Abderraouf Derradji (Arabic: عبد الرؤوف درّاجي; born 10 December 1989), known professionally as Soolking, is an Algerian singer and rapper. He started his career under the pseudonym MC Sool until 2013 before adopting his new stage name. He incorporates reggae, soul, hip-hop and Algerian raï in his music.
Soolking | |
|---|---|
 Soolking in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Abderraouf Derradji |
| Also known as | MC Sool |
| Born | 10 December 1989 El Hammamet, Algiers, Algeria |
| Genres | Hip hop music, raï music, soul music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, rapper |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Capitol, Universal |
Life and career
Derradji was born in Algeria in a northern suburb of the capital Algiers, also known as Staouali. His father was a percussionist and he started very young in a rock band that incorporated music and dance. He arrived in France in 2008 but returned to Algeria to join the Algerian rap group Africa Jungle. The band released two albums.
He started his solo career in 2016 and is signed to the label Affranchis Music launched by Sofiane. He had initial success with 'Milano' and 'Guérilla' before achieving phenomenal success with 'Dalida',[1] an homage to the singer Dalida, sampling her hit "Paroles, paroles".[2] On November 2, 2018, Soolking released his debut solo album, Fruit du démon, which was certified Gold in France. The singles "Guérilla" and "Dalida" were certified Platinum.He released his second studio album, Vintage, in 2020.[3] On 26 May 2022, he released Sans visa, his third album.[4]
2019 accident
On August 23, 2019, Soolking held a large concert at Stade 20 Août 1955, accompanied by L'Algérino, Fianso, Alonzo, and Dhurata Dora.[5] During the entrance to the stadium, five people died due to the stampede. Soolking said after the concert that if he had known what happened he would have cancelled the concert. One of the reasons for the accident was that more tickets were sold than the stadium's capacity could accommodate. [6]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [7] | BEL (Fl) [8] | BEL (Wa) [9] | NLD [10] | SWI [11] | |||
| 2018 | Fruit du démon | 5 | 70 | 7 | 57 | 32 | |
| 2020 | Vintage | 3 | 31 | 5 | 38 | 12 |
|
| 2022 | Sans visa | 2 | 136 | 9 | — | 25 | |
Singles
As lead artist
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [7] | AUT | BEL (Wa) [9] | BEL (Fl) [8] | GER | ITA [13] | SWI [11] | ||||
| 2018 | "Milano" | 157 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Fruits du démon | |
| "Guérilla" | 33 | – | 13* (Ultratip) | – | – | – | – |
| ||
| "Dalida" | 11 | – | 3* (Ultratip) | – | – | – | – |
| ||
| 2019 | "Bébé allô" | 158 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Non-album single | |
| 2020 | "Meleğim" (featuring Dadju) | 2 | – | 26 | 40* (Ultratip) | – | – | 52 | Vintage | |
| "Hayati" (featuring Mero) | 165 | 31 | – | – | 10 | – | 23 | |||
| "Rockstar II" | 150 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Vintage Gearforth | ||
| "Jennifer" (remix) (feat. Lynda, Heuss, L'Algérino, Franglish) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 2021 | "Fada" | 127 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Sans visa | |
