With Orelsan, the party's never really over2 reading minutes

Thursday melodies - Diego Taboada

One year after the release of his last album The party's over, On Wednesday, Orelsan unveiled the first of eleven tracks from the «epilogue» to his album. With Weird dreams, Once again, he demonstrates his artistic genius and his willingness to surround himself with the best.

After a few months of media calm - following the unprecedented success of his album - Orelsan's announcement surprised and excited. «L'épilogue» will contain eleven tracks. His featuring with Belgian rapper Damso was perhaps the most eagerly awaited: two atypical UFOs for an explosive collaboration. And the result, of course, was just what was needed. Two artists with different approaches to music, but both poets of everyday life.

Dark and true, these rappers like to explore essential themes. Sometimes vulgar, it's true, but always clear-sighted. Human relationships, existential discontent, the list goes on and on. Of course, it's possible to keep only the insults and obscenities, and listen at face value. But we can also go beyond that, and appreciate the depth of these two artists. «Life is just a way of seeing things», Damso reminds us in Weird dreams.

This track is at the level to which the two rappers have become accustomed. Rhythmic, energetic music, allowing Orelsan and Damso to excel in their particular register. But it was the video clip that really caught our attention. An accomplished creation, with the presence of colorful extras, extravagant to be sure, but constructed and well thought-out. A refreshing experience, and unfortunately all too rare, as the majority of rappers still prefer the «big cars and naked women» model so poor and banal.

Words, here, always have a meaning - as we all know. Orelsan has not released a «sequel» to his album, but an «epilogue». Is this the beginning of a foretold end? We hope not. But the artist, cynical and realistic, insisted at length on the «end of the party» aspect of his latest album. The weariness of a man tired of a world about which he has nothing more to say. Lucid and wholehearted, Orelsan and Damso are far more than the violent misogynists portrayed by some. They are architects of prose with their own musicality, a complex art that draws on a variety of registers, reflecting a keen sense of musical research.

Read also: Does Orelsan deserve the Victoires de la Musique?

These two artists confirm the trend: French rap is living a golden age. Notwithstanding those who continue to regard the genre as simply «neighbourhood riff-raff music». Perhaps our editor-in-chief is even gradually being seduced. Rap is being democratized and is no longer reserved for those who rebel. To confine the style to the rank of subculture is to miss out on musical masterpieces. With this song, Orelsan and Damso justify their reputation as «greats», which many in the media still refuse to ascribe to them.

Write to the author: diego.taboada@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Youtube - Adrien Lagier & Ousmane Ly