Today, the popularity of the Belgian artist of Rwandan origin Stromae is at the zenith of fame. His song "Alors On Danse" tops all sorts of European charts and is a #1 hit in many countries. Who is this skinny Belgian guy with an appearance reminiscent of a young Barack Obama and making half of Europe dance to his "pipe"?
The real name of the artist is Paul van Haver (Paul van Haver), he was born on March 12, 1985 in the Belgian capital Brussels in international family: His father is Rwandan and his mother is Belgian. The boy's school was of little interest, but he devoted himself to music without limit. Already at the age of 11, Paul began to show a serious interest in music, attending classes at the Jette Academy of Music.
Fascinated by rap, Paul van Haver began performing under the name Opmaestro at various rap parties since 2000. In 2003, at the age of 18, along with the rapper "J.E.D.I." Paul creates the Suspicion rap group, but after recording several songs and filming a video clip for one of them, the duet breaks up.
Then Paul changes his stage name in Stromae, which is in the language of verlan (a game language, jargon of French youth, in which words are made up of mixed syllables), if you swap the letters, you get "maestro".
To somehow pay for their education in private school Van Haver has to work in fast food, which is very reflected in his academic performance. However, later Paul managed to enter the National Institute of Radio Engineering and Cinematography, where during his studies (in 2007) he released his first EP of four tracks with the long title "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic ..." (Just one brain, one flow, one beat and one microphone) that got him noticed in the music scene. Already in 2008, two recording companies signed a contract with van Haver.
However, another Stromae single, "Alors on danse" (And that's why we dance), produced the effect of a bombshell. Working at the NRJ radio station in Brussels, Stromae presented this track music editor radio stations to Vincent Verbelin. He was delighted and took the risk of putting the song on the air of the NRJ. Verbelin was not mistaken - in a few days the track "Alors On Danse" became a #1 hit in Belgium, and in May 2010 it was at the top positions in France, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Denmark. A mixture of hip-hop and electro music, a bewitching rhythm, intellectual text, and later a concept video filmed brought this work a well-deserved fame. Now "Alors On Danse" is in the TOP-100 of the best European tracks.
Stromae's debut full-length album entitled "Cheese" was released on June 21, 2010. It includes 11 tracks, among which, of course, the main one is "Alors on danse".
Stromae also composed several compositions for such artists as Anggun, Kery James.
On his website www.stromae.net you can listen to, for example, the awesome version of Queen "We will rock you" - ELECSTRO.
Thu, 12/18/2014 - 17:10
Belgian singer with Rwandan roots, Paul Van Awer, known to the world like Stromae, he showed everyone how to make original pop music in the age of social networks and a rapidly changing reality. Someone considers Stromae in bad taste for the needs of the public, someone considers him the voice of a new generation of Europe torn apart by crises. In any case, Paul Van Aware bears little resemblance to modern pop stars with their cheap PR techniques and white-toothed smiles.
You passed the test very well with your second album, it became a bestseller and was extremely warmly received by almost everyone ... Are you satisfied?
Most of all, I am pleased that now they no longer call me “and this is the guy who Alors on Danse”, this is, perhaps, the main achievement of the second album now. As for its sales, I'm not a big fan of the "everything for sale" lifestyle. It is very easy to succumb to it, and it can become a kind of drug. So, I try to keep my head clear in this regard. On the other hand, I still understand that I am an artisan, I am like that baker who painted three stars on his sign, only I bake songs.
You grew up in Belgium and your father died in the Rwandan genocide. Such difficult fate makes you almost the face of emigrant Europe, which is not very common to talk about in the context of culture.
This is true. I have a very difficult fate, and I never felt completely at home in Belgium. On the other hand, this is what saved me from many stereotypes, and it seems to me that I can look at many things from a completely different angle, not the way everyone usually does. As for the immigrant culture, I think that these motifs in my music are one of the reasons for my rather unexpected popularity.
You only eat French, from a marketing point of view, this is a very bold undertaking. Are you afraid that you will not be understood?
