English
Love her or hate her, what is certain is that nobody could be indifferent to the antidote to macho rap, Julie Budet – better known by her pseudonym Yelle, which is an acronym for “You Enjoy Life” as the singer has explained in one of her many interviews. The young woman, born in 1983 in Saint-Brieuc (Brittany, France) formed a band with DJs GrandMarnier and Tepr, and resolved to rebel against the codes of today´s hip hop culture, which is dominated by macho lyrics and attitudes, which tend to refer to women simply as “bitch” and other sexually vulgar words. But Yelle is not one to be intimidated, and always has a cutting retort or response.
Yelle became better known back in 2006 thanks to a track she posted on her Facebook page, which was a kind of response to the sexism which is so rife in rap music. With the title “Short Dick Cuizi” is answered back to songs by certain bands, including TTC, and its singer Cuiziner, who wrote, amongst others, a song called “Sale Pute,” which basically complained about women (all of them), and implied that they were only good for sexually pleasing men, like instruments. Obviously, Yelle didn´t take kindly to this attitude, and she responded with a song hinting at the size (or lack of) of Cuiziner´s penis. The song, later produced in a studio, and released under a different name “Je veux te voir” became a Myspace hit, with over 125,000 hits on its first day online.
Yelle´s fame grew in October 2007, when she went on tour with singer Mika. The following year she release single “Ce jeu,” and promoted her new album all round the world in Argentina, Chile, México, Brazil and the United States. Not one to neglect her feminist activism, in 2009 she released a short film titled “La pute et le poussin” (The Whore and the Politician), directed by Clément Michel for the French Canal+ series The Collection.
On the 18th of June, as part of Sonar Festival, Yelle will be in Barcelona, with her new album “Safari Disco Club” which was released this year to international acclaim.
menschauser
If you want to hear the sounds of this feisty young French young singer, we suggest you buy a ticket for the festival before they sell out – and rent Barcelona accommodation to complete the whole experience.
Translated by: Poppy
