Sofiane (rapper)

Sofiane Zermani (French pronunciation: [sɔfjan zɛʁmani], Arabic: سفيان زرماني; born 21 July 1986) is a French rapper. He is also known as Fianso (pronounced [fjanso]; verlan of his first name). Born in Saint-Denis, Paris Region, he lived in the nearby Stains until age 13 when he moved to Le Blanc-Mesnil. In 2011, Sofiane released independently the album Blacklist followed by Blacklist II in 2013. In 2016, he launched a series of videos titled #JeSuisPasséChezSo inviting other less-known rappers to take part. In November 2016, he was signed to Capitol Records, an affiliate of Universal Music France. In January 2017, he released "Ma cité a craqué" featuring Bakyl. The album #JeSuisPasséChezSo, with same title as the earlier series, peaked at #2 on SNEP, the French Albums Chart. The album was certified Platinum in May 2017 for selling over 100,000 copies internationally. In May 2017 Sofiane released the album Bandit saleté ("Filth bandit"), which again was certified platinum. For the music video for the song "Toka" from the album, Sofiane and around 10 of his crew stood in the middle of the A3 autoroute, blocking cars, while Sofiane rapped the song in front of cameras. The filming was done without a permit. In February 2018 he was fined €1,500 and given a suspended sentence of four months in jail for obstructing traffic. At the sentencing, Sofiane apologized for his actions, and said that the decision to film there had come to him in a moment of "bad inspiration".