An emblematic figure of French rap, Maes experienced a meteoric rise before seeing his career stopped by his demons. Born Walid Georgey in 1995 in Sevran, this Franco-Moroccan rapper has established himself as one of the major voices of his generation. His story is that of an artist torn between his talent and his gray areas.
Revealed in 2018 with “Pure”, Maes has a string of successes. “Madrina” with Booba has more than 200 million views, while his albums “Les Derniers Salopards” and “Réelle Vie 3.0” monopolize the tops of the charts. His style, mixing melody and incisive writing, appeals to a wide audience and earned him a nomination for the Victoires de la Musique 2022.
But behind the glitter, troubles pile up. In 2018, a violent altercation outside a Parisian studio caught up with him. Sentenced in absentia in June 2024 to ten months in prison, he fled to Dubai, citing threats in his city. “Jealous people burned the vehicles in my clip. They tried to extort me,” he confided to Radio Générations.
-Paris Dubai Casablanca
His exile marks the beginning of a spiral that draws him downward. The canceled concerts keep coming, including a highly anticipated show at the Accor Arena at the end of 2024. On social networks, his rival Booba delights in his fall, fueling a media war which overshadows his music. In January 2025, fearing extradition from Dubai, he found refuge in Morocco. A short-lived escape. Ultimately it was the Moroccan authorities, his country of origin, who arrested him in Casablanca.
Maes embodies the paradox of a generation of French rap, artists oscillating between commercial success and violent excesses or links with the Cities mafias. In his texts, he already recounted this duality: “ I’m at the top but I kept the same mentality » he rapped in “Madrina”.
Today in detention in Morocco, his artistic future is on hold. If the country, reluctant to extradite its nationals, could avoid French prison for him, his career is already paying the price for his choices.