| "Mal à la tête" 4.4.2 - Soolking X Heuss l'Enfoiré | 65 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Non-album single | ||
| "Bye Bye" Soolking X Tayc | 50 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Sans visa | ||
| 2022 | "Suavemente" (solo or featuring Boro Boro) | 1 | – | 5 | 22 | – | 17 | 6 | ||
| "Balader" (featuring Niska) | 2 | – | 22 | – | – | – | 72 | |||
| 2023 | "Après vous madame" (with Gims) | 74 | – | 46 | – | – | – | – | Non-album singles | |
| "Casanova" (with Gazo) | 1 | – | 3 | – | – | 40 [16] | 7 | |||
As featured artist
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [7] | BEL (Wa) [9] | SWI [11] | ||||
| 2017 | "Ajajaj" (Mert feat. Soolking) | 56 | ||||
| 2018 | "Madame courage" (Sofiane feat. Soolking) | 35 | ||||
| "Vai nova" (YL feat. Soolking) | 38 | |||||
| "Favela" (Naps feat. Soolking) | 38 | Tip | ||||
| "Adios" (L'Algérino feat. Soolking) | 100 |
| ||||
| "Woah" (Sofiane feat. Vald, Mac Tyer, Soolking, Kalash Criminel, Sadek & Heuss l'Enfoiré) | 7 | 12* (Ultratip) |
| 93 Empire album 93 Empire | ||
| "Savage" (Kalash Criminel feat. Soolking) | 85 | |||||
| "Come vai" (Jul feat. Soolking) | 33 | |||||
| 2019 | "Zemër" (Dhurata Dora feat. Soolking) | 21 [17] | 6* (Ultratip) | 13 |
| |
| "Benda" (Heuss l'Enfoiré feat. Soolking) | 23 |
| Heuss l'Enfoiré album En Esprit | |||
| "Maladie" (Lacrim feat. Soolking) | 15 |
| Lacrim album Lacrim | |||
| "Dans mon délire" (Black M feat. Heuss L'Enfoiré & Soolking) | 138 | 15 | Lacrim album Lacrim | |||
| 2020 | "T'es allée où?" (Leto feat. Soolking) | 74 | Leto album 100 visages | |||
| "Pas la peine" (Sifax feat. Soolking) | 150 | Sifax album La mentale | ||||
| "Luna" (Lynda feat. Soolking) | 70 | Lynda album Papillon | ||||
| "Unité" (Dadju - Hatik - Soolking - Imen Es) | 59 | |||||
| 2021 | "Aquí" (with AriBeatz and Ozuna) | – | 45* (Ultratip) | |||
| "Bebeto" (Kendji Girac with Soolking) | 45 | 13 | Kendji Girac album Mi vida | |||
| "Nouveaux parrains" (Sofiane with Soolking) | 42 | Sofiane album La direction | ||||
| "Dinero" (Alonzo with Soolking) | 118 | Alonzo album Capo dei capi - Vol. II & III | ||||
| "Amiga" (Niro with Soolking) | 137 | |||||
| "Tagada " (Naps feat. Le Rat Luciano & Soolking) | 184 | Naps album Les mains faites pour l'or | ||||
Other charting songs
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [7] | ||||
| 2018 | "Rockstar" | 36 | Fruit du démon | |
| "Bambina" | 50 | |||
| "Amsterdam" | 42 | |||
| "Gucci" | 90 | |||
| "Tata" | 51 | |||
| "Vroom vroom" | 30 | |||
| "HLM" | 84 | |||
| "Chica" | 86 | |||
| "Youv" | 64 | |||
| "Paradise" | 122 | |||
| "Cosa nostra" (feat. Sofiane, Lacrim) | 39 | |||
| "Mirage" (feat. Khaled) | 74 | |||
| "Fruit de la zone" (feat. Jul) | 90 | |||
| 2019 | "Liberté" | 195 | ||
| "Espérance" | 119 | |||
| 2020 | "Ça fait des années" (feat. Cheb Mami) | 34 | Vintage | |
| "La Kichta" (feat. Heuss l'Enfoiré) | 47 |
| ||
| "Chihuahua" (feat. Gambi) | 65 | |||
| "CNLZ" (feat. Jul & Kliff) | 68 | |||
| "Maryline" (feat. SCH) | 70 | |||
| "Marbella" | 123 | |||
| "Vida loca 2" | 142 | |||
| "Corbeau" | 162 | |||
| "On ira" (feat. 13 Block) | 174 | |||
| "Wahda" | 183 | |||
| "Solo" | 195 | |||
| "Dangereuse" | 196 | |||
| 2022 | "Askim" | 70 [18] |
