Hatik, Meryl or even Laylow, who have since acquired the notoriety that we know, took part in previous years. The “La Relève” program offered by Deezer unveiled its fourth batch of promising talents from the French rap, Afro and R’n’B scenes on Friday. The music streaming platform thus points the spotlight to twelve young artists who have delivered new compositions for the occasion. To this playlist is added a mini-series in three episodes of about fifteen minutes immersing us in the recording sessions.
Narjes Bahhar, the French rap editorial manager of Deezer, is at the head of this project, which was launched in 2019. With her teams, she carries out a work of “curation and musical expertise”, as she tells us. explain. Its objective: to put forward unique proposals steeped in rap culture and integrating sounds borrowed from other musical genres.
Masked rappers and “fire eaters”
The new selection brews wide. Masked rappers (Houdi and Winnterzuko) share the bill with artists comfortable in front of the camera (like Skia and Rapi Sati). All while others bring softness to the playlist thanks to Afro and R’n’B sounds (Lafleyne, Angie, Genezio and Jey Brownie), in contrast with the energetic productions of fire-eaters (Malty 2BZ and Kamah Skuh).
Deezer is also emphasizing female rap this year by presenting five female artists in the cast (Babysolo33 and Kay The Prodigy to complete the list). By way of comparison, only six women in total had taken part in the three previous editions.
Finally, after the release of the mixtape, Deezer does not release the artists alone in nature. Narjes Bahhar explains that she continues to “boost the artists she believes in” by playlisting them on a regular basis. This support materialized during previous editions with the creation of mixes 100% dedicated to Hatik or Méryl. To see if the lucky ones this year will have an exponential trajectory like Laylow or Daryl, who now divides his time between his activity as a youtuber and the writing of his novel.