Médine (rapper)

Médine
Médine in concert at Sevran
Médine in concert at Sevran
Background information
Also known asArabian Panther, Boulehya
Born
Médine Zaouiche

(1983-02-24) 24 February 1983
Le Havre, Seine-Maritime
GenresFrench rap, political hip hop
OccupationRapper
Years active2002-present
LabelDin Records

Médine Zaouiche (French pronunciation: [medin zawiʃ]; born 24 February 1983 in Le Havre), better known by his stage name Médine (French for Medina), is a French rapper. He has been a part of the hip hop band La Boussole since 1996. Médine is a practicing Muslim, and many of his lyrics deal with the hardships of migrants, oppressed individuals, and Muslims in the Western world. One article he wrote for Time magazine after the 2005 riots was entitled "How Much More French Can I Be".[1]

Biography

Origins and youth

His father, born in Algeria, arrived in France when he was four years old. He worked as an employee in a packaging company and as a semi-professional boxer then trainer. His mother was born in France. A stay-at-home mother, she then became a childminder. Médine grew up in Le Havre, in Caucriauville.

Médine France and tour

In May 2022, Médine released his album Médine France on 13 May and announced a tour of France. The tour will begin at festivals on 4 June and will notably pass through the Casino of Paris on 19 October 2022.[2]

Discography

Projects

Year Album Peak positions Certifications
FRA
[3]		 BEL
(Wa)
[4]		 SWI
[5]
2004 11 Septembre (Récit du 11ème jour) — — —
2005 Jihad (Le plus grand combat est contre soi-même) — — —
2006 Table d'écoute 115 — —
2008 Don't Panik Tape 30 — —
Arabian Panther 30 — —
2011 Table d'écoute 2 28 81 —
2012 Made In 117 — —
2013 Protest Song 9 25 82
2015 Démineur 54 46 —
2017 Prose élite 11 29 39
2018 Storyteller 10 16 37
2020 Grand Médine 4 15 47
2022 Médine France 4 29 59
2025 Stentor: Act I — 188 —

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
FRA
[3]		 BEL
(Wa)
[4]		 SWI
[5]
2012 "Biopic"
(featuring Kayna Samet)		 143 — —
2016 "Rappeur de force" 136 — — Prose élite
"Global" 173
[6]		 — —
2017 "Grand Paris"
(featuring Lartiste, Lino, Sofiane, Alivor, Seth Gueko, Ninho & Youssoupha)		 64
[7]		 — —
2018 "Kyll"
(Médine x Booba)		 2 34 62 Non-album single
2020 "Grand Paris 2"
(feat. Koba LaD, Pirate, Larry, Oxmo Puccino & Rémy)		 — — —

Controversies

In January 2014, Médine posted two photos of himself on Facebook performing a Quenelle, one in front of the Skyrock offices and another in front of a replica of the Bethlehem separation wall.[8] In September 2014, he attended a conference by Kémi Séba, political activist and leader of the antisemitic group Ka tribe at the Main d'Or theater.[9] In 2015, he displayed one of Kémi Séba's books in the music video for Don't Laïk. A few years later, he expressed regret for those actions and said that he had made an error in judgment.[10]

In 2015, Médine's song "Don't Laïk" led to domestic controversy because of its criticism of French secularism (laïcité) and lyrics targeting public figures such as Nadine Morano, Jean-François Copé, and Pierre Cassen. Writer and journalist Caroline Fourest and political scientist and Arabist Gilles Kepel, among other critics, said that the song was hostile to secular values and contributed to tensions around religion and national identity in France.[11] Médine responded that the lyrics had been taken out of context and said that the song was meant to defend secularism and promote non-violence.[12]

In 2018, a second domestic political controversy involved Médine's announcement of planned concerts at the Bataclan, a Paris venue associated with the November 2015 terrorist attacks. Several right and far-right politicians such as Marine Le Pen and Laurent Wauquiez said that the concerts should be cancelled, citing earlier lyrics from his songs "Jihad" (2005) and "Don't Laïk" (2015), which they said are provocative in light of the venue's history. The concerts were relocated to a different Paris venue.[13][14]

In February 2021, French politician Aurore Bergé referred to Médine as a "rappeur islamiste". Médine filed a defamation lawsuit against her with the goal of receiving a public retraction and apology. In 2022, he lost the case when the court ruled that the statement did not refer to a specific factual allegation so could not constitute defamation under French law.[15][16]

In August 2023, Médine faced controversy after referring to French-Gambian artist and writer Rachel Khan as "resKHANpée: someone who has been thrown out of the hip hop scene, drifting among social traitors and literally eating at the table of the far right,” in a post on X. The remark was widely criticized as antisemitic because Khan is Jewish and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors.[17] Khan denounced the rapper's “hateful words,” calling him a “repeat offender”.[18] Médine later apologized, saying that the comment was "a mistake" that did not reference Khan'a "origin or family history", and added that "antisemitism is poison" that he "fights".[19] Some politicians criticized EELV and La France Insoumise for inviting Médine to their summer universities and called for the invitation to be rescinded. The invitations were upheld[20][10], while Jeanne Barseghian, Pierre Hurmic, Karima Delli canceled their participation in the event, entirely or specifically.[21]

While Médine has stated that his support for same-sex marriage is evidence of his opposition to homophobia,[22] in 2023, the association ADHEOS cited earlier comments attributed to him in an interview on Ptit Delire TV in which he distinguished between a "spiritual position" opposing same-sex marriage and a "civic and social position" supporting equal treatment under the law.[23][24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Medine (November 6, 2005). "How Much More French Can I Be". Time. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  2. ↑ HAVANNEWS (6 May 2022). "Rapper Médine announces a tour throughout France". Time. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Medine discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Medine discography". ultratop.be/fr/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Medine discography". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 49, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 9, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  8. ↑ StreetPress. "Le rap français part en quenelle". StreetPress (in French). Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  9. ↑ StreetPress. "A la Main d'Or, Kémi Séba fait ovationner le rappeur Médine". StreetPress (in French). Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  10. 1 2 "Médine, un rappeur polémique dans la tourmente politique" (in French). 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  11. ↑ "Médine et le débat autour de "Don't Laïk"". Le Monde. 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Médine répond aux critiques sur "Don't Laïk"". Libération. 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "French Muslim rapper calls off shows at Bataclan after protests". The Guardian. 22 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "French Muslim rapper cancels shows at Bataclan amid far-right protests". France 24. 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  15. ↑ "Le rappeur Médine perd son procès en diffamation contre Aurore Bergé". Le Monde. 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  16. ↑ "Médine débouté dans son action en diffamation contre Aurore Bergé". Libération. 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "Le rappeur Médine se défend après un message jugé antisémite". Le Figaro (in French). 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  18. ↑ "« Médine est un multirécidiviste de paroles de haine » : Rachel Khan s'exprime après le tweet du rappeur". Le HuffPost (in French). 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  19. ↑ "Polémique Médine : le rappeur assure "combattre l'antisémitisme" et évoque des "erreurs"". www.tf1info.fr (in French). 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  20. ↑ "Du tweet antisémite du rappeur Médine à la reconnaissance de son "erreur", on vous résume la polémique qui divise la classe politique". Franceinfo (in French). 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  21. ↑ "Médine : la maire de Strasbourg Jeanne Barseghian et le maire de Bordeaux Pierre Hurmic ne se rendront pas aux journées d'été d'EELV". Franceinfo (in French). 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  22. ↑ "Médine évoque sa position sur le mariage pour tous". Source. 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Analyse des positions publiques de Médine". ADHEOS. 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Interview de Médine sur Ptit Delire TV". 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
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