UK x France
Enough has been written about the supposed silver linings of lockdown + the pandemic; one of my favorites is how global music has become. Kpop is just as mainstream as the next Doja Cat anthem and one of my biggest bets at the start of 2021 was the emergence of even more global crossover. Purely because of preference, I tend to think a lot about what I see in Europe and the U.K.
Not enough has been written about the importance of DJs like Tiffany Calver in acquainting the U.K. with French rap specifically. Where I’d argue that many French artists are keen to collaborate with folks in the U.S. I’d imagine for reach, it’s been fascinating to see a marked increase in French rap listening, appearances and interest in the U.K.
A couple of moments that informed this:
the 2018 World Cup and the seminal work of players like Kimpembe and Mendy in openly sharing celebratory videos dancing to their favorite artists (here’s a playlist I started following then, sick of Shazaming through every single story).
Artists like Hamza and Kalash were invited to open for Drake’s sold out 2019 Assasination Vacation tour, with Tiffany Calver’s opening set featuring French anthems. I remember finding out about this from angry Instagram posts and tweets from Booba.
The promotion of PNL’s long awaited 2019 album Deux Freres involved a fair amount of international press, notably Virgil Abloh and rare, consistent social media appearances by the two brothers jiving to D-Block Europe songs.
The rise of drill in late 2019, 2020 has felt like a truly global moment with dill artists championing one another across the world.
It’s been wonderful to see this continue into 2021.