Soolking

Abderraouf Deradji (Arabic: عبد الرؤوف دراجي; born 10 December 1989), known professionally as Soolking, is an Algerian singer and rapper. He started his career under the pseudonym MC Sool until 2013 before adopting his new stage name. He incorporates reggae, soul, hip-hop and Algerian raï in his music.

Soolking
Soolking in 2023
Background information
Birth name	Abderraouf Deradji
Also known as	MC Sool
Born	(1989-12-10) 10 December 1989 (age 35) El Hammamet, Algiers, Algeria
Genres	Hip hop music, raï music, soul music
Occupations	Singer rapper
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Capitol, Universal

Life and career

Derradji was born in Algeria in a northern suburb of the capital Algiers, also known as Staouali. His father was a percussionist and he started very young in a rock band that incorporated music and dance. He arrived in France in 2008 but returned to Algeria to join the Algerian rap group Africa Jungle. The band released two albums.

He started his solo career in 2016 and is signed to the label Affranchis Music launched by Sofiane. He had initial success with 'Milano' and 'Guérilla' before achieving phenomenal success with 'Dalida',^[1] an homage to the singer Dalida, sampling her hit "Paroles, paroles".^[2] On November 2, 2018, Soolking released his debut solo album, Fruit du Démon, which was certified Gold in France. The singles "Guérilla" and "Dalida" were certified Platinum. He released his second studio album, Vintage, in 2020.^[3] On 26 May 2022, he released Sans visa, his third album.^[4] In February 2025, he released his fourth album, Africa Jungle Part 1.^[5]

2019 accident

On August 23, 2019, Soolking held a large concert at Stade 20 Août 1955, accompanied by L'Algérino, Fianso, Alonzo, and Dhurata Dora.^[6] During the entrance to the stadium, five people died due to the stampede. Soolking said after the concert that if he had known what happened he would have cancelled the concert. One of the reasons for the accident was that more tickets were sold than the stadium's capacity could accommodate.^[7]

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Chart positions					Certifications
		FRA [8]	BEL (Fl) [9]	BEL (Wa) [10]	NLD [11]	SWI [12]
2018	Fruit du démon	5	70	7	57	32	SNEP: Platinum[13]
2020	Vintage	3	31	5	38	12	SNEP: Platinum[13]
2022	Sans visa	2	136	9	—	25	SNEP: Platinum[13] BEA: 3× Platinum[14]
2025	Africa Jungle Part 1.	14 [15]	—	52	—	—

Singles

As lead artist

Year	Title	Chart positions							Certifications	Album
		FRA [8]	AUT	BEL (Wa) [10]	BEL (Fl) [9]	GER	ITA [16]	SWI [12]
2018	"Milano"	157	–	–	–	–	–	–	SNEP: Gold[17]	Fruits du démon
	"Guérilla"	33	–	13* (Ultratip)	–	–	–	–	SNEP: Diamond[17]
	"Dalida"	11	–	3* (Ultratip)	–	–	–	–	SNEP: Platinum[17]
2019	"Bébé allô"	158	–	–	–	–	–	–		Non-album single
2020	"Meleğim" (featuring Dadju)	2	–	26	40* (Ultratip)	–	–	52	SNEP: Diamond[17] BEA: Gold[18]	Vintage
	"Hayati" (featuring Mero)	165	31	–	–	10	–	23
	"Rockstar II"	150	–	–	–	–	–	–		Vintage Gearforth
	"Jennifer" (remix) (feat. Lynda, Heuss, L'Algérino, Franglish)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2021	"Fada"	127	–	–	–	–	–	–		Sans visa
	"Mal à la tête" 4.4.2 - Soolking X Heuss l'Enfoiré	65	–	–	–	–	–	–		Non-album single
	"Bye Bye" Soolking X Tayc	50	–	–	–	–	–	–		Sans visa
2022	"Suavemente" (solo or featuring Boro Boro)	1	–	5	22	–	17	6
	"Balader" (featuring Niska)	2	–	22	–	–	–	72
2023	"Après vous madame" (with Gims)	74	–	46	–	–	–	–		Non-album singles
	"Casanova" (with Gazo)	1	–	3	–	–	40 [19]	7
2024	"Carré OK" (featuring Gims)	19[20]	–	9	–	–	–	–

