No Papers, No House, Then a Pop Star

Soolking, whose real name is Abderraouf Derradji, grew up in Algeria and began as a drummer in a rock band, partly inspired by his father, who had also played drums in a band. He also trained in martial arts, acrobatics, breakdancing and professional dance, and as a teenager he toured internationally with a dance company.

He believed that an artist's life in Europe would be better than in Algeria, and he moved to France without the papers he needed to stay. The title of his album Sans Visa refers to this. He told Arab News that at first he had no papers, no house and no food, and that he slept on the streets. The article does not say how long this lasted, only that those first years were about survival and not about art.

He found informal work that did not require documents and used the money to rent a room in Paris. Later he obtained his papers, which brought more stability and allowed him to concentrate on music.

His break came when a friend invited him onto a radio show. There he freestyled a rap called Guerilla, which spread widely online. He recalled being shocked by the reaction.

Since 2018, Arab News reports, his music has reached around 8 billion streams. The video for his song Suavamente has passed 143 million views on YouTube, and in May 2022 he performed at the Apollo Theater in New York. His path runs from a young man sleeping outdoors in Paris without documents to one of the best-known Algerian voices in French-language pop and rap.