‘Life in juvie ain’t no movie / I might deal drugs but one day I’ll rule the thugs.” Oui, welcome to All The Way Up (or Validé in its native tongue). It’s the French hip-hop dramedy you didn’t know you needed in your life but almost definitely do.
Gallic TV imports are à la mode, with the likes of thief romp Lupin and thesp-com Call My Agent! having won over fans and critics in recent years – not to mention the loyal followings of long-running shows such as spy saga The Bureau and twisty policier Spiral. Now, after a two-year wait, All The Way Up is finally available for streaming in the UK – and the opening line of dialogue is uncannily apt: “What’s the delay, dickwad?”
This fast-rhyming viral phenomenon follows charismatic Clément – a gifted but raw MC (played by rising rap star Hatik) who goes by the name of Apash. Well, when he’s not working as a drug dealer’s delivery boy in the housing projects on the northern outskirts of Paris.
Backed up by the endearingly unintimidating posse of childhood mates Brahim (Brahim Bouhlel) and William (Saïdou Camara), Clément seizes a random opportunity to gatecrash a Tim Westwood-alike radio show. His improvised bar-spitting skills win approval from one of France’s biggest hip-hop stars, Mastar (Moussa Mansaly, a real-life “rappeur” himself under the handle Sam’s) – only for the pair’s mentor-and-protege musical alliance to turn into a dangerous rivalry. Our have-a-go heroes find out that, in the rap game, fame comes with strings attached, with Clément struggling to escape his criminal connections and go legit, while the ghetto keeps sucking him back in.
Gritty, funny and viscerally thrilling, All The Way Up pulsates with adrenalised energy. Think Atlanta meets The Get Down, with dashes of Dave, Empire, even Top Boy. Or, perhaps, the underrated E4 gem Youngers – but with sexier accents. Episodes are a snappy half-hour long and move as swiftly as Clément’s lyrical flow, if not the Porsche GT3 he cheekily borrows in episode two.
The 10-part series is the latest addition to the recently launched streaming service StudioCanal Presents – available via the Apple TV app, which is home to box sets such as Spiral and Hannibal, plus a catalogue of cult and classic films (not just French titles either). It also marks the TV debut of stunt dog trainer turned director (no, really) Franck Gastambide, who previously directed hit film comedies. Showrunner Gastambide – who also appears as DJ Sno, the “best beatmaker in the business” – told Variety that his main inspiration for All The Way Up was HBO’s 00s bro-com Entourage.
“It made me dream,” said Gastambide. “I wanted to be their friend in Hollywood and bump into Jessica Alba at Starbucks. But I wanted to do this for our rap scene, with real people and real places. The French rap scene sometimes has a criminal aspect, so it’s the perfect playground to mix the glitz and glam with the universe of Gomorrah and epic reckoning moments.”
In addition to the gifted young cast of newcomers, the series is sprinkled with cameos from French artists including Soprano, Ninho, Lacrim, Soolking and Kool Shen. If your knowledge of le rap extends mainly to 90s stalwart MC Solaar and Nique la Police (Fuck the Police) from the cult film La Haine, prepare for a musical education. Pirate radio stations pump. Crews wage freestyle battles. Forget 8 Mile, this is 12.8 Kilomètre.
All The Way Up’s debut run in spring 2020 became a huge word-of-mouth hit in France, breaking records with 44m streams, according to Canal+, and winning the audience award at the Cannes international series festival. The second season, which launched last autumn, built on that success. Canal+ says it clocked up a record 10m views in its first week.
Lead actor Hatik has become a breakout hip-hop sensation. His biggest track, Angela, has more than 120m YouTube views. The original soundtrack has more than 100m streams on Deezer and Spotify, Canal+ claim. All The Way Up also turbo-boosted the career of the French-Congolese rapper Bosh, who plays Karnage in the show.
At a time when France is in the throes of a Le Pen-fuelled political identity crisis, All The Way Up showcases a vibrantly diverse side of the capital rarely seen onscreen. It’s a world away from the ooh-la-la romcom cliches of Emily in Paris or Sex and the City’s Gallic sojourns. There is not a beret or baguette to be seen here – although there are “Yo mama” gags and an amusing dig at the quinoa-munching middle classes.
No spoilers, naturellement, but a shock plot twist in the debut series spins the follow-up in unexpected directions. Season two also introduces female rap tyro Sara, AKA Lalpha (Laetitia Kerfa), whose struggle for acceptance in the male-dominated industry reflects the show’s own attempt to become less of a saucisson-fest.
HBO Max has snapped up the show for the US and there is talk of international remakes, too. All The Way Up is indeed firmly in the ascendant. The show’s trailer might see Mastar give Apash a warning: “Forget the rap game, or you’ll have a war on your hands.” But it doesn’t look like he’ll be following that advice any time soon.
The first two seasons of All The Way Up are on StudioCanal Presents, available via the Apple TV app.
