Lala&ce concert in Montpellier: the young rapper set the Rockstore on fire for her first visit to the city

La rappeuse a présenté son album au Rockstore le 28 mars. – FILIP KOLUDROVIC

On March 28, 2024, rapper Lala&ce met her audience at Rockstore. A first for the people of Montpellier who welcomed the young woman with a mixture of euphoria and fever.

“Montpellier you are so hot, it's a pleasure. It's the first time but it makes you want to come back!” It takes no less to provoke yet another wave of screams. Lala&ce presents her new album, Solstice, at La Surdouée.

Dystopian universe, dizzying flashes, passionate team, enjoyable bass, crafted lyrics… The concert was unanimous. The project of the young rapper from Lyon ticks all the boxes, while being disruptive.

Autopsy of a promise

Technical texts written with obvious rigor, hiding themes imbued with spontaneity: love, desire, unity, celebration, faith, freedom, mourning, hope, the need to belong. “I wanted to try to talk about myself, my position in society, the fact that I always feel a little on the margins”, we confided Mélanie Berthinier, her real name, the day after the concert.“But I’found a family, friends, loved ones… And we feel on the margins, but together”.

And there is the scenography. Grandiose. Between the scents of beers that overflow from the glasses with each movement of the pool, added to a few smells of perspiration born from overly enthusiastic dance steps, the bass of the Rockstore makes the room lit with a mystical red beat. The album is only a month old but the words are flying on everyone's lips. The audience is delighted to be deafened by screaming the choruses.

In front of them, a 29-year-old woman, animated by her music, satisfied smile, excited shoulders, strong, deep voice, delivering flows of shared feelings. His place in society, some bitter experiences, his desire, his singularity.

The Franco-Ivorian mumbles her words, scratched by the autotune of the productions [the musical part of a song]. However, she makes herself understood. When we ask fans what they think of his music, they answer that it speaks to them, that it resonates within them.

The Solstice

Finally, his universe. Solstice is dystopia applied to rap, which is reminiscent of other literally monstrous French rap projects, such as The Strange Story of Monsieur Anderson by Laylow. The artist evolves in a haze of feelings and personal observations. With her loved ones, or “The goal”, she shows society, or “The Line& ;rdquo;, the right path to singularity. By creating a separate world, she distills her own, questions us about ours.

The whole thing forms a mixture of intimacy and communion. At the end, she declaims: “This last sound, I want it to be sung like a prayer.” The public gets involved in the game and agrees to take part in this oration. Three years ago, Vanity Fair described the artist as “the best hidden secret of French rap&rdquo ;. With our colleagues from World, she hoped “not to remain incommunicado for too long”. Promise kept.