the successful bet of Green Montana

On “Neymar”, a single with his label colleague SDM, Green Montana sees himself in number 10 in Paris. This week, the Belgian rapper is above all number one in sales with his second album NOSTALGIA+. Chaperoned by the rapper Isha and signed since 2019 on Booba’s 92i label, Green has therefore managed to dig his furrow to seduce a loyal audience in four years and three discs. – two albums (dont ALASKA in 2020) and an EP (MELANCHOLIA 999in 2021). At the top of the SNEP weekly ranking this week, NOSTALGIA+ is mainly thanks to streaming, unlike other French rap albums which have been number one in sales with a large physical part in recent months.

Perseverance

“When we discovered Green with Isha, we believed in it and we worked for”explains Stan, manager of Green Montana. “It came to fruition by signing to 92i and now being number 1 on the top album in the first week. And that makes sense to me, given Green’s talent, and because we worked like crazy.”. And this public success of Green is also undoubtedly explained by his perseverance. Since his debut, the rapper from Verviers, in the province of Liège, has refined his low-voiced bad boy rap formula. Catchy melodies, almost mumbled and whispered on quite a few tracks, navigating between several trends in American and British rap. And for Stan, manager of the rapper, it is this bias that has borne these fruits. “He is uncompromising. When he decides not to articulate, it’s because he wants us to go find [ce qu’il rappe]“. And to add: “Today, there is a whole layer in his generation who loves it; who listens as much to guys from Atlanta, Memphis, Chicago, the Bronx as French rap. This whole community–There feels that Green, what he’s doing is America__”.

The time of success

Green’s style indeed stands out from other current French rap hits.. So much so that that of NOSTALGIA+ is not carried by an obvious hit, in the top 10 singles. “FUM22 NOCIVE”, which was a single from Green’s previous record, MELANCHOLIA 999took about ten months to be certified gold. For Stan, the whole singles release strategy is at stake: “I often say that singles are like windows that let you see what’s inside the house, and the house is the album. And it’s the choice of singles”WALDORF ASTORIA” and “PARFUM” which was very decisive, which allowed us to prepare the release of the album. And this choice of singles, Green submits it to Booba, they discuss there–on it, and we slice”. And can–be that Green Montana and SDM’s “Neymar” will also make his way to certification or a first place in the coming weeks.

Editor’s note: a previous version of the article as well as the podcast column indicated that the sales of NOSTALGIA+ were only made in streaming, which is inaccurate information. Our apologies for this error, corrected in the article.