	22		77
"Variant"	7	47	65
"Geronimo"		41	35
"Leo Messi"		48	72
2022	"Koa"		47
2023	"Sport Billy"	10
2024	"6G"		32	44		Ad vitam æternam
	"Rebel"	7	45
	"Saga"	4	41
	"Dolce Camara"	2	14

• Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

As featured artist

Year	Single	Peak positions			Certifications	Album
		FRA	BEL (Wa)	SWI
2011	"Corner" (Gato featuring Booba & Philly Poe)
	"Cruella" (Shay featuring Booba)
2012	"Call of Bitume" (Rim'K featuring Booba)	72				Rim'K album Chef de famille
2013	"L.E.F" (Kaaris featuring Booba)	122
2014	"Même tarif " (Alonzo featuring Booba)	8	39			Alonzo album Règlement de comptes
2015	"A.T.R" (Twinsmatic featuring Booba)	145				Twinsmatic album Nowhere
2016	"Here" (Christine and the Queens featuring Booba)	52
"Rouge et bleu" (Kalash featuring Booba)	15	33 (Ultratip)		FRA: Platinum	Kalash album Kaos
"N.W.A." (Kalash featuring Booba)	49
"M.L.C" (Niska featuring Booba)	46				Niska album Zifukoro
"Infréquentables" (Dosseh featuring Booba)	19	13 (Ultratip*)		FRA: Diamond
"Kiname" (Fally Ipupa featuring Booba)	10	38		FRA: Gold
2017	"Mula" (Siboy featuring Booba)	9	32 (Ultratip*)
	"Ghetto" (Benash featuring Booba)	10	16 (Ultratip*)		FRA: Diamond
	"Oh bah oui" (Lacrim featuring Booba)	2		48	FRA: Platinum	Lacrim album Force & Honneur
	"Tuba Life" (Niska featuring Booba)	2	9 (Ultratip*)	29	FRA: Diamond	Niska album Commando
2018	"MQTB" (Dosseh featuring Booba)	1	25 (Ultratip*)
"Madrina" (Maes featuring Booba)	24	31		FRA: Diamond	Maes album Pure
"Sale mood" (Bramsito featuring Booba)	1	48		FRA: Platinum
2019	"Médicament" (Niska featuring Booba)	1	26	43	FRA: Platinum	Niska album Mr Sal
"Haï" (Gato featuring Booba)	21
2020	"Blanche" (Maes featuring Booba)	2	49	10	FRA: Diamond	Maes album Les derniers salopards
	"La zone" (SDM featuring Booba)	28
	"Charbon" (Leto featuring Booba)	27				Leto album 100 visages
	"Tout gâcher" (Green Montana featuring Booba)	25	9 (Ultratip*)	80		Green Montana album Alaska
	"Pompeii" (JSX featuring Booba)	8	23 (Ultratip*)		FRA: Gold
2021	"Daddy" (SDM featuring Booba)	14				SDM album Ocho
"32" (Dala featuring Booba)	65
"Kayna" (Kayna Samet featuring Booba)	106
"GTA" (JSX featuring Booba)	20

• Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Other charted songs

Year	Single	Peak positions			Album	Certifications
		FRA	BEL (Wa)	SWI
2012	"Jimmy"	108			Futur
"Kalash" (featuring Kaaris)	116
"Wesh Morray"	121
"Rolex" (featuring Gato)	131
"Tout c'que j'ai"	150
"C'est la vie" (featuring 2 Chainz)	153
"1.8.7" (featuring Rick Ross)	158
"2Pac"	191
2013	"2.0"	41			Future 2.0
"Une vie"	44
"Billets verts"	87
2015	"Temps mort 2.0" (featuring Lino)	58			D.U.C
"G-Love" (featuring Farruko)	69
"3 G"	70
"Caracas"	116
"D.U.C"	84
"Bellucci" (featuring Future)	86
"Loin d'ici"	112
"Les meilleurs" (featuring 40 000 Gang)	151
"Billets violets"	161
"All Set" (featuring Jeremih)	163
"Jack Da"	165
"Mr. Kopp"	146
"Comme les autres"	169			Nero Nemesis
"Habibi"	119
"4G"	109
"Walabok"	124
"Talion"	137
"92I Veyron"	57	16 (Ultratip*)		FRA: Diamond
"Charbon"	168
"Pinocchio" (featuring Damso and Gato)	115
"Zer'" (featuring Siboy and Benash)	120
2017	"Petite fille"	28		32	Trône	FRA: Diamond
"Trône"	32		34	FRA: Platinum
"113" (featuring Damso)			38	FRA: Platinum
"Ridin'"	40			FRA: Platinum
"Ça va aller" (featuring Niska and Sidiki Diabaté)	40			FRA: Gold
"Friday"	43	30	74	FRA: Diamond
"Drapeau noir"	48		91	FRA: Platinum
"À la folie"	55			FRA: Gold
"Terrain"	74			FRA: Gold
"Centurion"	85			FRA: Gold
"Bouyon" (featuring Gato)	98			FRA: Gold
"Magnifique"	130			FRA: Gold
2021	"GP"	2			Ultra	FRA: Gold
"VVV"	3		26	FRA: Gold
"Ultra"	4		27	FRA: Gold
"RST"	5			FRA: Gold
"Bonne journée" (featuring SDM)	6
"Vue sur la mer" (featuring Dala)	8
"Je sais"	9
"Dernière fois" (featuring Bramsito)	10			FRA: Gold
"L'olivier"	12
"Grain de sable" (featuring Elia)	13
"31" (featuring Gato)	14
2024	"Abidal"	18			align=center rowspan=5	Ad vitam æternam
	"Bénigni"	21
	"Signé"	27
	"GM"	36
	"CVBSP"	41

• Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

See also

• French hip hop
• List of French hip hop artists

Notes and References

1. Web site: AC MILAN . ASCAP . American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers . May 1, 2023 . 12 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160612055619/https://www.ascap.com/Home/ace-title-search/index.aspx#/ace/search/workID/886298551 . live .
2. http://www.waxx-music.com/news_chroniques/chronique/Booba_556.html Booba : Lunatic – Chroniques – Booba – Toutes les chroniques sur Waxx-music
3. http://www.melty.fr/booba-l-annee-nous-appartient-interview-video-actu46446.html Booba : L'année nous appartient, interview vidéo sur NRJ12
4. http://www.monsieur-biographie.com/celebrite/biographie/booba-1782.php BOOBA : Biographie de BOOBA
5. [:fr:Booba]
6. Web site: Le grand gagnant du concours "MyYouTube" est Booba. 20 January 2015. 21 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150121003438/http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Booba/news-74806.html. live.
7. https://web.archive.org/web/20080322035109/http://www.lehiphop.com/interviews/itw62-booba_par_pamsiste.html Interview at
8. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xju7j_hhqc-en#.UOA4wayyHMo HHQC Entrevue Avec Booba (Partie 3)
9. http://www.lepost.fr/article/2007/12/19/1070278_le-rappeur-booba-se-reconvertit-a-la-boxe.html#xtor=RSS-33 Le rappeur Booba se reconvertit a la boxe – nils leblanc sur LePost.fr (10:23)
10. Web site: Ünkut : Comment Booba a fait de sa marque un incontournable du style ?. 30 September 2014. 20 January 2015. 20 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150120233112/http://www.meltystyle.fr/unkut-comment-booba-a-fait-de-sa-marque-un-incontournable-du-style-a336957.html. dead.
11. Web site: Discographie Booba. lescharts.com. 2024-02-26. 11 December 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111211051137/http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Booba. live.
12. Web site: Booba. Hung Medien. 9 June 2014. 2 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160302202023/http://www.ultratop.be/fr/artist/Booba. live.
13. Web site: Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community . Hung Medien . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140715000427/http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?search=Booba&cat=s . 15 July 2014 .
14. France. Booba. 28 July 2022.
15. France. Booba. infodisc. 28 July 2022.
16. snep. 1758499858481119698. En exclusivité, voici les 10 premiers du Top Albums de la semaine !. 16 February 2024. 18 February 2024.
17. Web site: Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 2, 2017). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. fr. 14 January 2017. 21 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170121180452/http://www.snepmusique.com/tops-semaine/top-singles-telecharges/?ye=2017&we=2. live.
18. Web site: Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 28, 2017). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. fr. 18 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20180120211443/http://www.snepmusique.com/tops-semaine/top-singles-telecharges/?ye=2017&we=28. 20 January 2018. dead.