Biography
Green Shop was born in 2012 at the end of José Shungu's season as associate artist at La Rodia (Besançon's Smac). The mc-singer has long been active in the hip-hop scene, notably with the jazzrap septet La Cédille in the 2000s (Découverte Bourges, FAIR 2006, numerous tours and festivals in England, France, Quebec, Czech Republic...). He also launched the Festival des Echanges Urbains (F.E.U), dedicated to urban cultures in Franche-Comté, from 2006 to 2012.
Green Shop blends 90's Hip-Hop with the MC's Zairean roots, via Soul, Latin music, Jazz and Electro. José Shungu offers “his view of today's world through introspective, poetic and humorous lyrics”. The words, rapped or sung, are carried by the musical alchemy of the three other members of the group, who come from diverse backgrounds (mainland France, Chile, Réunion).
Next year will see the return of a new Afro hip-hop album, currently in preparation for release in Spring 2025. This new, more “tropical” project is bound to get you dancing! Indeed, influences from Congolese Rumba, Cumbia and Maloya will mingle with hip-hop and funky rhythms, all carried by conscious and poetic lyrics tinged with a message of hope for the future, as if to break the prevailing fatalism...
Band composition:
- José Shungu “Le Smoov”: MC & singer (La Cédille, Artistes Réalistes)
- Aurélien Dudon “Aurélius”: Guitar (La Cédille, Cube Jazz Trio)
- Claudio Ibarra “Ibarrabass”: Bass (La Cédille, Matanzas, Cumbia Pirata, Chabada)
- Laurent Pirbay “Zo aka La chauve-souris”: MPC & Synthesizers (Cotton Claw, Grand Singe, Preacherz, Electrons Libres, Le Retour Du Boogie)
- José Shungu “Le Smoov”: MC & singer (La Cédille, Artistes Réalistes)
- Aurélien Dudon “Aurélius”: Guitar (La Cédille, Cube Jazz Trio)
- Claudio Ibarra “Ibarrabass”: Bass (La Cédille, Matanzas, Cumbia Pirata, Chabada)
- Laurent Pirbay “Zo aka La chauve-souris”: MPC & Synthesizers (Cotton Claw, Grand Singe, Preacherz, Electrons Libres, Le Retour Du Boogie)
Their 1st record “Kinshasoul” was released in 2014, with guests such as Oakland's Mc, Raashan Ahmad, which the band was able to defend at venues and festivals in France.
Available on tour in 2025-2026 & New album spring 2025