In 2018, the song, « Djadja » by Malian-French singer-songwriter, Aya Nakamura spent two weeks at number one on the music charts. The song was streamed over a billion times making her the most listened to Francophone female artist.
She has also graced the covers of Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Forbes, to name a few. In addition, she was recently named a Global Brand Ambassador for the French luxury perfume and cosmetic house, Lancôme.
Despite these accomplishments, she began to receive racist backlash when it was rumored in early March that she would be performing a song by music icon Edith Piaf at the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A few weeks later, she released the song, « Doggy, » which supposedly is a response to the harassment (lyrics include « j’ai pas d’ennemis moi, c’est eux qui m’aiment pas » (“I don’t have any enemies, it’s them who don’t like me”) and « Pas besoin de me valider, je fais la une des magazines » (“No need to validate myself, I’m on the front page of magazines”).
Unfortunately, she’s had to address haters before, like in her song, « Moi » which appeared on her 2017 debut album, Journal intime.
Title: Moi
Written and performed by: Aya Nakamura
Lyrics I like:
pourquoi lutter
trop déterminée
n’essayez pas de me changer
je suis déjà dans ce truc avec moi-même
les rageux de gauche à droite
n’ont pas honte de parler de moi
Translation:
why fight
too determined
don’t try to change me
I’m already in this thing with myself
the haters from left to right
are not ashamed to talk about me
music & lyrics | all rights reserved
🎶
The way I see it, Aya Nakamura is a music icon in her own right. And, if the rumors are true, I do hope she gets to perform at the Olympics this summer.
🎧 Listen to all the songs from my Music Monday series (so far): My French Song Playlist by BonjourDarlene 🎶 (Note: I use Spotify, but none of my Music Monday posts are sponsored.)
Until next Music Monday, have a good week ahead.
Bonjour: A Francophile Blog 