{{short description|French rap group}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Ärsenik | image = Ärsenik en 2015.png | alias = | origin = Villiers-le-Bel, France | genre = French rap | years_active = 1992–2026 | label = | website = | current_members = | past_members = Lino (Gaëlino M'Bani) <br> Calbo (Calboni M'Bani) }}{{Expand French|topic=cult|ärsenik}}{{distinguish|Arsenic}}
'''Ärsenik''' was a rap group based in Villiers-le-Bel, France, active between 1992 and 2026. It had been made up of two brothers, Lino (Gaëlino M'Bani) and Calbo (Calboni M'Bani), whose family is originally from Congo.
==Career== Ärsenik started as a band in mid 1990s. Until 1997, the group also included Tony Truand, a cousin. In 1998, now a duo, Ärsenik released their first album ''Quelques gouttes suffisent'' went double gold.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} A new album was planned for 2005, but the two brothers instead decided to concentrate on solo albums. Lino released ''Paradis Assassiné'' en 2005, which was the name of a solo song on the group's second album.
In 2007 the group released a disc titled ''S'il en reste quelque chose'' which included the most popular songs from the two brothers, such as "L'enfer remonte à la surface", "Rime & chatiments" and "Sexe, pouvoir & biftons".
Revered as one of the original rap groups, their music voices the disaffection of the French underclass, combining African and Arabic melodies and beats with French lyrics. French rap is filled with slang that is hard for even French-speakers to understand; whole songs are delivered in Verlan, the ingenious, dizzying slang in which words are reversed or recombined. Like France's chanson tradition, French rap is also famous for emphasizing lyrics, and the rappers are widely viewed as heirs to the chansonniers.<ref name="slate.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2130120 |title=David Brooks vs. gangsta rap. - By Jody Rosen - Slate Magazine<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2008-04-06 |archive-date=2008-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080325224813/http://www.slate.com/id/2130120/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
;As part of Bisso Na Bisso In the late 1990s, Lino and Calbo teamed up with a group of rappers who were also second-generation Africans, on a collaborative project called Bisso Na Bisso, an expression which means "just between ourselves" in Lingala, the most commonly spoken language in the Congo region. Part of this group were Ben-J (from Les Neg'Marrons), Passi (from Ministère A.M.E.R.), twin brothers Doc and G Kill (from 2Bal), and Mystik and his female cousin M'Passi. The group embarked on a collective return to their African roots, featuring music with an innovative fusion of styles, that mixed modern hip-hop and zouk sounds with traditional Congolese rumba.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://194.117.210.41/siteen/biographie/biographie_6127.asp |title=RFI Musique - - Passi<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2008-04-06 |archive-date=2006-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060412003838/http://194.117.210.41/siteen/biographie/biographie_6127.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Calbo died on 4 January 2026, at the age of 52.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 January 2026 |title=Disparition. Le rappeur Calbo, cofondateur du groupe Ärsenik, est décédé à l'âge de 52 ans |url=https://www.ledauphine.com/societe/2026/01/04/le-rappeur-calbo-confondateur-du-groupe-arsenik-est-decede |access-date=4 January 2026 |website=www.ledauphine.com |language=FR-fr}}</ref>
==Members and solo/other projects== {{Main|Lino (rapper)|Calbo (rapper)}} The members of Ärsenik have engaged in various personal projects besides the band. Rapper Lino has released two solo albums of his own, ''Paradis assassiné'' released in September 2005 and ''Radio Bitume'' released in May 2012. Both have charted in France and particularly ''Paradis assassiné'' released on Hostile Records was a great commercial success. The title is a title of an Ärsenik album. In 2004, he collaborated in a music project by Kery James in the single "Relève la tête" credited to "Kery James presents Lino, AP, Diam's, Passi, Matt & Kool Shen". In 2007, he also collaborated with three tracks on rapper Stomy Bugsy album ''Rimes Passionnelles'' and in 2009, took part in Bisso Na Bisso's project ''Africa''. In 2012 he signed with AZ, now part of Universal Music.
