Black M

Alpha Diallo, known professionally as Black M and originally as Black Mesrimes, is a French rapper, singer, and songwriter. He initially gained prominence as a member of the French hip-hop collective Sexion d'Assaut before launching a solo recording career. His stage name was created as a play on words combining the name of French former public enemy Jacques Mesrine with the words rhymes and black.

Born on 27 December 1984, Diallo was raised in a modest family in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. His parents are of Guinean origin from the Donghol-Sigon region in Fouta Djalon. During his tenure with Sexion d'Assaut from 2002 to 2012, he was recognized alongside members Gims and Lefa for his technical delivery. With the group, he contributed to major releases including the studio albums L'École des points vitaux in 2010 and L'Apogée in 2012, alongside several mixtapes and street albums.

Black M launched his solo career in March 2014 with his debut studio album, Les yeux plus gros que le monde. The record established his solo presence in France, achieving diamond certification. The album produced the single "Sur ma route," which reached number one in sales in France and was certified platinum. He subsequently issued a re-release titled Le Monde plus gros que mes yeux, featuring the single "Je garde le sourire," and contributed to external projects including the soundtrack for the film The New Adventures of Aladdin.

In 2016, Black M joined the troupe Les Enfoirés and released his second solo studio album, Éternel insatisfait, which was followed by the Éternel Big Black Tour in 2017. He released his third studio album, Il était une fois..., in September 2019. In May 2021, he published an extended play titled Alpha, which was preceded by singles such as "N.S.E.G." and "Black Shady Pt. 4," utilizing his hostile alter ego persona Black Shady. Additionally, Black M won the educational song competition Manie Musicale in 2017 with "Sur ma route" and in 2018 with "Je suis chez moi."

In his personal life, Diallo married image consultant and makeup artist Léa Djadja in 2009, and the couple has two children, a son born in 2012 and a daughter born in 2020. Over the course of his career, Diallo faced public controversies, including past accusations of homophobic lyrics within Sexion d'Assaut songs and anti-Semitism allegations concerning his cover of Doc Gynéco's "Dans ma rue." In May 2016, a planned performance at the centenary commemoration of the Battle of Verdun was canceled following public debate and political criticism regarding his previous lyrics, during which Diallo noted his pride in his grandfather, Alfa Diallo, who served as a Senegalese Tirailleur during the Second World War.