Neg Marrons

Nèg'Marrons, sometimes styled Neg' Marrons or Neg'Marrons, is a French reggae, hip-hop and ragga group from Garges-lès-Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise.

The members come from Martinique (Djamatik), Cape Verde (Jacky Brown) and the Republic of the Congo (Ben-J). The Nèg' Marrons are the dancehall representatives of Secteur Ä, a former music collective from Garges-Sarcelles and Villiers-le-Bel, which produced the rappers Doc Gynéco, Passi, Stomy Bugsy, Lino, Calbo and MC Janik.

Formed in 1995, the group took part in the soundtrack of Thomas Gilou's film Raï. Two years later, it released its first album, Rue Case Nègres, in 1997. The Nèg' Marrons returned in 2000 with the album Le Bilan, produced by Tyrone Downie. In 2003, a third album came out, titled Héritage. Seven years after their last appearance, the Nèg' Marrons returned with their fifth album, Valeurs sûres, in April 2016.

According to Surlmag, « The Neg Marrons have passed through the ages with hits that got France dancing, and well beyond the rap audience alone. Nobody can deny that Jacky and Ben-J wrote part of the history of French hip-hop, both musically with their inimitable blend of rap and reggae and as activists of a culture they have always defended. » For RFI Musique, « the Sarcelles collective [has] become an empire of French rap. »