Stupeflip is a French Alternative Hip Hop trio which is arguably led by Julien Barthélémy who handles most of the songwriting and production.
Standing out as an non-conforming band, Stupeflip started their career by doing an anti-commercial promotion despite being signed to a label owned by BMG. The promotion of their first album went noticed for the band members' hectic attitude on radio and TV sets (to the point that people thought they were industry plants) as well as insulting their fans during concerts. Following the release of their second album (which can be perceived as a criticism of the record industry by the trio), they got dropped off by their label. In 2011, the band came back with their third album The Hypnoflip Invasion to great success. Six years later, the band launched a crowdfunding campaign for their fourth album which also went successful.
Stupeflip also has its own lore and describing it isn't an easy task. The trio's name Stupeflip refers to two main characters, Stup (also named Cadillac) and Flip (also named King Ju), but there are other characters such as Pop-Hip, MC Salò, Reverb Man and much more (some characters also bear multiple names). All those characters form a group called "Le Crou" (the crew). Stupeflip also has its own chronology and geography, but information about those are extremely scarce (and some of them also contradict each other) and Julien Barthémély prefers to keep a little bit of mystery behind it. Stupeflip as a whole is best described with those words by their first spokesperson Fabien Polet: "The Stupeflip crou is here, among other things, to terrorize the population and by the same occasion install a new era: the Stup era.".
Outside of its abstract lore, Stupeflip has its own fans (nicknamed "The rabbits") which has its own fanbase called the A.S.F.H. (Association des stup fanatiquesnote ). "Rabbits" contribute different interpretations of the Crou and its meaning, something which Julien Barthélémy has approved, stating that the free interpretation of Stupeflip works the same way as not following orders and making your own opinion.
Discography
- 2003 - Stupeflip (Self-Titled Album)
- 2005 - Stup Religion
- 2011 - The Hypnoflip Invasion
- 2011 - The Terror Maxi note
- 2012 - Terrora note
- 2017 - Stup Virus
- 2022 - Stup Forever
Their work provides examples of:
- Alternative Hip Hop
- Autotune: Only used once by Pop-Hip on the track "Argent".
- Black Humor: Particularly prominent on The Hypnoflip Invasion with tracks such as "Gem Lé Moch" and "Ce Petit Blouson en Daim".
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Pop-Hip talks to the listener at the end of Stup Religion.
- Censor Box: King Ju and Cadillac keep their eyes masked via a censor box (or a piece of cloth on other occasions).
- Chanson: French music plays a huge influence on their music. It reaches a peak on the song "Comme les zot'" where dozens of French singers are mentioned.
- Continuity Nod
- Stupeflip's first three albums flow into each other, with the last minute of the last track of Stupeflip (Self-Titled Album) which is also the opening of Stup Religion, and the last track of this album reappearing on the first seconds of The Hypnoflip Invasion.
- Epic Rocking: All their albums end with a long track lasting over ten minutes.
- Face on the Cover: On most of their LPs.
- Genre Roulette: Rap could be their main genre but the band also has roots in Punk Rock and Chanson.
- Gratuitous English: The "crou" is a rough way to pronounce the word crew with a french accent.
- Hidden Track: The Hypnoflip Invasion, Terrora and Stup Virus have hidden tracks on their final track.
- Hyperaffixation: The Crou contains elements such as the Stup Religion, the Stup Hell and the Stup Dance.
- I Am the Band: Julien Barthélémy is the main songwriter and producer, to the point that Cadillac and MC Salò are credited as featured artists on the band's later work.
- Longest Song Goes Last: On all of their albums.
- Protest Song: "A Bas La Hiérarchie" has no subtlety in criticizing the office workspace.
- Punk Rock
- Rearrange the Song
- Most songs have a completely different instrumental arrangement when the band performs them live.
- The Terror Maxi includes remixed versions of "Gem Lé Moch" and "Stupeflip Vite !!!".
- Sdrawkcab Speech: It is constantly used on every album of the band, usually as a way to cipher the expected last words of a sentence.
- Self-Deprecation: Considering the fact that the band criticizes the industry it evolves in, there are lyrics which refer to living as a non-successful artist (their song "1993" talks about the hardship the band members went through before starting Stupeflip).
- Self-Titled Album: Their first.
- Shout-Out: Lots and lots of them! So many in fact that we might as well redirect you to a dedicated page.
- Solo Side Project
- Cadillac released his self-titled solo album in 2017 and .
- MC Salò released his first solo album in 2019.
- Pop-Hip was briefly part of a duo with singer Simone Elle Est Bonne.
- Special Guest: Stupeflip rarely relies on featured artists:
- Stupeflip features rapper Mangu.
- Stup Religion features "Hélène" who sings on "La Religion du Stup" and "Stup Danse"
- The Hypnoflip Invasion features "Loulou" who sings with Pop-Hip on "Le Coeur Qui Cogne".
- Stup Virus features King Ju's niece Colette.
- Synthetic Voice Actor: The Crou's second spokesperson Sandrine Cacheton is the narrator of Stup Virus. She is voiced through the French synthetic voice of Google Translate.
- Take That!: The band's main target of criticism is the recording industry and society as a whole. On rarer occasions, they also take a jab at contemporary artists.
- Pop-Hip can be seen as the epitome of Pop music. Thanks to the success of his mainstream radio-friendly songs, the crou manages to make end's meet.
- Take That, Audience!:
- Stupeflip started as such, with a tendency to insult their fanbase during the promotion of their first two albums, on top of not enjoying doing live shows. Realizing that the next albums were financed by the fans, there has been a Heel–Face Turn since.
- The title track of Stup Virus refers to how most Stupeflip fans only know the song "Stupeflip Vite !!!".
- Toilet Humor: "The Cadillac Theory" showcases the band's eponymous member rapping about poop.
- Unreliable Narrator: Since Fabien Pollet has been assassinated in Stupeflip, it is unknown who narrates on Stup Religion and The Hypnoflip Invasion.
- Vocal Dissonance: Almost all the characters in the Stupeflip universe are voiced by Julien Barthélémy who changes his voice through filters.
- Vocal Tag Team: "L.E.C.R.O.U" showcases the whole band and guest rapper Mangu sharing lead vocals.
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The Walrus Was Paul: Some lyrics from ''Stup Virus indicate that Stupeflip isn't supposed to make sense and that its mystery will never be cleared.
