Stromae

Paul Van Haver (born 12 March 1985, Brussels), better known by his stage name Stromae [stʁɔmaj], is a Belgian-Rwandan musician, singer, rapper and songwriter. Stromae was born to a Rwandan father, Pierre Rutare, and a Belgian mother, Miranda Marie Van Haver. He is originally from Laeken, in Brussels.^[1] He established himself in both the hip hop and electronic music genres. Stromae came to wide public attention in 2009 with his song "Alors on danse", which became a number one in several European countries. In 2013, his second album Racine carrée was a commercial success, selling 2 million copies in France alone and nearly 600,000 units elsewhere.

Early life

Stromae was born in Belgium to a Tutsi father and a Flemish mother.^[2] His father, a successful Rwandan architect, was killed during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.^[2] His mother raised him and his four siblings in Brussels, and later in a nearby suburb. She encouraged each of her children to play a sport and an instrument. Stromae studied percussion. His mother placed him in a Roman Catholic Jesuit school after he failed in the public school system at the age of sixteen.^[2] He formed a small rap group with friends while still in school. His early influences included Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel, Cuban son, and Congolese rumba.^[3] He did not always feel that he was from Belgium, even though he was raised as a Belgian. He always saw himself more connected to his Rwandan side; some believe that is the source of his talent. This "outsider" image became part of his appeal.^[2]

Musical career

2000–07: Early career

In 2000, he appeared as a rapper called Opsmaestro, though he later changed his stage name to "Stromae", which is "Maestro" with the syllables reversed in a French vernacular practice called verlan.^[2]

At the age of 18, he founded a rap group called "Suspicion", along with rapper "J.E.D.I." in Eichof. They produced the song and music video "Faut que t'arrête le Rap..." before J.E.D.I. decided to leave the rap duo. To finance his private school education, Van Haver worked part-time in the hospitality industry, but his academic performance wasn't up to standard. It was only later, when he registered at the Institut national de radioélectricité et cinématographie, that he released his first album "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic...".

2007–08: Debut EP and record career

In 2007, during his studies at the film school of Brussels, Stromae decided to concentrate fully on his musical career. This resulted in his debut-EP "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic…". In 2008 he signed a 4-year record deal with "Because Music" and "Kilomaître".

2009–12: Breakthrough and international success

Portrait of Stromae

In 2008, Stromae worked as a young trainee at the music radio station NRJ in Brussels. Vincent Verbelen, Music Manager, was impressed by the talent he perceived in Stromae's first single "Alors on danse" and decided to air it for the first time on NRJ. The response from listeners (including influential personalities ranging from Anna Wintour and Jean-Claude Van Damme, to the then-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy) was one of extreme enthusiasm and Stromae came to wider public attention. In a few weeks from that point, sales of the song established it as number one in Belgium.

Vertigo Records, a label of Mercury Records France (Universal Music Group), signed him for a worldwide licensing deal soon after this.

By May 2010 the track "Alors on danse" had reached number one in Belgium, France, Sweden, Greece, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Romania and the Czech Republic.

On 2 September, Stromae collaborated with Kanye West in a remix of his hit "Alors on danse".^[4] In 2010, he was nominated for Best Dutch and Belgian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Of his music and influences, he has said: "I was in a little group doing rap music. I thought that rather than copying the French sound, I'd focus on a more American style but give it a European spin. And then I rediscovered 90s Eurodance. For a long time we were ashamed of that sound but in fact there's a lot to discover. It has its roots in everything from house to salsa. I also really admire Jacques Brel – he has been a huge influence on me – but also all sorts of other stuff, Cuban son, and the Congolese rumba, that I heard as a child; that music rocked the whole of Africa." Also, Stromae insists he wanted to collaborate with up and coming rap group Swag+5 featuring rapper T-Jay. In the end, the collaboration did not take place, but Stromae is a big fan of the America-based group.^[5] The critic Molloy Woodcraft : "He combines 90s electro synths and beats with a laidback delivery to mesmeric effect".

He is one of the ten winners of the European Border Breakers Award 2011. On 9 February 2011, his debut album Cheese (including the hit single "Alors on danse") won the award for Best Dance Album at the Victoires de la musique.

On 23 May 2011, during the recording of the French TV show Taratata, Stromae did a mashup of "Alors on danse" and "Don't Stop the Party" with the Black Eyed Peas. Stromae also announced he would perform as opening support act for the first of two concerts by the band in Paris on 24 and 25 June 2011 at Stade De France.^[6] Stromae had previously met will.i.am at the NRJ Music Awards in January. will.i.am told him that he liked "Alors on danse" and said he wanted to collaborate with Stromae.

