Europe 1 with AFP 08:18, May 12, 2023

Aya Nakamura, snubbed for the major trophies at the Victoires de la musique, was crowned artist of the year at the first ceremony of the Flames, dedicated to rap and its currents, on the night of Thursday to Friday at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in Paris.

Among the other big winners, Gazo, representative of drill, a dark current of rap from Chicago, was crowned male artist of the year and won the Spotify album of the year, the music platform being a partner of the ceremony. Dinos, with "Hiver à Paris", an album tinged with melancholy, receives the prize for rap album of the year.

"As we are in front of the entire (music) industry, I want to say that we must be more united," said the man who became the first rapper to sing at the César, the great mass of French cinema, at the beginning of the year. But the future is called Tiakola. The 23-year-old rapper from the Paris region won the prize for new pop album of the year ("Mélo"), as well as the Flame of the r'n'b track ("Atasanté", in collaboration with Hamza) and that of the afro-inspired track ("Soza").

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The Flames have therefore begun to repair the oddities of the Victoires, who have never known how to deal with rap, yet present in France for 40 years. As in 1999, when the group Manau, claiming a Celtic variety, receives, embarrassed, the rap trophy - which does not even exist anymore - in front of the NTM monument.

Aya Nakamura, the most heard French-speaking singer in the world, won only a minor trophy for the most streamed female artist... This time, at the age of 28, she collected a statuette at her height.

The Rat Luciano, the pioneer

The Flames looked at the present of rap/r'n'b'/new pop, its future, but also paid tribute to its past. The Rat Luciano, figure of rap from Marseille, received the "Eternal Flame", awarded to the pioneers and awarded by SCH, rapper from Marseille today. A perfume of great appointment floated in the air for this premiere: streets around the Châtelet closed to traffic by the police and parade of celebrities on the red carpet.

The oldest have recognized the rappers Stomy Bugsy and Passi (Sector Ä) or the ex-footballer Lilian Thuram (world champion 1998). The younger ones gave voice to Hamza or Kerchak (with his hood, trend in rap, since he later sang a duet on stage with Ziak, also hooded).

Fally Ipupa, star of the new Congolese pop, and the artist who is again named Christine and the Queens also came. One to receive an honorary award and perform on stage, the other to present a distinction.

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Fary hits the mark

Fary, stand-up star, ensured the opening show, gently mocking the rappers who scratch the French language: "Gazo, he can make oral erases". This new ceremony, "is what was missing: rap, r'n'b and new pop dominate the charts, festival programming, inspire pop culture as rock has done before, but are not rewarded at their fair value," says Tom Brunet, co-founder of YARD.

This media/communication and event agency is at the initiative of the Flames with Booska-P, media stamped "popular cultures". Not to mention Smile, a consulting agency.

The rap/r'n'b/new pop ticket dominates the Top 10 best-selling albums in France, since in 2022 Clara Luciani (10th) was the only artist from the variety. Enough to validate the creation of the Flames, broadcast live on Booska-P's YouTube channel, on the 6play platform, on Twitch (on the address of streamer Maxime Biaggi) and delayed on W9. Comedian and actress Fadily Camara, master of ceremonies, was able to set the pace for an evening where awards paraded faster than at the Victoires de la musique.