Like most of its worldwide peers, French Hip-Hop was also largely shaped by its American counterparts. As the columnist David Brooks put it, "ghetto life as it is depicted in rap music videos has come to represent what it means to be oppressed for most young, oppressed people. He argued that the gangster of American Hip-Hop is appealing to young, impoverished French immigrant groups because it provides them with an escape from the racism and oppression that plagues them. Yet Jody Rosen calls Brooks out, arguing that he uses outdated examples of French gangsta rap that features violent or sexist themes. Rosen claims Brooks ignores the wider cultural history of French Hip-Hop and its ability to showcase "rappers of extraordinary talent, style, and intelligence". 

The development of Francophone rap had its major boost in the early 21st century, when the French Ministry of Culture mandated that French-language radio stations play at least 40 per cent French-language music. This has provided French rap with a home on the radio, where it accounts for a quarter of the top 100 songs and 10 per cent of local music output, selling hundreds of thousands of CDs. 

Nonetheless, French Hip-Hop is notorious for emulating US hip-hop. French rap legend MC Solaar quipped: "French rap is kind of like a U.S. branch office... we copy everything right? We never even step back". 

There are traces of American Hip-Hop influences in every facet of French hip-hop culture, from fashion and clothes to videos and jewellery. The importation of Hip-Hop culture – particularly from legendary New Yorkers – marked the history of French rap forever.