4 minute read
Nekfeu // Everything You Need To Know
The moment has finally arrived, and after two and a half years of waiting, Nekfeu is finally back on the stage and did not fail to make his mark on the event. He has decided to hit hard and score with a phenomenal return worthy of his legend.
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Indeed, Nekfeu, whose real name is Ken Samaras, came out of his silence after a long absence by deciding to return to the cinema to mark the release of his third studio album called Les Étoiles Vagabondes. On May 13, he posted on social networks that he’s back and that his album and the related feature film will be broadcast in the cinema in a single session on Thursday, June 6, 2019 in the French cinemas of the branch Gaumont Pathé. A trailer is then unveiled with extracts of this feature film and the voice of Nekfeu nicknamed "the Fennek" telling us the story of the wandering stars.
After weeks of expectations and a palpable excitement, we went to France for the screening of the film and we were not disappointed - far from it! The purpose of this film? Explain the reasons for this silence, which lasted more than two years. Nekfeu, this French rapper of Scottish and Greek origin of 29 years old, who grew up in Paris and made his debut in collectives of rappers L'Entourage and 1995, gets naked and expresses the reverse of success. The one who conquered the French youth with his meaningful lyrics full of truths, his mesmerizing voice and his passion for rap simply expresses with his words how the excitement of his breathtaking success in 2015, with the release of his first solo album, Feu, made him lose what really pushed him to write since his debut in rap almost 15 years before.
Nekfeu gives the tone of this film by saying "Tonight I played in front of 80,000 people but I have never felt so alone". This film is simply a quest for oneself; that of a human being who was caught in the turmoil of success and lost himself in front of the public, who always asked for "more songs, more album, more Nekfeu". Nekfeu here expresses with great courage his doubts, his fears, his need to flee when everything becomes oppressive. He expresses with touching sincerity how he found himself face to face, confronted with his emotions with so much on the heart and yet not strong enough to write and express it. Confronted with the "white page syndrome" Nekfeu will then go to relax on his homeland on the island of Mytilene in Greece to take time for himself before coming back even stronger.
He went to Japan and United States to found inspiration and recording songs always surrounded by his band of faithful musicians and beatmakers. We must also congratulate the incredible realization of the breathtaking images of this film, directed by Syrine Boulanouar - one of the directors and close to Nekfeu with whom he has already made some of his clips - and Nekfeu himself. This film has gathered more than 100,000 people between France, Morocco, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland for a single session before being named number one in the French box office and stealing the show from Avenger: Endgame.
Simultaneously, he also released his album. and then we realise that his two years of absence were completely justified. The lyrics mixed with instrumental parts, each one bettering the other, propelled Nekfeu direcly to the top ofthe French charts before being also applauded for being the most listened to album stream across 24 hours in the world.
A feature of extreme richness, both denouncing inequalities as here in the title 'Les Étoiles Vagabondes' where he says "A young Arab guy who makes silly things, is a thug to France. A little black child is the same, but when it's a little white kid, it's just a naughty child". He continues to speak of the migration of these people who are fleeing their country because of wars to find refuge in Europe when he denounces: "They will tell you that we can't welcome all the misery of the world. Give them back what was stolen from them, here are my arguments" in the song 'Le Bruit Qui Court'. This pen also takes therapeutic aspects as in 'Alunissons' with "Sometimes I ask myself if I really exist ? In my life, I'm just a spectator. So I hurt myself, but discreetly. My psychiatrist said to me, "It's just an aspect of your fear." And when I I feel bad, I feel a little more alive". Where the tempo is slower and the voice of the rapper becomes more suave on this song when he hums.
The rapper has once again shown his ability to talk about love and feeling, including in this incredible feature on 'Dans L'Universe' with the French singer Vanessa Paradis, where their two worlds marry in a disconcerting beauty. Even though this song was produced by one of the most talented beatmakers of our generation Hugz Hefner, we can also reconized his melodic signature on 'Cheum'.
Between big banger, melodic sweetness, reflection on the place we occupy in the universe and the fact that some pieces already become classics in just a few hours, it is certain that this rapper has not failed to surprise us in recent weeks. It seems important that the album takes a different and particular approach after seeing the film, and those who have not had this chance will never grasp the intensity. Nekfeu broke all records in any category with his album and his film with his triumphant return and we can only wish him the best for the future.
Insta: Neklefeu
Drawings © Robin Amar
Words © Fanny Hill Scott
