2023-10-06 04:00:00
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 3 hours ago, Updated 17 minutes ago
The thirty-year-old Nej, Najoua Laamri in her civil status, has set records for listening and downloading of her music, from R’n’B to oriental sounds. JOEL SAGET / AFP
On the Spotify platform, she has become the most listened to French-speaking artist after Aya Nakamura and Angèle. The second disc of this thirty-year-old is released this Friday, October 5 with collaborations from Bigflo and Oli or the rapper Maes. Portrait.
His hits are downloaded by the millions but his name will probably mean nothing to the general public: Nej, three letters but a musical tsunami determined to shine, after a journey “against all odds”.
To talk about this artist, we must first look at the figures: 3.3 million monthly listeners on the Spotify platform (one of the most listened to French-speaking artists after Aya Nakamura and Angèle) and nearly two million subscribers on TikTok.
Dancing sounds
“There are undoubtedly media who closed the door to me”points out the singer when asked about her media absence despite record sales. “Others don’t know me yet. In any case, I don’t close the door to anyone”, she puts things into perspective. Born in Toulouse in a modest environment, Najoua Laamri, her real name, developed a passion for music very early on. She was discovered by a neighbor who helped her get started.
Several years of hardship followed. It is through social networks, where she publishes numerous covers, that she becomes known. In 2019 comes out Nice to meet you, his first album which established him in the musical landscape. Three EPs follow. On the urban scene (mainly dominated by men), she made a name for herself and had a series of collaborations: Naps, Lartiste, Zaho…
His music ? Dancing sounds on simple but effective texts, imbued with melancholy. As Why not (seven million views on YouTube) or But doves (14 million views on YouTube).
For Narjes Bahhar, Nej is “above all a pop artist with R sounds’n’b and eastern. At her place, there is no “trash” or “clashes”. His texts are consensual, enough to please (also) the parents of his audience, composed mainly of young girls. In 2022, she filled the Olympia two days in a row. Tickets sold out within 24 hours. “It’s been a very long road of hard work and perseverance. You had to believe it because nothing was within reach”she confides.
“I had to fight to get this place. I won some battles…I lost others”, she assures. Today the young woman says “take confidence” and be “more serene”. His new album is crossed by all these questions. In terms of form, there is no break, its audience will find the same sounds and collaborations with Bigflo and Oli or the rapper Maes. “I often go by feeling. There is no ego, it’s a question of the universe”she said, confiding that she was delighted to find the Toulouse duo. “I lost a competition to them a few years agoshe remembers. This song is our reunion”.
“With ATHENA, I feel like I’m turning a cornershe concludes. It freaks me out because media exposure, success, is not necessarily easy to manage”.
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