The group takes its name from the French slang "NTM", an abbreviation for "Nique Ta Mère" ("Nique" being an aphesis of the verb "forniquer", "to fornicate") meaning "Fuck Your Mother". NTM is known for their hostility towards the police, violent lyrics, and legal battles with the French authorities. Their musical style is predominately hardcore rap, although later albums include funk, soul and reggae influences.
The group is outspokenly critical of racism and class inequality in French society, and while their earlier music is violent, some of their later work, such as "Pose ton Gun" ("Put down your Gun"), is explicitly anti-violent.
In 1998, the group released its last album of original material under the NTM moniker, as both Joey Starr and Kool Shen started their own labels, promoting new bands and branching out in other fields such as the clothing industry (2High is Kool Shen's brand, Com-8 is Joey Starr's).
While officially the band still exists, and its well-known name was used in 2001 to promote a 'duel' album pitting the two label's artists against each other, Kool Shen was quoted in 2004 saying "on a fini avec NTM en 98" ("We were done with NTM in 1998").
The group is known for its gritty, dark and sometimes violent lyrics, as well as for the contrast between the two rapper's styles. While Joey Starr (also known as Jaguar Gorgonne and Double-R) has a relatively slow flow, aggressive lyrics and a deep, booming voice (which he sometimes uses to yell such as in "Pose ton Gun"), Kool Shen has a funkier flow as well as witty and rather melancolic lyrics.
On October 20, 2022, the Franco-German TV channel "arte" started broadcasting the six-part TV series "Le Monde de Demain", which covers the early years of NTM.
Intro
Suprême NTM Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hé Lebrun, t'as entendu ?
Oh, qu'est-ce que t'as encore toi ?
Ben, t'as pas entendu le cri ?
Quel cri, non j'ai rien entendu j'tais avec le central
Mais pourquoi, ça v'nait d'où ton cri ?
Oh mais c'est pas vrai,
Qu'est-ce que c'est que s'bordel ?
C'est eux, c'est eux, j'te dis qu'c'est eux
Oh putain, mais qu'est-ce qu'on fout merde
Y faut du renfort
Il faut qu'on appel du monde (écho)
The Intro by Suprême NTM starts with a conversation between two individuals, Lebrun and another person. They hear a cry and Lebrun, at first, didn't hear anything as he was with someone from the central. However, they come to realize that it is a distress call and they need backup. The panic is palpable in their voices as they urgently try to call for reinforcements. The urgency and tension in their voices can be attributed to the fact that the song is, in fact, an introduction to a journey into a world of violence, struggle, and political issues, which are the hallmarks of Suprême NTM's music.
The song lays the groundwork for the themes that are explored in Suprême NTM's music. As pioneers of French rap, Suprême NTM paved the way for a new wave of political hip-hop, which focused on issues such as poverty, discrimination, and social injustice. The lyrics suggest that the cry might be a call for help from someone who is a victim of these issues. The song's message is a call to action for society to recognize and address these issues.
Line by Line Meaning
C'est quoi s'truc là ?
What is happening here?
Hé Lebrun, t'as entendu ?
Hey Lebrun, did you hear that?
Oh, qu'est-ce que t'as encore toi ?
Oh, what do you want now?
Ben, t'as pas entendu le cri ?
Well, didn't you hear the scream?
Quel cri, non j'ai rien entendu j'tais avec le central
What scream? No, I didn't hear anything, I was with the control center
Mais pourquoi, ça v'nait d'où ton cri ?
But why, where did the scream come from?
Oh mais c'est pas vrai,
Oh, this can't be happening,
Qu'est-ce que c'est que s'bordel ?
What kind of mess is this?
Alors t'as entendu là
So you heard it then,
C'est eux, c'est eux, j'te dis qu'c'est eux
It's them, I'm telling you, it's them
Oh putain, mais qu'est-ce qu'on fout merde
Oh fuck, what the hell are we doing
Y faut du renfort
We need backup
Il faut qu'on appel du monde (écho)
We need to call for help (echo)
Contributed by Grayson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Juju-ns3ek
Du bonheur de réécouter cet album rien ne bouge 🔥🔥🔥
@nael_drd923
Même en 2023 ça fait plus que kiffer 💪💪💪
@Flo-TWADS
Une des meilleur intro du rap fr ! Tu rentre direct dans l'ambiance de l'album
@nmtd195
👍🤙
@Frdtlz
''la''' meilleur.... de loin
@___Tiger___
Carrément!!! Et le son derrière direct avec la basse pour te mettre d'accord 😉😉😉
@sebastiencaube-salles5350
1998 / j'avais 13ans quel album quel puissance énorme rien à dire à part
N.T.M
@amberblackfire3872
moi j avais 0ans 🤣
@Eltony51815
LA pierre angulaire du Rap français. LE meilleur album de rap français de tous les temps en ce qui me concerne. Un monument. Et cette intro qui me rappelle un peu le film LEON de Luc Besson ...
@matheolardenois5322
de l'or cette album