It's been a long time coming, but now it's here: the ceremony made by and for the rap world has finally seen the light of day in 2023. For the first time, the industry has come together to offer an original ceremony. Here's a look back at an evening rich in emotions, decorations and crazy outfits, with incredible style.
"Les Flammes", the ceremony made in French Rap
The relationship between rap with awards is rather peculiar. Whether in the U.S., where Eminem, Kanye West and many others have copiously insulted the institutions that have decorated them (during the Grammys in particular), or in France, where every year for the past 25 years the Victoires de la Musique awards have created unease when it comes to rewarding rappers (some were even put in the "Musique du monde" category one year...), it's fair to say that the rap game isn't very friendly with mainstream awards ceremonies. This is probably due to its resolutely underground, rebellious side. So, for all these years, rap fans and the urban milieu have been looking for a way to reconcile the game with awards ceremonies, by creating an evening to celebrate this culture, and those who continue to create it, every year. Thus was born "Les Flammes", the first French-language ceremony dedicated to rap and popular culture, the brainchild of a number of big names in the field, such as Yard media and Booska P, who you all know.
There was obviously a category for track of the year, but also for "rap performance track of the year". An interesting category that focuses on the art of kicking and wordplay, a form of rap that is all too rarely rewarded. But there was also the RnB track, the Afro track and the Caribbean track of the year, each with its own category, again to represent the diversity of these cultures. Music videos were also rewarded, as were covers, composers, labels and even launch strategies, again with a category for each. Special mention should be made of the two categories "Flame of Social Commitment of the Year" and "Eternal Flame", both of which inevitably touch our hearts. One, because it rewards someone who takes concrete action to do good in his or her community, and the other, because it decorates a legend of the game, who gets too little recognition from a new generation that sometimes neglects the founding fathers of this culture. The whole thing was broadcast live on Youtube, simultaneously on 6Play, and rebroadcast a little later in the evening on W9. As we said, the team pulled out all the stops to make this ceremony unforgettable.
"Les Flammes", the most stylish ceremony?
And it's fair to say that it was a rather unforgettable evening. Firstly, because of the happiness it brought to all those involved in today's popular music scene, even when they were only nominated and not rewarded. Clearly, they were all aware that they were taking part in something historic, as well as a great moment of celebration and sharing. That's why everyone was dressed to the nines. We saw some incredible outfits, including SCH in his oversized quilted gray suit, Orelsan wearing a tie & dye piece, Dinos in his black suit and big fur-style cape, with Gucci loafers. Or Gazo, all shiny and smiling after the crazy year he's just had. We had a bunch of very inspired outfits that night, and it's definitely the first time we've seen so much style at an awards ceremony in France. And you know us at Project X Paris: for us, that counts for a lot.
In addition to being very stylish that evening, some of the artists with whom PXP collaborated were decorated. These included Kalash who received the Flamme for Caribbean song of the year, for his featuring with Maureen, "Laptop". It's a banger made for hot nights, with a great rhythm and a clip that smells of the tropics. What's more, the rapper took advantage of the occasion to perform a medley of his most memorable tracks on stage, wearing a rather sober, all-black outfit, except for the huge gold chain he wore around his neck. Another very successful outfit and performance for Kalash, who is starting to get the hang of it. But he's not the only Project X Paris muse to have been decorated, as Ronisia also picked up the Flame for Women Revelation of the Year. We told you we could count on her! She performed "Nha Terre" and "Mélodie" live, two tracks from her album released last year. With a big, stylish set design, in short, more great work from her.
We'd also like to congratulate the big winners of this year's edition of "Les Flammes", including Gazo (Spotify album of the year), Tiakola, (new pop album of the year, afro track of the year and RnB track of the year) Dinos (rap album of the year and featuring of the year) and Aya Nakamura (female artist of the year), all awarded in the most competitive categories. While the victories of some may have sparked debate, this is always the case, and perhaps that's the point of an awards ceremony. The biggest victory was for popular culture, which was represented in all its diversity on May 11. Right up to good old Rat Luciano, emblematic member of the Fonky Family and one of the founding fathers of Marseilles rap in the 90s, who was awarded the Flamme éternelle for his incredible body of work. This first ceremony was a great success, and we hope there will be more!