Rapper Calbo continued with a solo music career. In 2003, he charted in a hit "Trop de peine" by Lynnsha featuring Calbo vocals. In 2012, he released his solo album titled ''6ème Chaudron'' and in June 2013, he released his solo single "C'est là-bas" on Trèfle record label accompanied by a music video. It featured another fellow Congolese artist known as VR.
==Discography== ===Studio albums=== {| class="wikitable" !align="center" rowspan="2" width="240"|Album Details !align="center" colspan="2"|Charts |- !width="30"|<small>FR</small><br><ref name="lescharts">{{Cite web |url=http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=%C4rsenik |title=LesCharts.com: Ärsenik discography |access-date=2013-06-11 |archive-date=2014-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425111027/http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=%C4rsenik |url-status=live }}</ref> !width="30"|<small>BEL <br>Wa</small><br><ref name="bel">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showinterpret.asp?interpret=%C4rsenik |title=ultratop.be: Ärsenik discography |access-date=2013-06-11 |archive-date=2014-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622070623/http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showinterpret.asp?interpret=%C4rsenik |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |''Quelques gouttes suffisent...'' *Released: 1998 *Record label: Hostile Records |align="center"|10 |align="center"|{{spaced ndash}} |- |''Quelque chose à survécu...'' *Released: 2002 *Record label: Hostile Records |align="center"|8 |align="center"|27 |- |}
===Compilation albums=== {| class="wikitable" !align="center" rowspan="2" width="240"|Album Details !align="center" colspan="2"|Charts |- !width="30"|<small>FR</small><br><ref name="lescharts"/> !width="30"|<small>BEL <br>Wa</small><br><ref name="bel"/> |- |''S'il en reste quelque chose...'' *Released: 2007 *Record label: Hostile Records |align="center"|{{spaced ndash}} |align="center"|{{spaced ndash}} |- |}
===Collaboration albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- ! scope="col"| Title and details ! scope="col"| Notes |- ! scope="row"| ''Racines'' *Type: Album *Credit: as part of '''Bisso Na Bisso''' *Released: 1999 *Record label: Issap productions |Collective including Passi, Mystik, <br>Ben-J (Nèg Marrons), 2Bal,<br> Ärsenik, M'Passi (Melgroove) |- ! scope="row"| ''Le 15 Mai 1999'' *Type: Live album *Credit: as part of '''Bisso Na Bisso''' *Released: 1999 | |- ! scope="row"| ''Noyau Dur'' *Type: Album *Credit: as part of '''Noyau Dur''' *Released: 2005 *Record label: Hostile Records |Collective including Ärsenik, <br>Neg' Marrons and Pit Baccardi |- |}
===Singles=== {| class="wikitable" !align="center" rowspan="2" width="10"|Year !align="center" rowspan="2" width="160"|Single !align="center" colspan="1"|Charts !align="center" rowspan="2" width="200"|Album |- !width="20"|<small>FR</small><br><ref name="lescharts"/> |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|1998 |"Affaires de famille" |align="center"|44 |align="center" rowspan=1|''Quelques gouttes suffisent...'' |- |align="center" rowspan="2"|2002 |"P.O.I.S.O.N." |align="center"|89 |align="center" rowspan=2|''Quelque chose à survécu...'' |- |"Regarde le monde" |align="center"|89 |- |}
==See also== *French rap *French hip hop *List of French hip hop artists *Secteur Ä *Stomy Bugsy *Lunatic *M.Dia
==Footnotes== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.paradis-assassine.com/ Lino - Paradis assassiné official]
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Arsenik}} Category:French hip-hop groups Category:Rappers from Val-d'Oise Category:1992 establishments in France Category:2026 disestablishments in Europe Category:Musical groups established in 1992 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2026