The French Top 10, and the Man Who Appears in It Four Times
Aya Nakamura & La Rvfleuze
By the TrendSongs editorial team, using country-level Apple Music charts. Our methodology
The French Apple Music chart of 26 July 2026 comes down to one statistic: Mauvais Djo appears on four of the ten leading tracks. Two under his own name, two as a featured artist, one of them alongside GIMS. Around him, the top ten is almost entirely French-language, with a single international exception. Here are those ten tracks in order, and what they reveal about the state of the French market.
1. Aya Nakamura Holds First Place
Sexy Nana
Aya Nakamura & La Rvfleuze
Released on 21 November 2025, Sexy Nana is number one more than eight months after its release. That longevity is Aya Nakamura’s signature: her tracks settle rather than peak. The collaboration with La Rvfleuze pushes the song toward rap without altering its mechanism — a short hook and instantly recognisable delivery.
2. Maladie, the Point of Entry
Maladie
Mauvais Djo
Second in the chart, Maladie was released on 20 March 2026 and works as the reference point for Mauvais Djo’s whole run of entries. Its presence four months after release indicates settlement rather than a spike. This is the track through which most of the French audience identified the artist before meeting him again elsewhere in the top ten.
3. Pilé, Released Almost a Year Ago
Pilé
Mauvais Djo
Pilé dates from 15 August 2025 and ranks third today, making it the oldest track in the top five. This kind of late climb rarely comes from radio: it comes from a catalogue rediscovered after a more recent success. The chart is showing exactly how an artist converts one hit into a doorway to older material.
4. The Only Non-French Entry
Dai Dai
Shakira & Burna Boy
Dai Dai is the only track in the French top ten not sung in French. The Shakira and Burna Boy pairing brings together two markets, Latin and Afrobeats, for which France is one of Europe’s main relays. The same song is number one in Germany, confirming a continental success rather than a French quirk.
5. Validation by GIMS
VIVE LA MONNAIE
GIMS & Mauvais Djo
Released on 17 July 2026, this duet is the most recent track in the top ten and already sits fifth. GIMS brings an audience built over fifteen years, Mauvais Djo brings currency. It is the latter’s third appearance in the top five, this time as a guest, which changes the nature of his presence without reducing its effect.
6. The Collective as a Fourth Appearance
À l'aise (feat. L2B, MC YOSHI, Mauvais Djo & Kokosvoice)
TRIANGLE DES BERMUDES
This collective track, released on 3 April 2026, brings together four featured artists including Mauvais Djo. It is his fourth appearance in the top ten, and the project places another entry just behind at number eleven. The collective format remains French-language rap’s most efficient tool for adding audiences without diluting individual identities.
7. Tiakola and Melody as an Argument
Mélo Décalé
Tiakola
Released on 12 June 2026, Mélo Décalé confirms Tiakola’s place among the few artists able to impose melodic writing on a chart dominated by percussion. It is the only track in the top ten whose title announces its own method. Seventh place six weeks after release matches a steady settling trajectory.
8. Two Generations on One Track
melodrama
disiz & Theodora
Filed as pop rather than rap, melodrama pairs disiz, active for more than twenty years, with the recently arrived Theodora. Released on 26 September 2025, it holds eighth place ten months later. It is the most atypical track in the chart, and the only one openly claiming a lineage between two eras of French rap.
9. Leto: Consistency Without Exposure
Pineapple
Leto
Released on 10 April 2026, Pineapple sits ninth without ever having reached the leading positions. This kind of quiet but persistent presence is typical of an artist with a loyal audience rather than an explosive hit. In a chart where four tracks share one name, this sort of entry is a reminder that the market still has depth.
10. The Duo That Closes the Chart
Séminaire
Bello&Dallas
Séminaire, released on 5 June 2026, completes a top ten in which eight of ten tracks are French-language rap. The duo Bello&Dallas illustrates how fast the genre renews itself: seven weeks are enough to enter, a few more to disappear. The French chart therefore rewards both established catalogues and very recent arrivals, but almost never the middle ground.
Three observations emerge from this chart. First, the dominance of a single name: four entries out of ten for Mauvais Djo, achieved without a headline album, purely through accumulated singles and collaborations. That mode of presence has become the norm in French-language rap, where consistency beats one heavily promoted release. Second, the dates. Three of the ten tracks came out in 2025, one of them last August, meaning the French chart does not renew itself weekly — it stratifies. Third, and most striking: out of ten tracks, only one is not in French, Shakira and Burna Boy’s Dai Dai, and it sits at number four. The French market is not closed, but it imposes a very low ceiling on imports during the summer. For an international artist, entering this top ten now demands almost as much as entering the Korean or Japanese charts.
