2023-07-30 22:27:58
The Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi, appointed president of the jury for the “Chanson” competition, takes his role very seriously and intends to pass on his experience to French-speaking youth during these Games. He intends to stay away from the controversy over the ban on him performing in French institutes in Africa.
Published on: 07/30/2023 – 22:27
4 mn
From our special correspondent in Kinshasa,
RFI: Didier Awadi, you are president of the “Chanson” jury of the Games of La Francophonie. What do you want to pass on to young francophone artists?
Didier Awadi : First of all, it’s an honor for me to be here, to take part in the Games of La Francophonie. I was honored with this designation as president of the jury for the song. It is truly an honor for my country and for the hip-hop community of which I am a part. The message we would like to send to young people is that you have to be professional to do this job and when you are passionate, there is no reason not to have a great career. It will be very difficult for us to choose among all these talents. If they’re there, it’s really because they’ve already won everything. If their country selected them, it means they have talent. So the task is very difficult with my friends from the jury, but we will try to be impartial and do the job well.
You have already had time to spot a few nuggets…
No, we’ll find out. We decided not to look at the candidates, we will discover them at the same time because otherwise you will be influenced and afterwards, you risk not being objective.
What do you expect? To new creations, new styles, inspirations…
I just expect to be dazzled. Now, how? I don’t know. I don’t prepare my mind for anything. I just want to take a lot of happiness from listening to good music.
You are president of the jury at La Francophonie, when you declared yourself persona non grata in French institutes in Africa. If it’s not rehabilitation, it’s still another strong signal…
No no no ! For me, it has nothing to do. There was… (He hesitates) I don’t really want to talk about this issue actually. For me, it’s behind me. Today, those who doubted… No, frankly, I don’t want to answer that question. This is giving too much importance to these men.
It’s still important because…
(He cuts) I don’t want to give them the importance they don’t have. For me, it’s a detail frankly. It is a non-event. I said it because it had to be said and because I don’t like being made to wear racist clothes. It is not me. For me, it’s just a detail.
We still feel a certain frustration or spite, with this situation. It touches you that you are assimilated to a racist…
Yes, they tried to pass that… The proof, I am here. In every system there are bad apples, but I prefer to watch the glass half full.
What is glass half full to you then?
The glass half full is that I’m here, I’m in the Francophonie and that’s what’s important. Frankly, it’s a non-event and I say that very sincerely. I said it because it had to be said, but I don’t want to dwell on it. I continue to do my job as I have always done and to share this love of music with the whole world, and particularly with French-speakers, but also English-speakers and Portuguese-speakers.
Transmitting, sharing, will this be the main objective with young French-speaking artists?
Yes, it’s important to do that with young francophones. I had the chance to take advantage of the Francophonie in my career. It helped me a lot in my mobility, we traveled a lot thanks to the Francophonie and we saw many regions of the world. It helps a career, so I hope that the young people who come out of there will have a good career. In any case, we will do everything to boost them, support them as much as we can in our networks. During the auditions, there will be someone from Bomayé Music, which is one of the biggest French-speaking hip-hop labels. He will also have a look at who will come out of there, what talent will emerge. They are talent scouts, scouts and developers. So you never know what can happen to these youngsters, they are lucky. They have a great tool, it’s also the time to make connections and create new friendships.
French institutes close their doors in Awadi
On July 11, on Radio Futurs Médias in Senegal, Didier Awadi declared: “ I recently learned that there was a note in the French institutes which prohibits my shows and so it is with great surprise, great sadness, because they want to pass me off as a racist or someone who stirs up anti-French sentiment and that’s the antithesis of who I am. Being myself a cultural and genetic crossbreed, I cannot be racist and I do not allow anyone to treat me in this way (…) I am not waiting for these institutes to live anyway, but I do not want that I am made to pass for what I am not. I ask nothing of these institutes. Since then, the Senegalese rapper has not had any official notification of this ban, noting the successive cancellation of his programming dates in French institutes. Some see in this ban, a kind of censorship since the release of the clip and the film of the same name ” When we refuse, we say no. taken from the eponymous album released last February. A very committed album in the image of Didier Awadi.
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