Although
MC Solaar was the only French rapper of note during the '90s, several hip-hop production crews made inroads in the quintessentially American style, including
DJ Cam,
the Mighty Bop, and
La Funk Mob. The latter team was formed by
Boom Bass and
Philippe Zdar in the early '90s, though
Boom Bass had worked with
Solaar on his first two solo albums, weaving samples from
Black Sheep to
Serge Gainsbourg. The act debuted with a track on the 1993 compilation album Jimmy Jay Présente 'Les Cool Sessions' and signed to Britain's seminal Mo'Wax for two 1994 EPs,
Tribulations Extra Sensorielles and Casse les Frontieres, Fou les Têtes en L'air ("Breaking Boundaries, Messing Up Heads"). Little was heard from the duo during 1997-1998, though two side-projects (
Motorbass and
L'homme Qui Valait 3 Milliard) saw release, and
Boom Bass again provided production work for
MC Solaar on his third album,
Paradisiaque. The duo resurfaced as
Cassius in 1999 for the purpose of French progressive house.
–
John Bush, Rovi