The Flames, musical awards focused on rap and other related currents, alternatives to the Victoires de la Musique, unveiled their categories on Tuesday for a first edition on May 11 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
The creation of the Flames, announced at the end of 2022, now takes shape with the revelation of their categories (the nominations will be revealed in April) that accommodate everything that the Victories hide.
Or “21 different awards aimed at artists, creators and creators, but also at more withdrawn personalities who deserve to be highlighted,” the organizers write in a press release.
More than double Victoires de la Musique, only 10 categories for its ceremony on February 10 at La Seine Musicale, at the gates of Paris.
The Llamas ceremony was born at the initiative of media specialized in “popular culture”, such as YARD, Booska-P, not forgetting Smile, a consulting agency. This event is also supported by Spotify, the world’s first music platform.
The Victoires de la Musique, long criticized for not leaving enough room for the rap and R&B spheres, are not mentioned in the Flames organizers’ press release. But they make a clear point when they describe “some” who “have refused for too long” to give this music “the meaning it deserves, at the level of what it stands for.”
rejected genres
Les Victoires are regularly accused of “systematically making rap invisible, which is nevertheless the one that sells the most today”, as Eloïse Bouton, journalist and founder of miss rapa medium dedicated to women and LGBT+ in hip-hop.
The Marseillaise rapper SCH, upon receiving his Victory for the most streamed male artist last year, said live into the microphone his “shame” at not seeing rappers like Jul or Dinos present at the ceremony.
Along with the categories planned as “rap album of the year”, Les Flammes innovates with that of “featuring of the year” (guest artist in the title of another). Or even “Afro/Afro-Inspired Song of the Year” and “Caribbean/Caribbean-Inspired Song of the Year.”
Influences that we find in Aya Nakamura, the most listened to French-speaker in the world and yet snubbed by the Victories. “She is unique, she is the queen of this mix of sounds, a bit of West Africa, a bit of the Caribbean too, a bit of Zouk, a bit of dancehall, a bit of Afro-pop,” she exposed in 2021 on AFP Diplo , renowned American DJ. -producer.
Les Flammes wants to reflect “the richness of our music, its diversity and the fact that it is constantly evolving by being permeable to influences from all over the world.” A category “Social Commitment of the Year” will also be distinguished.
“New Pop”
“These categories are the ones that will allow us to celebrate popular cultures in the first year, but nothing is set in stone,” the officials warn. Categories will “evolve” if necessary. The “vast majority of the Flames” will be awarded “through an equitable combination” of two voting panels, trades related to the music industry and the general public.
For its first edition, Les Flammes will present gender categories (female artist, male artist, female artist, male artist of the year). Even if “not defining music by the genre of its artist is obviously the right thing to do”, the organizers stress. “In our cultures, this will only be possible when women are more numerous, and more supported. In the meantime, they will be represented”, they conclude.
Among their categories, Les Flammes favor the term “new pop”, which eschews the “urban music” label sometimes found elsewhere. “Behind ‘urban music’, we can imply ‘scum music, from peripheral areas’, it’s like when we say ‘traditional music’, it can imply ‘town music'”, denounced Naïma Huber Yahi, historian and researcher, during a table round at the Trans Musicales de Rennes in 2021.
Source: BFM TV
