Suprême NTM (French pronunciation: [sypʁɛːm ɛn te ɛm]), or simply NTM, is a French hip hop band formed in 1989 in Seine-Saint-Denis. The band comprises rappers JoeyStarr and Kool Shen. Their 6 albums were released by Sony Music Entertainment.
The group takes its name from the French slang "NTM", an initialism for "Nique Ta Mère" ("Fuck Your Mother"; the vulgar slang word "niquer" is derived from North African Sabir "i nik" ("he makes love"), which in turn comes from the Arabic "nak" (same meaning)). Suprême NTM is known for representing the perspective of minority groups in underprivileged, "invisible" neighborhoods around Paris. Through the use of politically-conscious lyrics, NTM raises awareness of police brutality, racist legislation, and youth violence, culminating in a series of highly-publicized legal battles with the French authorities. Their musical style is predominantly hardcore rap, although later albums include funk, soul and reggae influences.
The group is outspokenly critical of racism and class inequality in French society, and while their earlier music is violent, some of their later work, such as "Pose ton Gun" ("Put down your Gun"), is explicitly anti-violent.
In 1998, the group released its last album of original material under the NTM moniker, as both Joey Starr and Kool Shen started their own labels, promoting new bands and branching out in other fields such as the clothing industry (2High is Kool Shen's brand, Com-8 is Joey Starr's).
While officially the band still exists, and its well-known name was used in 2001 to promote a 'duel' album pitting the two labels' artists against each other, Kool Shen was quoted in 2004 saying "on a fini avec NTM en 98" ("We finished with NTM in 1998").
The group is known for its gritty, dark and sometimes violent lyrics, as well as for the contrast between the two rappers' styles. While Joey Starr (also known as Jaguar Gorgonne and Double-R) has a relatively slow flow, aggressive lyrics and a deep, booming voice (which he sometimes uses to yell such as in "Pose ton Gun"), Kool Shen has a funkier flow as well as witty and rather melancholic lyrics.