No. First, I just want to be myself and that's mine the main objective. And then, who needs a Belgian who thinks and sings like an American? In my opinion, it would look very artificial and false. I am not afraid of being misunderstood, because it seems to me that people are able to understand each other, even when they speak different languages. My language is, first of all, the language of music, and it is universal. For example, I don't speak English very well and I can't understand some of the lyrics of Michael Jackson's songs, but I love his music very much. Speaking of this in other words, I want to be honest with the public, no matter how naive it may sound in our time.
But on the other hand, you perform under a pseudonym, and not under your real name... or is Paul Van Aware no longer hiding behind the Stromae image?
Almost gone, maybe just a little bit.
The song Papaouta (Daddy, where are you?) is personal?
Not at all. This is rather a reflection on the topic that everyone knows how to make children, but no one knows how to make fathers.
What do you think about the dominance of English in the music of French bands?
I think it's purely marketing. Why is English in music better than French? Obviously nothing. It's just that many bands are very afraid of being cut off from the audience, and, by the way, this fear penetrates into their work and becomes a destructive force.
How is your creative process structured? What do you come up with first - words or music?
Music, it is very difficult for me at first to catch my feelings and sensations in words. Everything blurs as if in a viscous jelly, it is much easier to string words on a musical frame, so I always start with music.
You write, record, produce and, as far as we know, now also do marketing. Sounds like you're a control junkie.
This is my biggest weakness. I always try to control everything and calculate everything as much as possible.
The French press adores you and calls you the new Jacques Brel (popular singer and poet in the middle of the twentieth century). How do you feel about such assessments?
Doubly. I was really influenced french chanson, and not only Jacques Brel, but the entire generation of singers of that time, such as Charles Aznavour and Edith Piaf. They became real spokesmen for the cultural upheavals and changes in society that were taking place at that time. And that's what impresses me so much about them.
The most important similarity with them is that I am not afraid to talk about unpleasant and difficult moments in life, which are somehow not particularly customary to discuss and talk about in our environment full of consumer positive. agree that most modern pop music is almost always a fantasy and an attempt at escapism. This should also exist, but not only this!
But I wouldn't compare myself to Brel, after all, he had a great creative career and I've only released two albums so far. And of course, I am a slightly different character, and if my poetic approach really reminds me of the great chansonniers, then the cold electronic music that I come up with is something completely different.
Do you think electronic music cold?
Electro is undoubtedly the coldest music, but it certainly has its own poetics, and that's what I work with. Electro expresses the problem of loneliness in the best possible way, and I believe that this total loneliness is one of the most important problems of modern society. It seems that everyone began to communicate more, social networks and other communications constantly connecting people appeared. But what is left in the end? Oddly enough, all this active digital communication becomes the fuel for our all-consuming selfishness. After all, we can always choose with whom it is pleasant to talk, and who can simply be turned off and never remembered again. Communication without any obligation.
It is unlikely that teenagers think about all this, dancing to your music in clubs.
Absolute truth. My songs have several levels of perception. For a lot of people, it's just another awful pop hack. But both they and the teenagers you mentioned can't help but feel that there's something more complex hidden in it.
Actually, your pseudonym Stromae is a tribute to the old French slang - verlan, from which it stands for maestro. You obviously enjoy sending hidden messages.
Verlan was once a secret youth language spoken by teenagers to hide their secrets from adults. It amuses me, but is it now possible to encrypt something in such a simple way?
Well, well, what did you encrypt in the square root that you called your new album?
This is a nod to my African roots and the profit I make from them. I'm very pragmatic... I spent my whole childhood listening to African music and rumba. Now I'm making money from childhood memories.
Some critics call your music dances for pessimistic suicides...
Haha. It's a funny epithet, but I don't agree with it. Perhaps I pay a lot of attention to problematic topics, crisis and other unpleasant things. But I don't consider myself a seller of all these things, in fact I am just an antenna that picks up moods and projects them. I don't sing about everything in life being bad (or that everything is good).
Judging by your songs, people never cease to amaze you?
Oh yeah. A story happened to me not so long ago, from which the song "Quand c" est? "What strange creatures are humans? No animal will ever do so much harm to itself voluntarily. But we, apparently, are capable of more than that."
