Introduction
Ken Samaras (Greek: Κεν Σαμαράς, Ken Samarás; born 3 April 1990), better known by his stage name Nekfeu (French pronunciation: [nɛk.fø]), is a French rapper, actor and record producer. He is also a member of the crew L'entourage and the bands $-Crew and 1995. He started his career as a member of $-Crew, with childhood friends Framal, Mekra, 2zer Washington and DJ Elite. He joined 1995 in 2007, participating in open mic duels around Paris.
Early life and career
Samaras was born in La Trinité, a commune within the Nice metropolitan area, to a father of Greek descent and a mother of Scottish descent. At the age of 11, he and his family moved to the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
After two extended plays with 1995 (La Source in 2011 and La Suite in 2012), as well as the studio album Paris Sud Minute in 2013, Nekfeu released his debut studio album Feu on 8 June 2015, for which he won Best Urban Music Album at the Victoires de la musique in February 2016, as well as Destins Liés with $-Crew in June 2016. In 2015, he also wrote and performed a song for the French version of the film Creed. In 2016, he released his second album entitled Cyborg.
In 2017, he made his acting debut in the film Tout nous sépare, opposite Catherine Deneuve.
In 2019, he released his third album “les étoiles vagabondes”. The album premiered in cinemas, as a movie accompanied the album. The movie premiered 2h before the album was made available on streaming platforms. The album was extremely well received. It Included a song featuring mainstream Belgian rapper Damso (Tricheur), and many other songs entered the top 20 in the French charts.
Personal life
Nekfeu is a follower of Paris Saint-Germain, based in the city where he grew up, and his hometown club OGC Nice.
Discography
Albums, mixtapes and EPs
As part of 1995
- 2011: La Source (EP)
- 2012: La Suite (EP)
- 2013: Paris Sud Minute (Album)
With Alpha Wann (member of 1995 & L'Entourage)
- 2011: En Sous-Marin (EP)
As part of $-Crew
- 2010: Même Signature (Mixtape)
- 2012: Métamorphose (Mixtape)
- 2013: Seine Zoo 仙豆 (Album)
- 2016: Destins Liés (Album)
- 2022: SZR2001 (Album)
As part of L'Entourage
- 2014: Jeunes Entrepreneurs (Album)
As part of 5 Majeur
- 2011: 5 Majeur (EP)
- 2013: Variations (Album)
Solo
| Year | Album | Peak positions | Units | Certification | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA | BEL(Fl) | BEL(Wa) | SWI | ||||
| 2015 | Feu
| 3 | 65 | 3 | 5 |
| |
| 2016 | Cyborg
| 4 | — | 3 | 10 |
| |
| 2019 | Les étoiles vagabondes
| 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
|
|
Expansion
| — | 10 | — | ||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA | BEL(Wa) | SWI | |||
| 2014 | "Time B.O.M.B." | 86 | — | — | — |
| 2015 | "Égérie" | 49 | — | — | Feu |
| "On verra" | 14 | 37 | — | ||
| "Nique les clones, Pt. II" | 57 | — | — | ||
| "Tempête" | 21 | — | — | ||
| "7:77 AM" | 26 | — | — | Feu (Réédition) | |
| 2016 | "Jusqu'au bout" | 75 | — | — | Destins liés |
| 2019 | "Tricheur" | 1 | 1 | 12 | Les étoiles vagabondes |
Featured in
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA | BEL(Wa) | SWI | |||
| 2014 | "Voilà" | 145 | — | — | |
| 2016 | "Paris la nuit" | 161 | — | — | |
| "À deux pas " | 172 | — | — | Alph Lauren 2 | |
| "Les princes" | 18 | — | — | La dictature | |
| 2017 | "Skurt Cobain" | 165 | — | — | |
| "Tu rêves" | 95 | — | — | ||
| "De l'autre côté" | 2 | — | 71 | Comme prévu | |
