Elie Yaffa (born December 9, 1976), better known under his stage name Booba (French pronunciation: ​[buˈba]) is a French rapper. After a brief stint as a break dancer in the early 1990s, Booba partnered with his friend Ali to form Lunatic. The duo released a critically acclaimed album in 2000 but disbanded in 2003. Booba has since embarked on a successful solo career, selling more than 10 million discs over his careerand becoming the most legally downloaded artist in French history. Booba is praised for the quality of his flow and beats but often criticized because of controversial nature of his lyrics. He has also established the rap label Tallac Records, and developed a line of jewellery. 　　In 2002, Booba released his debut solo album Temps mort. He followed this up with four further albums: Panthéon, Ouest Side (the most successful),0.9 and Lunatic. In late 2012, he released his sixth solo album Futur. In whole, Booba has ten disks certified, six Disques d'Or (Gold album), three Disques de platine (Platinum album) and one Double disque de platine (Double-Platinum album). In 2011, Booba won the "My Youtubes"contest, ahead of popular artists like Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Sexion D'Assaut, Shakira, Stromae,.