Shtar Academy (album)
Shtar Academy is the self-titled debut studio album by French hip hop collective Shtar Academy, consisting of rappers Badri, Malik and Mirak. It was released on 20 January 2014 by Fu-Jo, and distributed by Because Music, and peaked at number 63 on the French Albums Chart. Background. Shtar Academy was started as a musical project in 2012 by record producer Mouloud Mansouri, who had previously served a jail sentence between 1999 and 2008 for drug trafficking. He had the idea for his project approved by the administration of the Luynes Prison. The prison administration also  approved the construction of the Studio Hip Hop Convict, where the album was recorded, within the prison compounds, but reserved the right to censor any proposed texts by the prisoners that were deemed excessively violent or aggressive towards prison wardens, or presenting menacing lyrics addressed to judges, the police or to victims of crimes. Prisoners detained for a year or more in Luynes were eligible to showcase their potential talents. More than 200 prisoners, almost the entire population of the prison, were briefed on the project, and initially around 30 of them expressed an interest and signed up for the  project. Through interviews and assessments, and test performances conducted by Mansouri and co-producer Tony Danza, the number of eligible applicants was reduced to a dozen and eventually three of the most talented were chosen through a competitive elimination process to spearhead the musical project. Badri received a sentence of seven years, while Malik and Mirak were sentenced to three and four years imprisonment respectively. For a whole year, the three worked regularly on various workshops for songwriting, composition, and training for recordings and computer-assisted production. More than 30 well-known French rappers and producers volunteered their time supporting  the project through mentoring and coaching. They also provided studio time and agreed to be featured in compositions by the prisoners, which were presented during a three-hour live show on 3 June 2013. Single. "Les portes du pénitencier" was released as the album's lead single on 11 December 2013, but did not enter the French Singles Chart. Music videos. A number of music videos for a number of the album's songs were released before and after the release of the album. Track listing. All songs produced by Mouloud Mansouri and Tony Danza. Credits. Credits for "Shtar Academy