the triumph of Aya Nakamura, the return of rappers La Fouine and Médine, Gazo was named Artist of the Year

Aya Nakamura was undoubtedly the queen of the second edition of Les Flammes, marked by the return of great voices of urban music as well as numerous political interventions.

The second edition of Les Flammes, the equivalent of Victoires for rap and its trends, took place on Thursday evening, April 26th, live on W9, Twitch and YouTube. Many highlights were expected, including the performance of Aya Nakamura, this year’s most nominated artist, the double potential of Gazo and a few surprise appearances.

The audience was not disappointed by this ceremony to celebrate urban music, which was hardly represented at the Victoires de la Musique despite the great enthusiasm in France. The Flames’ nominations and winners are the result of the sum of the public vote and the jury vote. Here are the Flames 2024 highlights.

Aya Nakamura, queen of the soirée

On the red carpet, all the personalities agreed. The one they were waiting for was Aya Nakamura. And it was she who opened the ceremony with a medley of her flagship titles Oumou Sangaré, Baby, Pookie and his new hit Hyped in white fur. She set the stage and the room on fire with this highly anticipated performance. As a reminder, Aya Nakamura was hit by a wave of racism after her possible participation in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was announced.

With six nominations, the singer was the most nominated artist of the evening and won three awards. The one who is nicknamed ““The Queen of France” won the Flame for the first time for new pop album. “This victory is for all Renois. We have come a long way despite the difficulties., she explained on stage at the Théâtre du Châtelet while accepting her reward. “Despite the controversy and criticism, I receive all the love, thank you.”She added.

She also won the Flame for International Influence of the Year and the Female Artist award, which she won last year for the inaugural edition of the Flames. “It’s very difficult to be a female artist, even if she’s black and from the suburbs.”said Aya Nakamura. The one who promotes French culture internationally added: “I know where I come from, I know that I have inspired more than one. That gives me even more courage“.

Rachida Dati absent: “She belongs to the Macron gang”

Unlike former Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak, who attended the first edition of Les Flammes last year, Rachida Dati was conspicuous by her absence. Actor and comedian Waly Dia did not hold back in his speech at the opening of the ceremony. “Isn’t Rachida Dati there? She was part of the Sarkozy cartel, now she is in the Macron gang, she should not be trusted.”, he claimed. “We know full well that our politicians have nothing to do with our culture.”, Waly Dia continued. He also commented on the wave of racism affecting Aya Nakamura. “The problem isn’t the music, the problem is that Aya is a black woman who doesn’t tell them the time.”

The return of the legends: Alonzo, Fanny J and surprise appearance by La Fouine

“He did 20 counts, counts, counts. Sam went tight, tight, tight“. This now iconic phrase belongs to rapper La Fouine, who made a surprise return to the stage and performed a medley of his greatest songs. He received a standing ovation from the audience who sang It hurts, Hamdoulah Ça vaor Who can stop me?. La Fouine was accompanied by singer Zaho, who is more discreet in the music industry, to perform her song You are my best. La Fouine took the opportunity to announce a concert date at the Accor Arena in Bercy.

2000s Guyanese singer Fanny J also returned to the stage to perform OK et Anchored in your port. The legendary rapper from Marseille, Alonzo, came to rap Finish her off, a flagship title in his repertoire. “I’m happy that street art is in the spotlight.he said before his appearance.

Alonzo concluded the ceremony with the song Little genius which he shares with Jungeli, Imen Es, Abou Debeing and Lossa and for which he won the Flame for African or African-inspired piece of music of the year.

Shay gets the stage going again

Rapper Shay lit up the Flames again and performed Santa Fefrom his latest album, As long as it rains. A desert atmosphere and leather outfits accompanied Shay’s performance, which ended on a rodeo-style motorcycle.

The rapper won the Flame for Video of the Year for her track command, presented by filmmakers Alice Diop and Lina Soualem. “For the record, when we released this clip, it was the least viewed video in the history of my clips. I was a little sad because I was disappointed. I told myself that we had a vision, but maybe people didn’t understand it.. Shay thanked her fans and reminded them that she would meet them on a festival tour this summer and at the Zénith in Paris next winter.

Medina pays tribute to Gaza victims

Rapper Médine paid a moving homage with his song Football beach in Gaza from his album Minesweeper (2015). “Gaza, where,” he raps, “we”plays the World Cup under the eyes of journalists“Behind him were the names of some Palestinian children who died in the bombings.”Thank you to the Flames for allowing us to display the names of all the missing children. There is not enough space to write all the names of the 35,000 victims on the walls of the theater.he declared solemnly at the end of his performance.

The rapper is controversial, particularly because of a tweet that was deemed anti-Semitic and caused controversy last summer. “Not only am I not an anti-Semite, but I have been fighting anti-Semitism locally for 20 years.“, Medina defended last summer.

Named Gazo Artist of the Year for the second time

The Male Artist Flame was won again by rapper Gazo. “I had the honor of attending the Flames’ inauguration, this is my second year in a row.”. He was nominated five times and was the heavy favorite to win this category. Gazo, a former homeless man turned French drill prince, defined the year with his collaborations and unique style. He thanked his mother, who is currently in the hospital.