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Youssef Soukouna (born 20 April 1981 in Goutte d'Or, Paris), better known by his stage name Sefyu (French pronunciation: ?[s?'fju\], his first name in verlan), is a French rapper of Senegalese descent.
He comes from Aulnay-sous-Bois (“Cité des Emmaüs”), a city in the French department of Seine-Saint-Denis (Northern suburbs of Paris).
Sefyu originally aspired to become a professional soccer player, but his dream was derailed after he sustained an injury.
He emerged on the hip-hop scene in the early 2000s.BiographySefyu played for a long time as a left-winger in football.
He trained with Arsenal.A member of the crews “NCC” (Natural Court Circuit –“ Natural Short Circuit”) and “G-Huit”, he started his ascent to fame by rapping with Rohff on his album La Fierté des nôtres, released in June 2004.He has worked with a vast array of French rappers, including Moystaff du Bengale, Nemesis, Ritmo, La K-Bine crew, Passi, Sniper, Daddy Lord C.
He performed publicly in 2001 at the Francofolies de la Rochelle.In 2005, he released a « street CD » entitled « Molotov 4 », produced by Kore et Skalp.
In April 2006, Sefyu released his first album, Qui Suis-je ? (“Who Am I ?”).
Sefyu’s style his characterised by a few features: a deep, husky voice, and a range of unique phrases (“Crrr!”, an onomatopoeia imitating the sound of a gun being cocked; “Crouille”, French slang for “riffraff”; “undercover”...
).
Some of his songs belong to the hardcore hip-hop genre (i.e.: “La vie qui va avec”), whereas some others are inspired by R’n’B music (i.e.: “Un point c’est tout”).His 2007 song “”Lettre du Front” (Letter from the Frontline) was released on R’n’b singer Kenza Farah’s album.On May 12, 2008, Sefyu released his second album, « Suis-je le gardien de mon frère? » (Am I my brother’s keeper ?).
Before its release, Sefyu made a few acclaimed singles (“Mon Public”, “Molotov 4”, “Au pays du zahef”) which contributed to the album’s commercial success: according to Planète Rap Magazine, 106,453 copies of Sefyu’s second album were sold in France in 2008.
On March 1, 2009, Sefyu won the Victoire de la Musique Award, in the category “Revelation of the year” .Sefyu seldom shows his face, and often hides it by wearing a hoody, by hiding it with his fist, a ski mask, or his fitted hat.
The reason for this is twofold: as an homage to the "caillera style", and another, more personal reason: his father did not want him to become a rapper, and by not showing his face he shows deference to his father.