You are notorious for your dislike of encores. Why?
I think it's such a cheap flirt. Like, “Do you really love me?” Or is it all out of courtesy? All in all, it really annoys me.
There are rumors that you are going to launch your own clothing line.
When we worked with designers and stylists (one of them Coral Barbier) on the Papaouta video, I really thought about whether we should release such a clothing line. I don’t know what will come out of all this, but I want to say right away that this will not be a cheap attempt to make money on mencherdize. Rather, it will become another dimension of my creative energy. We decided to start with shirts and socks. So if you want to flaunt funky socks, you know where to go.
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Stromae (Stromae)
The appearance of this Belgian artist with such an enchanting voice and bold music own composition was unexpected, and the success of the artist is very rapid. In 2009-2010, the motif of the artist's famous single "Alors on danse" sounded in almost all countries of the world. His singing, inimitable French accent, unusual view, as well as pleasant voice is unlikely to leave anyone indifferent. In order to become a fan of the work of the charming and charismatic singer Stromae, it is enough to hear at least one of his singles.
short biography
Paul Van Aver, better known to the public as singer(changed Maestro) was born March 12, 1985 in Etterbeek, near Brussels. His father is from central Africa (Rwanda), it was from him that Paul got this skin color. Marie van Haver's mother was Belgian. The boy's father, Pierre Rutar, was an architect by profession, but his parents' married life did not work out. For family reasons, Pierre was forced to leave for his homeland, where he was killed in 1994 during the genocide against the Tutsis.
Mom was forced to take care of six children alone. She tried to provide them with everything necessary and give a decent education. The future singer went to study at the boarding school. St. Paul (city of Godinn), which was considered very prestigious. In addition to the main subjects, the boy got the opportunity to study music. He recalled that he liked the classes very much, even solfeggio he loved, unlike other peers. His mother suggested that Paul learn some musical instrument and the boy's choice fell on drums. Stromae has always gravitated toward creativity, so even in school years he started a rap group with his buddies. In 2001, Paul performs under the pseudonym Opmaestro, but having found out that a performer with that name already exists on the stage, he was forced to change it to Stromae. In 2003, the 18-year-old singer formed a band with friend JEDI. They even recorded their first song "Faut que t'arrête le Rap" and shot a video. After performing a few tracks, the group disbanded.
In order to pay for his studies at the National Institute of Cinematography and Radio Electronics at the Faculty of Sound Engineering, Paul takes a part-time job in a restaurant chain fast food. In parallel, he continues to engage in his work. True, this has to be done mostly late in the evening or at night. In 2006 he released his debut album"Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic...", which records and publishes exclusively at his own expense.
success and universal recognition public
After successfully graduating from the institute, Paul gets an internship at NRJ radio in 2009. His broadcasts immediately gain popularity and their own circle of admirers. But most importantly, this work allowed the novice performer to put his own compositions into rotation, which he immediately took advantage of. He was noticed and appreciated by manager Vincent Verbelin, who allowed one of the tracks to be aired. This is how the audience got acquainted with the single "Alors on danse", which made Stromae famous all over the world. Thanks to this song, the audience recognized Stromae, and for him she became calling card. Holding Mercury Records France (Universal Music Group) immediately offered a lucrative contract to an aspiring artist. The most amazing thing is that all this time Stromae worked and made his way to the stage by himself, without the help of producers. He himself composed, recorded compositions, and also promoted them. As a result, Cheese's first album was recognized as the best dance collection and received the annual French Victoires de la Musique award for excellence in the music industry. In 2011, the musician received a nomination as the best Belgian performer at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Interesting Facts
- The pseudonym Stromae appeared thanks to the youth slang Verlan. Its essence is to encrypt some words by moving syllables. In order to decipher its meaning, it is enough to swap (read backwards) the syllables in the word Stromae and get Maestro.
- The surname of the artist is Van Aver, but many are surprised by the fact that she is not Rwandan, but Flemish. But the name Paul, most likely, he received in honor of his uncle (the deceased brother of his father). Pierre Rutard was very much shocked by the death of his brother and this was the reason why he was forced to go to Belgium at one time. Also in Rwanda, in the homeland of Father Stromay, there is a custom according to which children are named after some relative or close friend. It is known that everyone in the family calls Stromaj "Popol", this word can be translated as "Little Paul".
- His track "Papaoutai" is based on difficult relationship with his father, as well as his loss. Some sources claim that Pierre abandoned his family and never saw his son, but this is not true. Every year the man tried to visit his relatives who remained in Brussels, and once his mother future star, together with little Paul went to Rwanda to visit her husband.
- The song "Meltdown", which Stromai co-wrote with singer Lord, as well as rappers Pusha T, Q-Tip and the group Haim, became the soundtrack to the film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Part 1".
- Stromae has not only unusual music, but also a style of clothing. He himself coined the name "dandy swag". Very often, the artist appears in videos in bright suits with incredible prints, they are complemented by catchy butterflies, cardigans or even pleated trousers with knee-highs.
- Stromae, together with his wife, organized the release own line clothes Mosaert (a word made up of his stage name). It features predominantly warm colors of Africa, psychedelic drawings and styles more typical of the English school. So, one of the prints for costumes was the image of an exquisite flamingo in pointe shoes. Mosaert is a unique brand that presents incredible eccentric outfits. The author of the images is Coralli Barbier, Paul's wife. They recently released a new unisex clothing line. The singer himself often admitted that he was always constrained by the limits of a strict men's wardrobe and he found a way out.
- Stromae's music is considered to be quite explicit. Often, he brings up social issues that other artists try to avoid in their themes. The singer himself even calls his music "suicidal dances", of course, in jest.
- The musician's style is unusual, to match himself. It organically intertwines a whole host of other trends: French folk, hip-hop, Cuban rumba, Europop and electronic music.
- Paul prefers not to disclose the details of his personal life. It is only known that until 2012 he met with "Miss Belgium - 2005" Tatiana Silva Braga Tavares. Then he started an affair with Coralie Barbier, who soon became his legal wife.
- Stromae admitted in an interview that Jacques Brel, a famous Belgian singer and composer who composed music in the style of French chanson, had a great influence on the formation of his work.
- On May 23, 2011, Stromae took part in the popular French show Taratata, where he successfully performed with the American by The Black Eyed Peas. A little earlier, Paul met at the award of the French radio station NRJ with famous musician William James Adams (will.i.am), who offered a collaboration with the aspiring artist and praised his acclaimed single "Alors on danse".
- In 2014, Stromae visited Moscow with his first concert, which took place on December 12 at the Crocus City Hall.
- On March 17, 2014, it became known that the composition Ta fête would become official song Belgian national football team at the 2014 World Cup.
- AT new year's eve a surprise was prepared for the inhabitants of our country and admirers of Stromae's talent. He performed at New Year's Eve, which was broadcast on Channel One. Stromae performed the song Ave Cesaria, included in the second album, it was written specifically in memory of famous singer Cesaria of Evora. In addition, in Russian, the singer congratulated all fans on the New Year, 2015, which added a special charm to his performance.
- Soloist of the popular Coldplay bands Chris Martin during his performance in Leon, performed famous composition Stromae Batard. To his surprise, the audience sang along with him the words of the track by heart.
- Despite the secrecy that Stromai has surrounded his personal life, he easily shares with fans how he creates his masterpieces. On youtube, he even runs the channel “Les leçons de Stromae”, where he talks about his work on hits, because the artist wrote many of them on his work PC. The singer not only shares his experiences with followers, but also introduces them to his new products. This idea also helped promote the tracks.
Despite his two-meter height and the status of an international star, to whom even the New York Times magazine devotes articles, more than a hundred million views of his Papaoutai video on Youtube, more than a million discs of the second album Racine carée, Stromae - also known as Paul Van Aver - sold in France and Belgium (Paul Van Haver) - on this rainy day modestly sheltered in a corner of the hotel lobby. He notices that the gray sky affects his mood, casts a barely noticeable evaluating glance at us, and, with his usual grace, making himself comfortable, begins to tell us about himself - simply, frankly and without embellishment.
