Belgian originally from Brussels, Paul Van Haverbetter known as Stromaeis perhaps the most international musician in his country: he is a man who sometimes takes us from Africa to the far north of the planet, passing through psychedelic Europe and synthesizes what we can call the supreme of contemporary sound. Stromae He absorbs the best of pop, jazz, rap, soul, and electronic music and brings it all together into one beat, making his songs delightfully engaging. There are moments when you have the slight sensation of being in the Caribbean dancing African salsa, with a I don’t know quoi of electronic bits. Stromae he sings in French, and his name means “master” in Belgian slang, and the truth is that it is perceived in his songs. From a discreet critique of the outside world (from the simplest to the most complex), or even an immersion in his own stories, Stromae shows that pop can be complex and deep.
As if this were not enough, Stromae is an absolute genius when it comes to offering live shows: all that remains is to see the concert in Montreal of his album on his official YouTube profile Racine Carrée, and shiver from start to finish. Drinking from European elegance and mimetic art, to see him act is to thank his ingenuity, his originality and his absolute belief in having the freedom to be who we want to be, and to make our choices our own identity. Those of us who have listened to him cannot deny the melancholy and the truth transposed in his songs, which sometimes deceive with a childish melody while he tells us about abuse, or a beat that resonates in the heart to sing to us about irresponsible parents: listening to him is moving the body from one side to the other with the certainty that it is: there is happiness and also sadness in rap, in salsa, in groove, in zumba, in pop, in dance. After a too long break of eight years, this Belgian returns in March with a new album, Crowds. While we wait, we review the best of his discography in eight tracks.
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8. Alors on Danse
Written by: Stromae | Produced by: Stromae
We start this list with an iconic hymn from Stromae: Alors on Danse. Launched in 2009 in Belgium, the following year it began to be heard in the rest of Europe and reached the top of the charts on the continent. The electronic rhythm and the repetitive chorus that gives the song its name made it a sure choice for nights out all over the world. and although the lyrics are an invitation to dance and forget about life’s problems, it has a darker background: the narrator of the song is going through an existential crisis, questioning the economic and social reality on which the world is based. the one we live in With pessimism and resignation, the best solution for him and for others is to dance to leave worries behind.
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Featured lyrics: Qui dit études dit travail / Qui dit taff te dit des thunes / Qui dit argent dit dépenses / Qui dit credit dit créance / Qui dit dette, te dit huissier / Lui dit assis dans la merde
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7. Moules Frites
Written by: Stromae | Produced by: Stromae & Guillaume Huguet
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This theme included in the disc Racine Carree from 2013 seems at first glance to be talking about Paulo, a friend of the narrator, and his simple culinary preferences: fried mussels, without mayonnaise, without French fries, and eaten with almost fanatical intensity, no matter where they come from. As we all know, eating seafood that is not fresh is always a risk, and in the song, Paulo learns the lesson: mussels serve as a way of talking about unprotected sex and without a condom, which leaves Paulo, the lover of the adventure, with a sexually transmitted disease.
Featured lyrics: Mais il aurait du s’en méfier, Paulo / Car on ne sait où elle s’est baignée, plus tôt / Comme elle était contaminée, Paulo ne chantera plus / Ou peut-être, une fois interré, Paulo
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6. the sick
Written by: Stromae | Produced by: Stromae
The second single from their forthcoming album, Multitudes, bears an ominous and dark name: El Infierno. An excellent title for this song full of vocal and choral melodies, with a delicate piano in the background that eventually joins a hip hop beat that stops at the end of each chorus. In this theme, the artist talks about the reason that prompted him to take such a long artistic break, and that he continues to feel: loneliness and depression, as well as suicidal thoughts that sometimes made him live through hell. It is an emotional, sincere and with which many can identify.
Featured lyrics: J’ai parfois eu des suicidal thoughts, et j’en suis peu fier / On croit parfois que c’est la seule manière de les faire taire / Ces Pensiees qui me font vivre un enfer
5. Hail Cesaria
Written by: Orelsan & Stromae | Produced by: Stromae, Antonio Santos, Mauricio Delgados & Schérazade
A song that is always among the favorites of the fans of this Belgian is Ave Cesaria, a song that pays homage to the legendary Cesaria Evorawho was one of the most traditional singers in Cape Verde. Stromae wanted to pay tribute to her after seeing her sing at the Sakifo Festival on Reunion Island, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. Her original idea was to do a duet with the singer, but she died seven months later, so the collaboration never happened. in her honor, Stromae he wrote the chorus of the song in Creole, the official language of Cape Verde.
