Weekend French Playlist #16: Les Flammes 2024
The 2nd edition of the awards show celebrated the central place of rap and R&B in the nation's culture -- even as one of its biggest stars faced a racist backlash over a potential Olympic performance.
Les Flammes 2024, the second edition of an awards ceremony that celebrates France’s best Rap, R&B, and Afrobeats music, highlighted again the way this nation’s culture is being reshaped in a profound way. France is the second biggest market in the world for rap behind the U.S.
The show was created last year by music companies Booska-P and Yard with Spotify as the headline sponsor to showcase musicians who have become immensely popular with listeners but have often been overlooked by mainstream cultural institutions and media. Spotify got behind the event in a big way because these three genres of music remain the most popular streaming choices in France. Indeed, Spotify's top 5 most listened-to artists in France are all rappers.
Some of these artists are starting to attract audiences beyond France’s borders. The show added a new category this year for Flamme du rayonnement international for the artists who have made the biggest impact outside of France.
Germany and the USA are now the 2nd and 4th most streamed countries (outside France) for French hip-hop and rap artists, according to Spotify. Gazo, Ninho, and Tiakola are respectively the 6th, 7th, and 8th most-streamed French R&B/hip-hop artists outside France.
Not surprisingly, that international award went to singer Aya Nakamura, who has become a genuine international phenomenon and performed the opening number at Les Flammes. She also won Female Artist of the Year and is the second most-streamed French pop artist outside France. (Number 1 is Indila, according to Spotify, the mysterious singer who made one massive album in 2014 and then walked away from the industry).
Unfortunately, Nakamura has become emblematic of the intolerance and racism that remains in French culture and politics. A few weeks ago, word leaked that she had been selected to perform at the Olympics opening ceremony, possibly singing a song by French legend Edith Piaf.
According to media reports, Nakamura met with President Emmanuel Macron in February, and he asked her to perform at the Olympics. She grew up in a low-income region just north of Paris to parents who had immigrated from Mali. Nakamura mixes a range of styles and slang in her music and sprinkles in Arabic, English, and Mali’s Bambara.
Naturally, the far-right Marine Le Pen seized on the news to stoke the nation’s culture wars. “This isn’t a beautiful symbol, it’s a new provocation by Emmanuel Macron, who must wake up every morning wondering how he can humiliate the French people,” she said on France Inter radio, criticizing Nakamura’s use of multiple languages and her clothing.
Right-wing Senator Gérard Larcher also slammed Nakamura’s use of slang. Another extremist group dubbed “Natives” prompted a formal investigation after it placed a banner along the Seine that read: “There’s no way Aya, this is Paris, not the Bamako market.”
Macron offered his public support in early April while visiting some Olympic sites: "I think she is certainly suitable for the opening or closing ceremony of the Games," he said, according to Le Monde. "If she's part of the ceremony with other artists, I think it's a good thing…The games and the ceremonies should resemble us. She is part of French culture and French music."
At Les Flammes, Nakamura thanked the audience and fans for their support in the face of such attacks. “I’m very honored because being a black artist and coming from the banlieue is very difficult,” said Nakamura, who dedicated her awards “to all black women.”
Here is Nakamura’s performance:
You can watch a reply of the entire ceremony here:
The other winners on the night included:
Male Artist of the Year: Gazo
Female Revelation of the Year: Merveille
Male Revelation of the Year: Favé
Rap album of the year: Carré de Werenoi
New Pop album of the year: DNK by Aya Nakamura
Rap performance song: Freestyle LVL Up Vol.1 by Ninho
R&B song: Last I love you by Monsieur Nov and Josman
African or African-inspired music: Little genius of Jungeli, Imen Es, Lossa, Alonso, and Abou Debeing
Caribbean or Caribbean-inspired piece: Doliprane by Kalash
Composer: Boumidjal
Concert of the year: SCH at the Orange Vélodrome (Marseille)
Video of the year: Commando de Shay
Independent label of the year: Foufoune Palace
Eternal Flame: Kore
Spotify Flame for Album of the Year: Sincerely by Hamza
Social commitment: Zamdane
Here is Spotify’s official playlist for the 2024 event:
Chris O’Brien
Le Pecq