As featured artist

Year	Title	Chart positions			Certifications	Album
		FRA [8]	BEL (Wa) [10]	SWI [12]
2017	"Ajajaj" (Mert feat. Soolking)	56
2018	"Madame courage" (Sofiane feat. Soolking)	35
	"Vai nova" (YL feat. Soolking)	38
	"Favela" (Naps feat. Soolking)	38	Tip		SNEP: Gold[17]
	"Adios" (L'Algérino feat. Soolking)	100			SNEP: Gold[17]
	"Woah" (Sofiane feat. Vald, Mac Tyer, Soolking, Kalash Criminel, Sadek & Heuss l'Enfoiré)	7	12* (Ultratip)		SNEP: Gold[17]	93 Empire album 93 Empire
	"Savage" (Kalash Criminel feat. Soolking)	85
	"Come vai" (Jul feat. Soolking)	33
2019	"Zemër" (Dhurata Dora feat. Soolking)	21 [21]	6* (Ultratip)	13	SNEP: Platinum[17]
	"Benda" (Heuss l'Enfoiré feat. Soolking)	23			SNEP: Gold[17]	Heuss l'Enfoiré album En Esprit
	"Maladie" (Lacrim feat. Soolking)	15			SNEP: Gold[17]	Lacrim album Lacrim
	"Dans mon délire" (Black M feat. Heuss L'Enfoiré & Soolking)	138	15			Lacrim album Lacrim
2020	"T'es allée où?" (Leto feat. Soolking)	74				Leto album 100 visages
	"Pas la peine" (Sifax feat. Soolking)	150				Sifax album La mentale
	"Luna" (Lynda feat. Soolking)	70				Lynda album Papillon
	"Unité" (Dadju - Hatik - Soolking - Imen Es)	59
2021	"Aquí" (with AriBeatz and Ozuna)	–	45* (Ultratip)
	"Bebeto" (Kendji Girac with Soolking)	45	13			Kendji Girac album Mi vida
	"Nouveaux parrains" (Sofiane with Soolking)	42				Sofiane album La direction
	"Dinero" (Alonzo with Soolking)	118				Alonzo album Capo dei capi - Vol. II & III
	"Amiga" (Niro with Soolking)	137
	"Tagada " (Naps feat. Le Rat Luciano & Soolking)	184				Naps album Les mains faites pour l'or

Other charting songs

Year	Title	Chart positions	Certifications	Album
		FRA [8]
2018	"Rockstar"	36	SNEP: Gold[17]	Fruit du démon
	"Bambina"	50
	"Amsterdam"	42
	"Gucci"	90
	"Tata"	51
	"Vroom vroom"	30
	"HLM"	84
	"Chica"	86
	"Youv"	64
	"Paradise"	122
	"Cosa nostra" (feat. Sofiane, Lacrim)	39
	"Mirage" (feat. Khaled)	74
	"Fruit de la zone" (feat. Jul)	90
2019	"Liberté"	195
	"Espérance"	119
2020	"Ça fait des années" (feat. Cheb Mami)	34		Vintage
	"La Kichta" (feat. Heuss l'Enfoiré)	47	SNEP: Gold[17]
	"Chihuahua" (feat. Gambi)	65
	"CNLZ" (feat. Jul & Kliff)	68
	"Maryline" (feat. SCH)	70
	"Marbella"	123
	"Vida loca 2"	142
	"Corbeau"	162
	"On ira" (feat. 13 Block)	174
	"Wahda"	183
	"Solo"	195
	"Dangereuse"	196
2022	"Askim"	70 [22]

Various releases

• 2016: "Vida Loca"^[23]
• 2016: "Barbe noire"^[24]
• 2017: "Fuego" (feat. Ghost ST)^[25]
• 2017: "Dounia"^[26]
• 2017: "Yeah!"^[27]
• 2017: "Blanco Griselda"^[28]
• 2017: "T.R.W" (feat. Alonzo)^[29]
• 2017: "Bilal" (feat. 7Liwa)^[30]
• 2017: "Mi Amigo"^[31]

See also

• Algerians in France
• List of Algerian artists
• Algerian hip-hop
• Music of Algeria