Can L’École du Micro d’Argent Teach Us About Inequality and Change?

How does Nés sous la même étoile challenge our perception of fate?

I AM is a French hip-hop band, and I deeply appreciated their best-selling album, L’École du Micro d’Argent (The School of the Silver Mic), when it was released in 1997. Some pop culture references, like Star Wars and Dragon Ball, made my 12-year-old self smile, though the overall tone of the lyrics remains dark, acting as a critique of society, inequality, and the struggles of the suburbs—a long-standing issue in France.

Nés sous la même étoile (Born Under the Same Star) is a song that starkly contrasts the lives of the rich and the poor, painting a somber yet realistic picture of this divide. Children do not choose to be born into poverty—or to be born at all, for that matter. I once believed that such realities were unavoidable, that poverty and suffering were simply part of life. But history shows that education has the power to shift mindsets and, ultimately, to reduce poverty. While governmental policies and the actions of wealthy individuals are undeniably crucial, even personal efforts in promoting education can have an impact. We may not have asked to be born, especially not into hardship, as the song states, but since we are here, why not strive to set a positive example, particularly for the next generation?

Does Demain c’est loin reveal a universal cycle of struggle?

The final track of the album, Demain c’est loin (Tomorrow is Far), is a hauntingly powerful reflection on life in the suburbs, where merely surviving the present—amid poverty, crime, and violence—is an achievement in itself. This constant struggle leaves little time or opportunity to think about the future. The song’s theme extends beyond France, mirroring the larger global structure of inequality, where the division between rich and poor nations echoes the disparity between privileged and underprivileged neighborhoods.

What do you think? Can music like L’École du Micro d’Argent inspire real change, or does it simply serve as a reflection of an unchangeable reality?

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