A year ago to the day, Laylow filled the Accor Arena in Bercy. Surrounded by prestigious guests like Nekfeu or Damso, the 29-year-old Toulousain entered through the front door into the court of those who matter in the rap world. Another March 11, another atmosphere: this Saturday, he was placed in police custody after speeding in Val-de-Marne. At first, it was also indicated that Jérémy Larroux (his real name) had tested positive for cocaine. But according to a judicial source, the additional tests did not reveal the presence of narcotics. The young man who is about to celebrate his 30th birthday this Sunday was released at the end of his police custody.
Whatever the outcome of this episode of road safety, Laylow will probably not speak to the press. His media interventions are more than rare, they are combined with the very conditional. After the phenomenal success of his second album “The Strange Story of Mr. Anderson”, released in July 2021 without promotion or trumpet, we tried to meet this ambitious young man who had just given birth to a concept disc which listen like watching a movie. But once, twice, he had shifted. Rejected also the proposals to appear on the list of the Joséphine prize which rewards the best albums of the year. On the sidelines, apart.
The rapper of Franco-Ivorian origin is not talkative. Faced with a colleague from the “World”, in September 2021, he explained this silence. « The album already said a lot about me, he pleaded. With music, you can’t explain things so clearly, but if you listen carefully, you can understand how I think, how I work, how I motivate myself, what stages I went through. At first, I got into rap to follow others and, in the end, I try to create my own universe. »
A little music of his own
A universe turned towards cinema. His first album, “Trinity” referenced the movie “Matrix”. The next is eyeing the side of “Fight Club” or “Get out”. The 7th art? Not the fifth wheel of the carriage in the work of the Toulousain, who had enrolled in a master’s degree in cinema at the University of Paris-Diderot.
In his first opus, which sold 50,000 copies, he was already making his own little music heard, telling a romance like no other with emotional stimulation software. Strong, singular. ” I thought these are good ideas for film, but maybe too complicated for music “, he revealed to us in July 2021.
The following, logical for this fan of stories on the screen, he first launches it in the form of a short film in which the rapper-actor appears at the wheel of a yellow racing car. He knows he is expected at the turn, takes an unexpected turn. “I could have come back with a second album that talks about the success I have had, about what has changed for me, but it’s already seen and too easy to do. People don’t follow me for that. »
Create your own story, follow your own path: this is basically the message of “The Strange Story of Mr. Anderson”, with dark, melancholy texts, which propel it to the top: 130,000 copies sold and tickets for two Accor Arenas sold out in just a few hours.
This March 11, 2022, is the consecration: the Toulousain returns to a boiling Bercy in a Gothic setting worthy of a Tim Burton blockbuster. “Three years ago, I was doing the Black Ball (Parisian hall with 300 seats), he surprised himself on stage. I could see all the faces. I try to keep the same closeness. It’s a phew thing. Thank you for allowing this story. »
He had to “get into [s] a cave” to prepare an album…
The cinema fan had taken care of his videos, the tables following one another like in a film. Before a final after 1h40 of show. “Please take a little time, I have something to tell you, he then says to the public. When we were in our room, making Bercy was impossible, even making a gold record was impossible. The message of my second album is to follow your dreams. No call back, Laylow then leaves as he arrived.
Then headlining festivals such as the Fête de l’Humanité or We Love Green (concert finally canceled due to bad weather), the rapper had planned to “go back to [s] a cave” to work on a new album. He came out of it this weekend, but certainly not the way he wanted.