Le monde de demain

Set in the 80s and early 90s, Le Monde De Demain is a well crafted biopic on major - not to say legendary - (Paris area based) french rap band NTM and DJ Dee Nasty, and how Hip-Hop culture took roots in France (then again, in Paris and around only, apart from a couple mentions of other rap crews in other cities).

The casting and performances are very good, script is solid, dialogues are right on. I binged it all (couldn't help myself) and wasn't disappointed to say the least. The series focus on characters, and environment as a factor is quite subtle, but present throughout the series nonetheless. Viewers out of France or unfamiliar with french politics at the time could easily miss subtle nods to society-defining events, thankfully the solid distribution and steady rhythm covering more or less ten years manage to capture the zeitgeist of this era and set the proper atmosphere to better understand how hip-hop was the right answer to questions asked by an entire generation, point is made as second-gen immigrant kids from the blocks end up hanging out with rich kids from center Paris to watch TV documentaries on this rising culture. Graffiti, breakdance, DJing, rapping, clothing and overall mentality are all there and well represented.

As a frenchman who grew up in the 90s I found this series to be very convincing, and give it a solid 8/10, and I do think Arte (franco-german TV channel) is responsible for the je-ne-sais-quoi that makes this mayonnaise take.

I quite hope there will be the Marseille counterpart focusing on IAM, the other major rap band in France, with an equal quality in the script and the making.

And important story of one of the most iconic hip hop groups from France. Great up and coming story of how NTM was born. Overall, the series has great elements and moments that take you back to the 1980s. However, at times the music does not match the era in certain scenes. 90s hip hop can be heard while it suppose to be mid 80s. This becomes clear for instance in the 2nd episode when the girl is listening on her walkman. That is clearly 90s boombap. It does not make any sense if we follow a timeline of hip hop culture. By 1983 Def Jam records would take over, so LL Cool J, Beastie Boys etc...