An artist receiving unanimous admiration from the different audience, turns out to be an ardent supporter of introspection and persistently talks about his internal discords. “I am sometimes reproached for the fact that when everyone around me compliments me, I do not stop talking about my shortcomings. This is my defense. If I recognize them myself, we can not talk about it. ” The 29-year-old author, composer and performer has a lot of such protection systems. His support is the family, which is “super important” for him, more important than work. His professional environment is a stylist, artist-designer, choreographer, manager, director, photographer. “If they tell me:“ you are talking nonsense, ”I believe them.” “It is very important for me to receive recognition, confirmation of love from the public. Who do I take myself for? Don't know. Maybe this is my way of self-healing,” admits Stromae.
psychology:
How to explain such a sharp contrast between your stage image (you look like an exemplary student) and your tough lyrics?
Stromae:
It seems to me that in music I exist the same way as in life. I am always very polite, courteous, sweet, smiling from the very beginning of our acquaintance. At the same time, I have a hard time getting close to people at first meetings, I am somewhat paranoid, and it takes a long time to gain my trust. I prefer to look like a naive simpleton and buy time to see the people with whom I deal. If people don’t know me and don’t know my demeanor, I’m afraid they won’t like me, I’m afraid to offend them ... It’s the same with music: I go on stage in high boots, with a backpack, sing super simple tunes and talk about real life.
Why do you prefer to show the dark side of our lives?
S.:
Well, I don't have such dark songs. Why do we hide from life's difficulties? After all, due to the fact that there are errors and delusions, severe conditions, we have the opportunity to enjoy other, brighter moments. After all, we love each other precisely because we are imperfect, thanks to this we manage to live together. Otherwise, we would be very bored, life would be infinitely insipid. There is no need to hide from dark spots, this is the circle of our worldly concerns. And you have to live with it. It enriches us. losing loved one, we will not feel good, but having overcome this, overcoming this grief, we become even better.
You are always very thoughtfully dressed. Since the first album, you have carefully worked on the stage image of Stromae - your famous collection of polo and boots. This kind of "schizophrenia" is your remedy?
S.:
Yes, absolutely right. In life, I'm rather shy and generally an introvert, but when I go on stage, I understand that I can no longer give reverse that the moment has come when clowning is expected of me. I manage to be completely different there. This is my job and I'm not going to trade my life. I play characters, I talk about a mother who has breast cancer, about my father's lungs, but it's all made up. There are no autobiographical motives here. No, of course, some of my own details of my life slip through, but I keep a certain distance: I myself do not live what I sing about, and you would be very bored if I told you about how I live.
What can Stromae say that Paul cannot say?
S.:
All the things that need to be spoken about harshly. In life I am a great diplomat, even too much. With very few people I can be myself, very few people I can scold ... Except perhaps those moments when I sit in my car and no one hears me. And so their opinions, ridicule, rude words I keep to myself. I am very patient. And at some point it has to come out. And it goes into music. Or when I'm all alone. I've had occasion to pound my fist on the table with all my might when something went wrong. Then, after a couple of seconds, I told myself that I was a fool. But I'd rather hurt myself than hurt others. If someone hurts us and we hurt in return, we are wrong, it is better to ignore. I try to communicate well. Grudges pass with time. Maybe I'll start answering things like that a little more often soon, because I'm getting older. I'm actually very proud.
Your drunk Formidable character is the opposite of Paul, isn't it?
S.:
Yes, the exact opposite. In fact, this rarely happens to me. And even if I drank a little, it is not necessarily noticeable from the outside, because I am very in control of myself.
Such self-control is connected with your upbringing, what do you think?
S.:
May be. Mom was quite strict, did not allow any excesses. It is very important for me to follow the rules. I think it shaped me. Most importantly, I learned to deal with frustration. I think if a person has not learned this at a fairly early age, he can have a lot of trouble later on. If you are successful, there is a danger that you may run into falsehood when you are not denied anything. This is what I am very afraid of. To what point is the person who speaks to me sincere? It's easy to get paranoid here. I continue to believe that it is possible to meet sincere people, even if we are successful and famous. Otherwise, it would be impossible for me and very sad. I keep in touch with many old friends and not much has really changed in my life.
