lit a candle 2h agoMy mate lent me a burned CD of Quelques gouttes suffisent... in about 2004 and Boxe avec les mots was the track that made me actually listen to French rap instead of just nodding along. Read 0 raison last year too. 53 is no age.
Their story
Calbony M'Bani, known to French rap as Calbo, was born on 22 September 1972 in Brazzaville, in the Republic of the Congo, and arrived in France as a small child. He grew up in the Cerisaie neighbourhood of Villiers-le-Bel, in the Val-d'Oise north of Paris, where he discovered hip-hop culture…
Calbony M'Bani, known to French rap as Calbo, was born on 22 September 1972 in Brazzaville, in the Republic of the Congo, and arrived in France as a small child. He grew up in the Cerisaie neighbourhood of Villiers-le-Bel, in the Val-d'Oise north of Paris, where he discovered hip-hop culture in the early 1990s, at a time when it was still lived mostly through dance and seen as a very American import. With his younger brother Gaëlino, who became known as Lino, he began writing lyrics in local youth and cultural centres.
In 1992 the brothers founded the group that became Ärsenik. The name started as "Art Sonic", but so many people heard "Arsenic" that they adopted the mistake. After early line-up changes, including a spell with their cousin Tony Truand, the group settled as a duo. Ärsenik first appeared on the 1995 compilation L'Art d'utiliser son savoir with "Ball-Trap", then on Hostile Hip Hop in 1996 with "L'enfer remonte à la surface" and on L432 in 1997 with "Rimes et châtiments". Kenzy, the manager behind Ministère A.M.E.R., brought them into the Secteur Ä collective alongside Passi, Stomy Bugsy, Doc Gynéco and the Neg' Marrons.
Their first album, Quelques gouttes suffisent..., was released on 5 June 1998. Driven by "Boxe avec les mots", "Sexe, pouvoir & biftons" and "Affaires de famille" with Doc Gynéco, it reached the French top ten and was certified double gold. It is still cited as one of the defining records of the first golden age of French rap. On "Boxe avec les mots" Calbo asked the line that would follow him for the rest of his life: "Qui prétend faire du rap sans prendre position ?" (Who claims to make rap without taking a stand?). Later rappers including Kery James and Youssoupha picked the phrase up in their own work. In May 1998 Ärsenik took part in two historic Secteur Ä concerts at the Olympia in Paris marking the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in France.
The duo's dark, technical writing, Calbo's deep and gravelly voice and their trademark "tch tch" ad-lib made them stand out. So did their clothes. By wearing Lacoste on album sleeves and in videos, Ärsenik helped make the crocodile brand a symbol of the French banlieues, long before the company was willing to embrace that audience. In 2023, for its 90th anniversary, Lacoste finally collaborated with the group.
Calbo also looked back to his roots. With Lino, Passi, Ben-J, Mystik, M'Passi and others he was part of Bisso Na Bisso, a collective of French artists of Congolese origin formed in the late 1990s whose album Racines (1999) blended rap with zouk and Congolese rumba. He later described the African tour that followed, and meeting Nelson Mandela at the Kora Awards in South Africa, as among the most moving moments of his career. Ärsenik's second and final studio album, Quelque chose a survécu..., followed in 2002 and again reached the French top ten. In 2003 Calbo featured on Lynnsha's "Trop de peine".
In the years that followed, the brothers concentrated on side projects and solo work. Calbo announced a solo album, 6e Chaudron, in 2011 and released several tracks between 2011 and 2013, including "C'est là-bas" with VR, although the full album was not released in that form. From 2013 Ärsenik returned to the stage in France and abroad. In 2021 Calbo published an autobiography, Quelques gouttes de plus, with Éditions Mindset, followed in 2022 by an EP of the same name, and in 2025 by a second book, 0 raison.
The second half of his life was devoted to transmission. In 2020 he founded the association Özer, and he travelled across France leading writing and music workshops for young people, in neighbourhoods and in prisons, often in partnership with local councils. France Culture noted that he had grown so disillusioned with parts of the genre that he asked young people to stop calling him a "rapper".
Calbo died on 4 January 2026 in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, aged 53. His family announced his death in a statement shared by Lino and on Ärsenik's official accounts, asking for respect and privacy. The statement did not give a cause; Le Monde and Bondy Blog later reported that he died of cancer after a long illness kept out of the public eye. Tributes came from Rohff, La Fouine, Kery James, Stomy Bugsy, Bigflo & Oli, Médine, Sadek and many artists from the French Caribbean and Guiana, from Lacoste, and from Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who called him an emblematic voice of French rap.
On 14 October 2026, at the initiative of his family, more than forty artists, from IAM, Kery James and Youssoupha to Bigflo & Oli and Dinos, gathered at the Zénith de Paris for "Calbo Héritage", a four-hour tribute concert with proceeds going to his children. His son Eden told the crowd that by continuing to listen to his father's words, fans keep his memory alive, and Lino announced that a posthumous album Calbo had been working on would be released.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia (Calbo (rapper); fr: Calbo; fr: Ärsenik); INSEE death record via matchID (Calbony M Bani, born 1972-09-22 Brazzaville, died 2026-01-04 Lyon 3e); Le Figaro with AFP (4-5 Jan 2026); RTL (4 Jan. Wikipedia ↗
In their own words
“Qui prétend faire du rap sans prendre position ?”
Calbo's line on Ärsenik's "Boxe avec les mots" (Quelques gouttes suffisent..., 1998). In English: "Who claims to make rap without taking a stand?" Ärsenik's manager Daphné Weil called it a legendary phrase of French rap.
“Sache que si ce n'est pas toi qui le fais, un autre s'en chargera à ta place. Alors au lieu de laisser les bouches déblatérer des approximations sur mon histoire, je fais le pari de te partager ma vérité.”
Calbo presenting his autobiography Quelques gouttes de plus on the Éditions Mindset author page. In English: if you do not tell your story, someone else will, so rather than let people spread approximations he chose to share his truth.
“Et là, on a vraiment fait un feat comme si on faisait un feat avec un gars à nous.”
Calbo recalling recording with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, which he called the studio session that marked him most, in an interview with Hypesoul. In English: "We really did a feature as if we were doing one with one of our own guys."
“Le Calbo d'aujourd'hui c'est un mec qui fait du rap non sans prendre position.”
Calbo on his 2022 single "J'écris" and the Quelques gouttes de plus EP, interview with Hypesoul. In English: "Today's Calbo is a guy who makes rap, not without taking a stand."
“On a perdu un Grand monsieur du rap et un Grand frère de la vie.”
Rohff on X, 4 January 2026, after speaking with Lino. In English: "We have lost a great gentleman of rap and a big brother in life."
“Calbo était plus qu'un artiste. Il faisait partie d'une culture, il était une voix et une influence qui continuent de résonner.”
Lacoste's leadership on social media after his death, January 2026, as reported by Le Monde.
“Je voulais vous remercier du fond du cœur, car en continuant d'écouter les paroles de mon père, vous continuez à faire vivre sa mémoire.”
His son Eden on stage at the Calbo Héritage concert, Zénith de Paris, 14 October 2026, as reported by Bondy Blog.
Photos
2Calbo at the Cashville store in Beauvais, 2015
Mar 2015 · by People Forever
Ärsenik (Calbo and Lino) at the Cashville store in Beauvais, 2015
Mar 2015 · by People Forever
that album changed how a lot of us heard French hip hop, even over here