From May 26 to 28, Aya Nakamura shone at the three concerts she gave at the Accor Arena in Paris as part of her DNK Tour, following the release of her album on January 27. Tickets for these concerts sold out in just 15 minutes in early February, earning her a "Gold Ticket", a distinction awarded to artists whose tickets sell out the fastest. In fact, she is the only French artist to have been awarded this title! 

A week later, she gave a remarkable performance of her best-known songs in the final of The Voice, broadcast on TF1, France's first and oldest national general interest television channel.

Despite her outstanding performance, Aya Nakamura has once again been the target of criticism. The most striking example of this lack of respect came from Nicoletta, a former French singer best known for her rendition of the song "Mamy Blue", who harshly criticised Aya, declaring:

She doesn't sing well, she wiggles her buttocks all the time. (...) She's always brushing against her sex. (...) For me, it's not music. It's vulgarity!

This insulting remark reveals the latent racism that surrounds Aya Nakamura's meteoric rise. Since the start of her career, this international star has been constantly attacked by a multitude of racist, sexist, and classist comments from detractors seeking to play down her talent or undermine her success. On social networks and in the traditional French media, these purveyors of hatred endeavour to ridicule, caricature and belittle her, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and prejudices. 

French comedian Anne Roumanoff then took a stand in support of the singer. Her analysis sheds light on the underlying reasons for the contempt in which Aya is held in France:

She is very original, she is feminist, she is free and sexy. She tells everyone to screw off, she has humor, she is very intelligent. I find that in France, there is contempt for her because she is a woman, because she is black, and because she doesn't have the codes for certain things. It annoys me when people have this kind of contempt. But shut up! She is much more interesting than many singers that everyone worships. She has energy and an audience. I find her incredible. I adore her.

Indeed, who could have imagined such a wave of hatred towards white French-speaking singers such as Mylène Farmer, the interpreter of the song "Libertine", or more recently Angèle? Yet these artists enjoy the freedom to dress, dance and perform their songs without their status as artists being called into question or described as "vulgar".

Today, Aya Nakamura is the most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world. Born into a family of griots, her music is a skilful blend of R&B, hip-hop, pop, Afrobeats and more. Her catalogue of songs has accumulated no fewer than 6 billion streams on streaming platforms, while her music videos have accumulated 3.5 billion views on YouTube. Her fame has also been recognised by awards such as Female Artist of the Year at the Flammes ceremony, which celebrates "inner-city cultures and the creativity of those who make them flourish". 

Since the start of her career, Aya Nakamura has been constantly reduced to degrading stereotypes in her public appearances, being portrayed as an angry black woman, a spoilt or rude diva, a sex object, or as unintelligent. These dehumanising stereotypes constantly bring her back to her origins, her physical appearance and the way she expresses herself, as if to marginalise her and underline her otherness.

Her music is also constantly devalued by her detractors, who reproach her for the emptiness of her lyrics, and claim that she does not speak French properly. Numerous articles have expressed outrage at the use of new expressions in her songs or ridiculed her lyrics, without ever considering that this could be a legitimate form of artistic expression, as was the case with the use of slang by other French-speaking artists in the past, such as Gainsbourg, Brassens, or Renaud. Surprisingly, the French media have never made such an effort to find the meaning or understanding of an artist's lyrics. While some artists enjoy a certain creative immunity thanks to the recognition of their work as poetic, Aya is constantly confronted by journalists asking for explanations of words like "Pookie" or "Djadja"...

It seems that what bothers people is that a talented, self-confident black woman of African origin from the suburbs represents France internationally. It seems that whatever she does, Aya will always be seen as 'too much' or 'not enough'. Fortunately, Aya has many fans. She is a role model for many girls and women, especially black ones, who can identify with her and draw inspiration from her.

And if you want to see her perform this summer, she will be performing in France (Dijon, Marseille, Reims, Nancy, Arras, Les Vieilles Charrues, Lollapalooza, Carcassonne), Portugal (Afronation and Sumol Summer Festival), Belgium (Les Ardentes) and Canada (Osheaga Festival).