In 2011, he received one nomination for Best Belgian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.^[7]

2013–present: Racine carrée

The first single "Papaoutai" from his second album Racine carrée (English: Square root) was digitally released on 13 May 2013. It went on to chart number 1 in Belgium and France, number 2 in the Netherlands, as well as number 7 in Germany and Switzerland.

On 22 May 2013, amateur-looking videos appeared on YouTube showing Stromae, apparently drunk and wandering at the Louiza tram station in Brussels at dawn.^[8] The videos went viral. A few days later, it was revealed that this was linked with the filming of a professional music video. This was confirmed during an appearance by Stromae on the French TV show Ce soir ou jamais in which he discussed and also performed his new single "Formidable", which is about the story of a drunk man just separated from his girlfriend. The clip was made from edited hidden camera footage taken on 22 May. It also shows people taking pictures with their cellphones, people who are clearly irritated by his drunk actions, people helping him stand up, and three policemen asking if the artist is ok or if he needs some help.^[9][10] The policemen also got some critiques for not acting against the drunk Stromae; however, they later declared that the entire story was not shown. The part where they returned and Stromae had to explain his case was not broadcast.^[11]

On 26 July 2013, Stromae announced on his Facebook^[12] and Twitter^[13] accounts that he had completed his second studio album Racine carrée or √ and that it would be released on 16 August 2013. On 25 August 2013, Stromae joined Major Lazer's show at French festival Rock en Seine, where he performed Papaoutai. In September 2013, Belgian rock band Mintzkov covered his song "Formidable/Wonderful" for a live session on Studio Brussel, with lyrics in English. In November 2013, Stromae received the award for Best Belgian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.^[14][15]

On 17 March 2014, it was made public that Stromae's song "Ta fête" would become the official song for the Belgian national football team at the 2014 World Cup.^[16]

In June 2014, in support of Racine carrée, Stromae made his US television debut on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers.^[17] He then embarked on a tour across the United States and performed at the Best Buy Theater in New York City.^[18][19] While in New York, on 22 June 2014, Stromae guest starred in a Snapchat story with Jerome Jarre as The Carrot's Father.^[20]

On 21 October 2014, it was revealed that New Zealand singer Lorde invited Stromae to work on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 along with artists like Kanye West, Grace Jones, Diplo and The Chemical Brothers.^[21] He contributed to the song "Meltdown" which also features Pusha T, Q-Tip, Haim and Lorde herself.^[22] Earlier that month she declared herself a fan of Stromae after attending his concert.^[23] In March 2015, Stromae released a music video for the song "Carmen", which was directed by Sylvain Chomet. The video warns people against the addiction of social websites such as Twitter.^[24]

Stromae continued touring the United States, performing in March 2015 in several places among which the SXSW in Austin, Texas.^[25] He was also among the line-up of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.^[26][27] He then began a tour in Africa on 13 May. However, in mid-June Stromae was forced to cancel the remaining of his shows until 2 August for health reasons.^[28] He performed at Madison Square Garden in October, becoming the first exclusively French-singing performer to sell out that venue.^[29][30]

On 14 September 2015, Stromae released a single "Quand c'est?", a song about cancer, which plays on the fact that "Quand c'est?" (When is it?) and "cancer" are phonetically similar in French.^[31]

By the end of 2015, the album became the first in over a decade to reach 2 million sales in France.

Fashion label

Stromae is known for his distinctive physique and clothing style. He has used this image in launching a limited fashion line, Mosaert (an anagram of his stage name). The collection features bright colors and geometric patterns, and has been described as "hipster" and "retro kitsch". Stromae has said that he wanted to "create a bridge between British style and African aesthetic."^[32]

The first collection was a success, with stocks almost sold out after three days.^[33] The second collection, Capsule No. 2, was released at Colette in Paris on 3 December 2014, and features the square root design on each item in different colors.^[34][35] Capsule No. 3 was released on 7 April 2016.^[36] The new designs are the first to use patterns not previously worn by Stromae, reflecting Mosaert's intention to gradually move into a separate stylistic identity for the clothing line.^[37][38]

Personal life

On 12 December 2015, Van Haver got married to Coralie Barbier by well-known Catholic Priest Guy Gilbert, in a private ceremony held in Mechelen.^[39]

Awards and nominations

Discography

Stromae during Brussels Summer Festival (2011)

Studio albums

• 2010: Cheese
• 2013: Racine Carrée

Extended plays

• 2007: Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic...

Mixtapes

• 2006: Freestyle Finest
• 2009: Mixture Elecstro

Video albums

• 2015: Racine carrée Live

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stromae.

• (French) Official website
• Stromae's channel on YouTube
• Stromae at AllMusic
• Stromae at the Internet Movie Database
• Stromae on Twitter
  
• Stromae: Disillusion, With a Dance Beat by Scott Sayare, 14 October 2013 in The New York Times