ABSTRACT
A real right to the city, in the French quartiers populaires, would be one where residents choose whether they wish to move or not and are further able to co-determine the social, cultural and physical future of their neighbourhood is ignored in urban policy decisions that label residents as deviant. French rap lyrics commonly shed light on 'difficult neighbourhoods' in a way that can also recast these spaces as 'home' and as places of 'belonging'. French rappers often originate from quartiers populaires and many still inhabit the neighbourhoods. In addition to the importance of 'representing' in rap music, they can reclaim these areas through articulations of their lived experiences. Rappers also stand up for inhabitants through interventions and active engagement against urban renewal policies that aim to 'revitalise' stigmatised city centres. Through the use of polyphonic markers, the rapper Soprano debates the frequent conjunction of his neighbourhood with issues of economic scarcity.