| "Zone" | 12 | — | — | La fête est finie | |
| 2018 | "Juste pour voir" | 70 | — | — | Non-album release |
| "Éternité " | 46 | — | — | Nuit | |
| "Waow" | 32 | — | — | Polak | |
| 2019 | "Paire d'As" | 10 | — | — | Poison |
| "Ce soir" | 27 | — | — | Non-album release | |
| 2020 | "Zéro détail" | 42 | — | — | Nouvo mode |
| "Étincelles" | 48 | — | — | ||
| "Turn Up" | 22 | — | — | Sélection naturelle | |
| "Moins un" | 1 | 27 | 49 | Stamina, | |
| "Ce soir" | 27 | — | — | Non-album release | |
| "san andreas" | 35 | — | — | don dada: mixtape, vol 1. | |
| "aaa" | 18 | — | — | ||
| "malevil" | 34 | — | — | ||
| "3095 pt2" | 69 | — | — | ||
| 2021 | "C'est quoi l'del" | — | — | — | Le Fléau |
| "Agent orage" | 103 | — | — | ||
| "Special" | 7 | 45 | 91 | L'étrange histoire de Mr. Anderson | |
| "Jeune d'en bas" | 21 | — | — | Vrai 2 vrai | |
Other charted songs
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA | BEL(Wa) | SWI | |||
| 2015 | "Reuf" | 72 | — | — | Feu |
| "Rêve d'avoir des rêves" | 111 | — | — | ||
| "Ma dope" | 125 | — | — | ||
| "Martin Eden" | 129 | — | — | ||
| "Mon âme" | 152 | — | — | ||
| "Princesse" | 172 | — | — | ||
| "Plume" | 13 | — | — | Feu (Réédition) | |
| "Mal aimé" | 51 | — | — | ||
| "Question d'honneur" | 78 | — | — | ||
| "Deux-trois" | 56 | — | — | ||
| "Pars avec moi" | 46 | — | — | ||
| "Les Bruits de ma Ville" | 44 | — | — | ||
| "La Ballade du Frémont" | 52 | — | — | ||
| 2016 | "Mauvaise graine" | 7 | 18 | 72 | Cyborg |
| "Squa" | 15 | — | 67 | ||
| "Humanoïde" | 19 | — | 69 | ||
| "Galatée" | 21 | — | — | ||
| "Saturne" | 25 | — | 76 | ||
| "Avant tu riais" | 56 | — | — | ||
| "Réalité augmentée" | 67 | — | — | ||
| "Esquimaux" | 71 | — | — | ||
| "Nekketsu" | 75 | — | — | ||
| "Besoin de sens" | 106 | — | — | ||
| "Le regard des gens" | 113 | — | — | ||
| "Vinyle" | 142 | — | — | ||
| "O.D" | 152 | — | — | ||
| "Programmé" | 197 | — | — | ||
| 2019 | "Dans l'univers" | 2 | 50 | 29 | Les étoiles vagabondes |
| "Elle pleut" | 3 | — | 32 | ||
| "Cheum" | 4 | — | — | ||
| "Les étoiles vagabondes" | 5 | — | — | ||
| "Alunissons" | 7 | — | — | ||
| "Voyage léger" | 8 | — | — | ||
| "Takotsubo" | 9 | — | — | ||
| "Menteur menteur" | 11 | — | — | ||
| "Le bruit qui court" | 13 | — | — | ||
| "Premier pas" | 14 | — | — | ||
| "Ciel noir" | 15 | — | — | ||
| "De mon mieux" | 16 | — | — | ||
| "Compte les hommes" | 17 | — | — | ||
| "Óλά Καλά" | 18 | — | — | ||
| "Koala mouille" | 19 | — | — | ||
| "Pixels" | 21 | — | — | ||
| "1er rôle" | 23 | — | — | ||
| "Ken Kaneki" | 18 | — | — | Expansion | |
| "Écrire" | 21 | — | — | ||
| "Sous les nuages" | 23 | — | — | ||
| "CDGLAXJFKHNDATH" | 33 | — | — | ||
| "Energie sombre" | 38 | — | — | ||
| "Natsukashii" | 47 | — | — | ||
| "L'air du temps"
| 51 | — | — | ||
| "Oui et non" | 56 | — | — | ||
| "Rouge à lèvres" | 58 | — | — | ||
| "Chanson d'amour" | 59 | — | — | ||
| "De mes cendres" | 64 | — | — | ||
| "Jeux vidéo et débats" | 66 | — | — | ||
| "Dernier soupir" | 74 | — | — | ||
| "Nouvel homme" | 76 | — | — | ||
| "Interlude Fifty" | 80 | — | — | ||
| "A la base" | 83 | — | — | ||
Filmography
Film
- 2017 : Tout nous sépare, directed by Thierry Klifa
- 2019 : L'Échappée, directed by Mathias Pardo
Television
- 2015 : Casting(s) (Television series, one episode : guest appearance as himself)
- 2019 : My Hero Academia (Dubbing the character All for One in the French version)