Featured lyrics: Han, pardon, monsieur ne prend pas parti / Monsieur n’est même pas raciste, vu que monsieur n’a pas de racines / D’ailleurs monsieur a un ami noir, et même un ami Aryen / Monsieur est mieux que tout ça, d’ailleurs tout ça, bah ça n’sert à rien
Four. Formidable
Written by: Stromae | Produced by: Stromae
Let’s start with a bit of trivia: the title of this thread is actually a play on Stromae’s words: Formidable it alludes to something wonderful, and also sounds like the French phrase fort minable, which translates as something very pathetic. So basically in this issue we see Stromae describe his relationship with his ex as the former and himself as the latter. In fact, in the video, shot in Brussels, the artist himself behaves like a cheeky drunk on the street, making people wonder how he got to this point in his life. One of his inspirations for the theme was the classic Ces gens la of Jacques Brell.
Featured lyrics: Five minutes quoi! J’t’ai pas insultée / J’suis poli, courtois, et un peu fort bourré / Et pour les mecs comme moi, vous avez autre chose à faire hein / Vous m’auriez vu hier…
3. Sante
Written by: Stromae | Produced by: Juanpaio Toch, Moon Willis & Stromae
We reached the top positions of the list with sante, Stromae’s comeback single after eight years of absence, and which premiered in October 2021. On this occasion he was accompanied in the production by Juanpaio Toch and by Moon Willis, who in addition to giving the song an electro-pop sound, sprinkle the whole thing with an Andean and almost cumbia rhythm, where Stromae is dedicated to celebrating those who do the most thankless jobs in the world, and those who tend to make sure that others have fun. So raise your glass to those who can’t celebrate: either because they’re busy with responsibilities, their job doesn’t allow them, or because they’re heartbroken.
Featured lyrics: Pilote d’avion ou infirmière, chauffeur de camion ou hôtesse de l’air / Boulanger ou marin-pêcheur, un verre aux champions des pires horaires / Aux jeunes parents bercés par les pleurs, aux insomniaques de profession / Et tous ceux qui souffrent de heart comb, qui n’ont pas l’cœur aux célébrations / Qui n’ont pas l’cœur aux célébrations
two. dodos
Written by: Stromae | Produced by: Stromae
As number two on the list, we include a little gem from the Cheese album of 2010. It is one of his most intense and emotional songs: it is Dodo, a lullaby that with an innocent and happy melody tells us about the violence of gender and intrafamily, telling the story of a family with a toxic heart: a violent husband beats the mother of a child, and the mother cheats on the husband. In this scenario, the minor must remain silent, without crying, witnessing everything, waiting for everything to pass, and sleeping. The lyrics are strong and almost raw, and at the end, it says how people raised in situations like these can only sleep when the person who poses the threat of violence in their lives finally dies. Thus, the lullaby finally takes effect: when the source of the trauma no longer exists.
Featured lyrics: Et il te fera ce qu’on lui faisait / Et il te dira que c’est ta faute à toi / Que les grands hommes mâles ne pleurent pas / Mais qu’ils se battent, enfin battent leur femme / Mais surtout leurs enfants et you pleurises
1. Papaoutai
Written by: Stromae | Produced by: Stromae, Aron Ottignon & Papa Dizzy
And we come to number one: Papaoutai.This successful song is part of the second album of Stromae,Racine Carree, and the title is a simplification of the French question papa où t’es?, which translates as: Dad, where are you? Despite having a danceable beat, the lyrics are not happy and refer to the singer’s father, who was killed in 1994 in the genocide in Rwanda. However, Stromae claims that even before that, his father was barely present in his life and that he barely knew him. Thus, in the video, we see apparently happy families while an almost plastic Stromae serves as a father figure for a child who wonders why he can’t have the same as everyone else. At the end, when the boy in the video also freezes like his father, it represents the fear of Stromae: the fear that he might take his father’s place by also being absent. After all, as the song says, everybody knows how to make babies, but nobody knows how to make parents.
Featured lyrics: Où est ton papa? / Dis-moi où est ton papa? / Sans même devoir lui parler / Il sait ce qui ne va pas / Ah sacré papa / Dis-moi où es-tu cache ? / Ça doit, faire au moins mille fois que j’ai / Compté mes doigts
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