Yesterday for the rap evening, Printemps de Bourges welcomed the biggest album seller in France in 2023: Werenoi. I’m telling you about this concert, a first for me.
I won’t hide it from you. The rap scene is unfamiliar to me. Auto-tune, even well dosed, is not my thing. Before my arrival in Bourges, I had never heard of Werenoi. I couldn’t even pronounce his name. I am helping you ! We say Ouairenoi.
The artist spotted by Lacrim has enjoyed tremendous success. His first pieces only date back to 2021. And the rapper just received the Flame for rap album of the year a few days ago for his album Square. Best-selling album in France in 2023, all musical styles included. In two years, he became the boss of rap in France. And that’s square!
Werenoi is known for his discretion. He talks very little about himself. Hard to know his name, to know his age.
The concert begins at 8:35 p.m. in front of an already overheated audience. Bianca Coasta, Bekar and H Jeunecrack have already done their shows before him.
The staging is intimidating. Three bodyguards flank him, dressed in black, hooded, looking at the room with an imposing gaze. The young audience – very young, average age 18 – does not seem impressed. The temperature is going up a notch!
The concert begins with the song 02/16/2024. The audience knows the lyrics by heart. He continues with You know, always accompanied by his chorus of fans. So on… I’m impressed, the festival-goers know the artist’s repertoire like the back of their hand. In some places people dance pogo. The rapper rolls out his setlist. The exchange with his audience is long overdue.
In the pit, the discomforts follow one After the other. The atmosphere is tense closer to the stage. I am a spectator of the incessant ballet of the rescuers who run to help the spectators – mainly young girls – in tears, unconscious, in panic attacks. The singer tries to calm the crowd: “Be careful, there are fragile people in the room.” Security guards and emergency workers throw water bottles, but nothing helps. The rapper stops singing. He is worried : “It’s too hot here, my mother’s life. We’re taking a little break. He calls on the organizers: “We have to manage this, team. We’ll bring you some water. It’s square.”
The rapper Werenoi on the stage of the W du Printemps de Bourges
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© I. Amelot / France 3 Centre-Val de Loire
This moment of humanity finally created the link that was missing until then between the rapper and his audience.
55 minutes have passed, the concert ends with The league, the title with 42 million views on YouTube covered by the entire W. Auto-tune is definitely not my thing. The rap scene still remains foreign to me. I come across two young girls I met in the afternoon and I ask them how they feel: “It was so, so good!” . They liked it and that’s the main thing!
The rapper will be a must-see at next summer’s festivals. After the Printemps de Bourges, Werenoi has already been announced on several posters such as the Francopholies of La Rochelle in July.
