Nessbeal

A mainstay of the thriving Gallic hip-hop scene since the late '90s, French-Moroccan rapper Nessbeal achieved fame as part of a duo and a collective before embarking on a successful solo career. Born Nabil Selhy in Boulogne-Billancourt in 1978, he moved to Villiers Sur Marne after his parents divorced, and after honing his MC skills, joined rappers Zesau and Koriaz to form Dicidens, who recorded several EPs and the 2000 debut album HLM Rezidants (released in 2004 due to distribution problems) before disbanding. In 1999, he became part of the Hauts-de-Seine collective 92I alongside the likes of Mala, Ali, and Booba, but after appearing on the latter's first two solo albums, he left to concentrate on his own material. Following the release of street CD NE2SBEAL, he went on to release four studio efforts, La Melodie des Briques (2006), Rois Sans Couronne (2008), NE2S (2010), and Sélection Naturelle (2011), and teamed up with brother Dedy to set up his own record label, Verbal Brolik. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi