| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Real Name | Abderraouf Deradji |
| Other Name | MC Sool |
| Profession | Rapper |
| Physical Stats | |
| Height (approx.) | 5' 10" (178 cm) |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Career | |
| Debut | Studio Album: 'Fruit du Démon' (2018) |
| Awards |   |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 10 December 1989 (Sunday) |
| Age (as of 2024) | 35 Years |
| Birthplace | El Hammamet, Algiers, Algeria |
| Zodiac sign | Sagittarius |
| Nationality | Algerian |
| Hometown | El Hammamet |
| Religion | Islam |
| Social Media | • Instagram • YouTube |
| Family | |
| Parents |  |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Soolking
- He was raised by his parents in a middle-class household.
Soolking’s childhood photo
- Soolking’s father was a percussionist/drummer when he was in his early twenties, which inspired Derradji to try it out himself, and Soolking began performing at a young age in a rock band that combined music and dance.
- While growing up in grew up in Algiers, his childhood was marked by hanging out with Parisian youth who listened to French rap from Booba, Rohff, Lino, to Kaaris, while also being surrounded by multiple Maghrebian music forms. This double culture made him who he is.
- In 2008, he moved to France on a three-month visa in an attempt to catch his big break. During his short time in the country, he slept on the streets and on friends’ couches.
- Later went back to Algeria to join the rap group Africa Jungle. Soolking began his artistic journey in dance after moving to France, but later transitioned to music.
- According to him, growing up in Algeria’s capital city, Algiers, was a real enrichment and life experience for him.
- Soolking used to use the name ‘MC Sool’ until 2013 before adopting his new stage name.
- His music involves many different genres of music, and some of them include reggae, soul, hip-hop, and Algerian raï.
- In 2013, Soolking moved back to France, and he stated that the reason behind leaving his hometown and living in France was that his dream was to succeed in music. According to him, France gave him that opportunity.
- According to him, he was sure that an artist’s life in Europe would be much better than an artist’s life in Algeria. He was sure of that all throughout. However, he arrived in France without the necessary documentation to stay there.
- Recalling the challenges he faced after moving to France, Soolking was quoted as saying in one of his interviews that
I had no papers. I had no house. I had no food. I was sleeping on the streets. It was very difficult at the beginning. First, I had to find work ‘on the black,’ as we say here — meaning you’re working without papers. Once I started to get some money, I could pay rent on a room here in Paris. After that I managed to get my papers, and was a bit more stable.”
- He began his solo career in 2016 and signed with Affranchis Music, a label started by the French rapper named Sofiane.
- Soolking’s first hits were ‘Milano’ (2018) and ‘Guérilla’ (2018). Later, he became very popular with ‘Dalida’ (2018), which was a song that pays tribute to the French singer Dalida and uses a sample from her famous track ‘Paroles, paroles’ (1973).
Soolking in a still from his French song titled ‘Dalida’ (2018)
- In 2016, he started his self-named YouTube channel and started posting his songs on the same. His YouTube channel holds more than 10 million subscribers, as of 2025.
- In 2018, he performed his French song titled ‘Guérilla’ live on Skyrock FM when a friend invited him onto a radio show. His live performance made him well-known in the music world and got him more than three hundred sixty-six million views on Skyrock FM’s YouTube channel.
Soolking in a still from his live performance on the Skyrock FM in 2018
- In 2019, Soolking released a French song titled ‘Liberté.’ The original song was by Ouled El Bahdja, which was a group known for making music in football stadiums. Soolking wrote new lyrics, updated the music with them, and turned it from a stadium chant into an international hit.
Soolking in a still from his French song titled ‘Liberté’ (2019)
- In the same year, Soolking’s music became a source of pride for Algerians, who were then protesting for months after their president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s candidacy for a fifth presidential term.
- Even after Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down, young people kept demanding a better life. With most Algerians under 30, many want new voices that understand them, and that happened to be Soolking’s voice and his songs for them.
- His song titled ‘Liberté’ became an unofficial anthem of the protests. Talking about his experience of witnessing it, Soolking was quoted as saying in one of his interviews that
I went to Algeria last year and saw the protests one Friday, where thousands of people flooded the streets, young people passionately belting out the lyrics to this song, waving the Algerian flag. That is a poignant memory.”
- Soolking is considered the successor of many Algerian musicians such as Cheb Khaled, Cheb Hasni, and Cheb Mami.
- In August 2019, Soolking had a big concert at the Stade 20 Août 1955 stadium in Mohamed Belouizdad, Algiers, Algeria, with other French artists like L’Algérino, Fianso, Alonzo, and Dhurata Dora.
- During the concert, five people died in a stampede while entering the stadium. Soolking said he would have stopped the show if he had known. One reason for the tragedy was that too many tickets were sold for the stadium’s size.
- He takes inspiration from various genres and musical artists, such as the traditional music of Algeria, like raï, American rap, French rap, reggae music, pop music like Michael Jackson, and jazz.
- He’s one of the biggest pop stars in the world who doesn’t mainly sing in English. Still, he has many English-speaking fans and has performed in North America many times, even at New York’s famous Apollo Theatre.
- As a kid, he did martial arts and acrobatics, then got into breakdancing and later all kinds of professional dance. He still trains in dance today, as of 2025.
- He produces music, but he works with a lot of producers as well. He also writes all his own lyrics. Additionally, he does 90 per cent of all his melodies. But he also loves to work with people and tries to take a little bit from their inspiration and mix it with his inspiration.
- Soolking has released 4 studio albums as of 2025, and they are ‘Fruit du démon’ (2018), ‘Vintage’ (2020), ‘Sans visa’ (2022), and ‘Africa Jungle Part 1’ (2025).
Soolking on the cover of his fourth studio album titled ‘Africa Jungle Part 1’ (2025)
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