MC Solaar is a popular and influential rapper from Dakar, Senegal, and he raps in french. This official Sonotone music video, alone, raked in over 10 million views on Youtube. The title of the song, sonotone, is a device placed on the ear to amplify sounds for people that are hard of hearing. I discovered how fitting this name was after reading the english subtitled lyrics.
The first verse of the song goes to long length to explain how old he is by describing his salt and pepper hair, his aching joints and pains, and his different test and examinations when he visits his physician. This is all occuring as he is walking through a party alone. MC Solaar also starts to explain that the younger generation sometimes mocks him for his age and doesn’t respect the hussle that got him to the heights thats he has achieved in music. The way I interepreted the title of the song is that MC Solaar may be an old man, but he then transitions to say that he is the old man that will turn up the young folks with his music – like a sonotone amplifies sound for deaf people.
By the second verse the lyrics switch from self pity into confidence and vibrance. The beat speeds up and MC Solaar starts engaging in more lively actions with the party around him. There are also slight wardrobe additions that contribute to a more youthful image for the artist. The shift in the background moves from he is alone at this party to the party is revolving around him and dancing to his music. Between the two verses there is this confusing part in the music video where MC Solaar is surrounded by crawling people wearing masks. This part of the video is not only confusing but it actually also scares me a little. However, overall this music video is well composed and I was thoroughly entertained.