One of Tunisia's best-known rappers, Mohamed Salah Balti aka Balti was born in Tunis on April 10, 1980 and started his trajectory as a member of the group Wled Bled in 2002. The following year, he kicked his solo career into motion by collaborating with Tunisian director Mohamed Zran on the soundtrack to The Prince, writing, composing, and performing three pieces as well as crafting the end credits. Balti's national fate was sealed, and he spent the next six years building up an international reputation, performing in Europe with rap icons Method Man and Redman, among others. In 2008, he formed a new group, X Tension, with whom he published debut album, Our World in Real, while continued to drop solo singles including 2011's "Ici ou là-bas" with Mister You. Following Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution, which took place between December 2010 and January 2011 and forced the regime of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to step down, Balti entered 2012 with a new single, "Stop Violence." He released "Kill Somebody" in 2014, with a video directed by Malek Ben Gaied Hassine, and joined forces with Mister You again for 2016's "Erakh lé," and in 2019 for "Maghrébins." A 2022 single with Elyanna, "Ghareeb Alay," yielded some success on the Indonesian chart, where it went to Number 200.
