Asakura: Rapping in whispers is "COOL", even in lockdown!

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He is called the rapper whisperer. Since rap is the most listened to musical genre in France, artists are multiplying. The French rap scene is evolving and opening up a little more to singularities. Asakura, like other new rap artists in recent years, has spontaneously been able to get rid of certain rap codes to innovate and offer freshness. After "KARABA", the first clipped track posted on YouTube at the beginning of August 2018, everything is linked. Solo and without the help of the media, the 22-year-old rapper exceeds one million views, then two, then three. His deep voice hits the mark, and his whispered flow attracts record companies and labels. Just a month later, Asakura signed with Mercury. Just that! He will repeat with "TEKALE", the first attempt of a collaboration that still lasts with beatmaker Skuna Boi. Rather successful, the title succeeds in being as energetic as relaxing. "But why does he speak softly like that? It's weird though, isn't it? " Asakura strives to answer this question, which he takes up from the first seconds of his clip. It is true that his way of posing is intriguing : the bet is audacious, and above all very spontaneous. His original positioning, initially groping, has become for him a trademark. But, finally, why not? The Asakura recipe is ultimately to deliver performances that are both turnup that invite you to dance, while remaining surprisingly silent. The clip of his song "ASMR" illustrates it well: sometimes in a library, during a yoga class, or while his friends are still sleeping after the evening of the night before, Asakura, him, poses quietly. In his track "KARABA", the rapper himself describes his song at the beginning of the clip as an afrotrap… But not just any."We go quietly, we go slowly, we do not shout … I'm too lazy." And this applies to his style in general: By his own admission, a form of nonchalance qualifies Asakura in his way of posing. While his rise has certainly been rapid, Asakura remains a novice and still takes the time to experiment. In his titles "MISSED CALLS (3)", "DOPE" or even "DOUMESAL", more recent, the artist tests his sense of melody and approaches a more flexible and sung phrasing. An egotrip a little more worked, still quite rhythmic and catchy. The club objective is assumed, Asakura wants to atmosphere. But with a priori an underlying goal: to do it by diversifying. Despite the lockdown, the rapper released a new track, entitled "COOL", apparently clipped at home. With this title, Asakura reinforces his achievements and poses a simplistic text on an electro beat signed Berry. Bowl of cereal in hand and camouflage cap screwed on the head (and we know what it camouflages), Asakura offers us its best moves in the sun of a bay window. The instrumental is punctuated by a brief and bouncy treble, a kind of cuica passed under helium… almost an electro-swing sound. A "wa-hi-ha", in plain English. That we feel obliged to reproduce, as A-S-K likes to do. Nothing rocket science, the content is light. But the rapper's "feel good" delirium takes over. After all, there's no harm in doing yourself good… The prod' remains in the lead, as much as the heady gimmick. Is it the context of confinement? Maybe. While waiting for the sequel, we follow the movement and we also dance at home. Why? Because we think it's cool, cool, cool…