IAM

IAM is a French hip hop band from Marseille, created in 1989, and composed of Akhenaton (real name Philippe Fragione), Shurik'n (Geoffroy Mussard),

IAM is a French hip hop band from Marseille, created in 1989, and composed of Akhenaton (real name Philippe Fragione), Shurik'n (Geoffroy Mussard), Freeman (Malek Brahimi), Khéops (Eric Mazel), Imhotep (Pascal Perez), and Kephren (François Mendy). 'IAM' has several meanings, including 'Imperial Asiatic Men', 'I am', and 'Invasion Arrivée de Mars' ('Invasion Arrived from Mars'). 'Mars' is frequently used as a metaphor for Marseille in IAM's songs.

The band was first formed in late 1985 by Akhenaton and Khéops, under the initial name Lively Crew. Lively Crew became B.Boys Stance some time during summer 1987, after which it was joined by Shurik'n, Freeman and Imhotep. In 1989 the group was renamed IAM, and they produced their first album, IAM Concept which was released the following year. They signed a contract with Virgin Records, and went on to publish the album ...de la planète Mars (1991), which became a major hit in France. However, IAM's big break did not come until their 1997 album L'école du micro d'argent, which took only two days to become a gold album in France and eventually sold over a million copies, becoming a diamond album. L'école du micro d'argent also brought the group some international fame.