Boumidjal, in Paris, in April 2024. FIFOU/AGENCE MPC
"Booouuumiii!" The shout hardly goes unnoticed. You can hear it at the start of many hits from the French rap scene: "Pa Pa Paw" by Damso, "Faut Pas" by PLK and Jul, or "Zou Bisou" by Theodora. To find out who is behind this intriguing sonic signature, it's necessary to dig into the credits of French rap tracks.
"Boumi" is short for Boumidjal, a French producer who, over the past 10 years, has been behind more than 600 compositions, many of them hits. Like many beatmakers, he leaves this sonic signature, also known as a "tag," at the start of most of his productions, as a kind of calling card. And while millions in France have already heard the tracks created by Boumidjal, few have seen his face, as he always appears masked in public, including in his appearance in 2025 on the talent show Nouvelle Ecole on Netflix.
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