Stromae, or Paul Van Haver, is a Belgian singer-songwriter who creates exceptional music in the electronic and hip-hop genres. While all his songs are in French, if you are not familiar with the language it sounds like gibberish, however, the producing and flow of the songs still make it enjoyable, even to the untrained ear. Interesting music videos, and amazing musical backing make Stromae a must for everyones playlist, fluent in French or not.
As far as childhoods go, Stromae had probably one of the most interesting, challenging, and one could say messed up as they go. He was the child of a Dutch-Belgian mother, and a Rwandan father, his father however was killed in 1994 during the Tutsi Genocide. He was raised in Brussels, Belgium, and started showing musical interest at an early age. He started rapping early in life, and adopted the stage name Stromae, “a syllablic inversion of ‘Maestro.'” His breakthrough song, “Alors on Danse” was released in 2009, and gained public attention from such figures as Jean-Claud Van Damme and Nicolas Sarkozy, after it was played on a radio station he worked for in Brussels. After its release, he worked with Kanye West on a remix of the track, and was nominated for the “Best Dutch and Belgian Act” at the MTV Europe Music Awards. From there Stromae has release two alums, the most recent being in 2013 with “Racine Carree”. Stromae makes some amazing music, whether chilling or riding, he belongs on your playlist for sure, so go ahead and check him out…even if you don’t speak French.Â
Best Tracks
- Alors on Danse
- Tous Les Mêmes
- Papaoutai
- Formidable
