Seth Gueko

Seth Gueko
Background information
Birth nameNicolas Salvadori
Also known asBarlou, Le Forain, Louis de Fitness, Professeur Punchline, Seth Guex, Shrek Gueko
Born (1980-10-27) 27 October 1980 (age 44)
Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, Île-de-France, France
GenresHip hop, French rap
Years active1998 – present
LabelsNéochrome

Nicolas Salvadori (French pronunciation: [nikɔla salvadɔʁi]; born 27 October 1980), better known by his stage name Seth Gueko (/ˈɡɛk/, French: [sɛt ɡeko]), is a French rapper. He has released two albums that have charted in France and a number of street albums and mixtapes.

Career

[edit]

Nicolas Salvadori was born in France of mixed Russian and Italian origin. He was discovered by independent rap label Néochrome in the early 2000s, appearing on Néochrome's compilation Néochrome Hall Stars Game featuring AlKpote and Zekwé Ramos, before releasing his first EP Mains Sales in 2004. He then worked on a number of EPs and street CDs with the Néochrome label before signing for EMI Music and later to East-West / Warner Music.

Seth Gueko's first studio album was "La Chevalière" on 4 May 2009 with Hostile Records, followed by the album "Michto" on 28 March 2011. On 6 May 2013, Gueko released album "Bad Cowboy".

Style

[edit]

Seth Gueko is well known for his skills in punchlines in his tracks full of references to various popular culture items. His emblematic track like "Shalom Salam Salut" is a reference to "Salut à toi", a famous track by alternative punk band Bérurier Noir. Track "Tapis moquette" has become a street anthem. His rap is also various linguistic influences using "parler banlieue", a contemporary Parisian lingo in addition to use of Romani (gypsy) languages (known as gitan), particularly "Manouche" of the nomadic Romani Tziganes, African lingala, Arabic language and also English language expressions. Using Verlan, a French argot in the French language, and a common slang language used by the youth featuring inversion of syllables in a word, many neologisms and onomatopoeia. His lyrics are full of humour and gimmicky phrases and newly invented words followed by fans. As influences he mentions popular French singer-songwriter Renaud, alternative punk band Bérurier Noir, French hip hop band 113 and French rock band Mano Negra.

He remains a vocal champion of the Romani community popularizing many of their expressions (bicrave, criave, bédave, michto, etc.) While imprisoned in 2010 for charges of voluntary violence, he met Mister You, eventually recording "Zoogatazblex (30 juin 2010)", talking about the day they met. The track is available on his album Michto. He doesn't escape from controversy calling himself. In his street album Le fils caché de Jack Mess' ( a hidden child of Jack Mess') is a reference to infamous criminal Jacques Mesrine. He also invited Dominique Alderweireld, allegedly involved in sexual scandals to appear on his music video "Dodo La Saumure" in reference to him. He is also popular on online social networks with his posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with his fans known as Gueko Youth and ZdededeGirlz.

Origin of name

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His pseudonym is from the character Seth Gecko played by George Clooney in the 1996 film From Dusk till Dawn directed by Robert Rodriguez. In the song "A.K.A." taken from his album La Chevalière, he also mentions that he named himself "Guy Georges Clooney" which is a reference both to Clooney but also to Guy Georges, a serial killer. He utilized the title in "J'marche avec ma clique" that featured Despo Rutti and is a track on his album Patate de forain.[citation needed]

Discography

[edit]
Seth Gueko live (2010)

Studio albums

[edit]
Year Album Peak positions
FRA
[1]
BEL
(Wa)

[2]

2009 La chevalière 12 88
2011 Michto 11 45
2013 Bad Cowboy 1 53
2015 Professeur Punchline 12 45
2016 Barlou 27
[3]
65
2019 Destroy 10 29
2022 Mange tes morts 12 51

Others

  • 2012: La chevalière / Les fils de Jack Mess (2CD package, reissue by EMI of earlier releases)

Maxi albums, street albums and mixtapes

[edit]
Year Title Type Peak positions
FRA
[1]
2004 Mains sales Maxi album  –
2007 Barillet plein Street album  –
2007 Patate de forain Mixtape 69
2008 Drive By en caravane Street album 42
Seth Gueko Street album  –
Les fils de Jack Mess Mixtape 85

EPs

[edit]
Year EP Peak positions
FRA
[1]
BEL
(Wa)

[2]

2021 Tel père tel fils
(Seth Gueko & Stosba)
 –  –

Singles

[edit]
Year Title Peak positions Album
FRA
[1]
2013 "Paranoïak" 57 Bad Cowboy
"Barbeuk"
2015 "Val d'Oseille" 97 Professeur Punchline
"Chintawaz"
(featuring Gradur)
82
"Seth Gueko Bar" 187[4]
"Titi Parisien" 38
2017 "C'est pas pareil"
(featuring Kaaris)
187
[5]
Barlou
Featured in
Year Single Charts Certification Album
FRA
2017 "Grand Paris"
(Médine feat. Lartiste, Lino, Sofiane, Alivor, Seth Gueko, Ninho & Youssoupha)
64
[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d LesCharts.com: Seth Gueko discography
  2. ^ a b Ultratop 40: Seth Gueko discography
  3. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes - SNEP (Week 47, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP". www.snepmusique.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-24.
  5. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 4, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 9, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 4 March 2017.