DIAM'S

In early 2006, Diam’s established herself as the leading voice of a generation with *Dans ma bulle*, an album featuring tracks that have since become iconic, such as *La Boulette (Génération nan nan)*, *Jeune demoiselle* and *Ma France à moi*, which firmly cemented female rap at the forefront of the French music scene.
This photograph was taken in Paris, at that very precise moment when the artist transitioned from being a rising star to a central figure in the music scene. 

Commissioned by Warner and conceived under the artistic direction of Xavier de Nauw, the shoot was entirely planned in the studio: sets, props and compositions were storyboarded in advance, with the staging and digital editing drawing inspiration from a distinct ‘David LaChapelle’ aesthetic.
The photographer, Jérôme Albertini, who has been based in New York since the early 1990s and is renowned for his work on American hip-hop (notably for The Source magazine), was chosen as much for his mastery of studio lighting as for his visual understanding of rap culture, with a view to transposing this aesthetic into a French context.

Upon arriving in Paris for the shoot, the photographer discovered a still very young artist who insisted on playing him several tracks from the album in the studio, “with a good sound”, before stepping in front of the camera.
Far removed from the American “gangsta rap” atmospheres in which he usually works, he was struck by the contrast between the harshness of certain themes addressed by Diam’s (political engagement, a critique of French society) and the more intimate, almost “bedroom” feel of this session, shot entirely indoors: an encounter between two rap cultures that crystallises precisely in this image.

The image shown here corresponds to the original photograph used for the design of the album cover for *Dans ma bulle*, before the top section was darkened in the final design to emphasise the artist’s presence.
This image, in its final version, appears on the various commercial editions of the album (CDs and vinyls), as well as in numerous press reproductions, music platforms and retrospectives dedicated to the record.

A rare piece from the creative process behind a cover that has become iconic, this print marks an important milestone in the iconography of French rap from the 2000s, particularly as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of *Dans ma bulle*.

Dimensions: 40 x 40 cm. Numbered 1/10, signed on the reverse by Jérome Albertini, with the title “Diam's Cover Shot 2006”