Are you an anxious person?
S.:
I'm terrified of the transition to adulthood. It seems like this is happening to me right now. And that makes me a little sad. I don't want this at all. Although I've always been a big boy, a little crazy. However, this did not prevent me from perceiving life, comprehending it and the importance of some things. But adulthood entails something else, you have to make a choice. And that means disappointing, making mistakes. It's normal for everyone, but it's hard for me to accept. I must be very demanding. How long can you afford to be a child? No, at my age it's not good anymore... But who said it's not good? Not to make any choice means not to build your life in any way, to remain a belated teenager. And I can't make a choice. I prefer not to choose, then it entails nothing, and I have not yet learned how to chop something. The result is still the same, only I am not responsible for this choice.
After the success of your first album, Cheese, did you have a hard time with the next one?
S.:
The fear of disappointment is proportional to the success you achieve. I want to be liked. And I took a sip of this fear to the fullest, because I began to compose and what I did at the beginning, I didn’t really like. My self-esteem has changed because I have not written music for a long time. I worked to the point of exhaustion, not even interrupting for food, the percentage of demagogy and inaccuracies decreased to normal levels, and then I began to like what I was doing. Of course, the success of the first album put pressure on me, but the audience gave me a luxurious opportunity to live for a while the way I wanted, in silence, with myself, asking myself the right questions. This silence did me good: I was all alone, I talked to myself, sang, drew, made something for myself, cleared my brain. It's almost logical to plunge into such a mini-depression at the end of the tour, in which you received your dose of adrenaline, such a light drug every night.
Aren't you frightened by your wild success, the frenzy of the public, the excessive manifestations of enthusiasm?
S.:
I don’t know what I’ll say in a couple of years, but for now I think that this is normal, because this is work and people don’t give applause to me, but to the results of this work, for which we all worked hard, so everything is in order. I perform and write, but ultimately this thing happens during H. If I lose this state of sincerity, I can no longer do the same. We never feel safe, and on our team we all back each other up.
Does the title of your second album - Racine carée ("Square Root") - reflect your desire to feel connected to your African roots?
S.:
To some extent, yes, probably. Although this name refers to musical roots(salsa, rumba, coladeira) that I explore while keeping the main trauma of the northern European, i.e. electronics. In Africa I am perceived as white, here - as black. I immediately realized that here I was perceived differently from the rest, in adolescence It revolted me, and then in due course has passed or has taken place. Aside from the few racists you inevitably run into, there are plenty of great, super cool people around. Yes, maybe this album is an attempt to reconnect with your roots, but delicacy is important here. If a person suddenly begins to make himself an African with might and main, this is unnatural.
What traces did the father leave in your life, without whom you grew up?
S.:
Still, I was lucky to see him many times, but in general, my mother really brought us up and we lived alone with her. I was 9 years old when my father was killed during the Rwandan genocide. So it would be difficult for me to say that I grew up without a father. We could make up for some lost time. His traces, of course, remained, first of all, this is what I am in the world, and, of course, the occupation that I do. Maybe I got to know my father more through my aunt, his sister. She has been living in Belgium for a long time, and I perceive her as a second mother ... or father. My aunt lost a brother she knew intimately, so my pain is nothing compared to hers. What right do I have to claim the role of a victim of genocide next to her? It is out of respect for her that I keep my distance from this pain, which, despite everything, exists and tells me that I will never have her view of these events and I will never know what it was. I will never have anything but stories on behalf of other people, facts passed through them and, therefore, changed. This is what hurts me the most. It is still not too late to meet all the people who knew him, and I hope to do so someday. I experienced not so much pain as bitterness. We always get a little angry with our fathers, especially in our teens. Now I'm looking at it from a greater distance. Life is what it is. It seems to me that a man becomes an adult when he forgives his father. And if you go further, then why should I be offended by him? He gave me life and did everything he could. And when I have a child, I will also tell him that I did my best, more or less taking care of him. And I'll have the remorse that I should have.
What kind of child were you?
S.:
In my family, I have always been such a simpleton fool. Maybe a little too cute. Too good, too stupid. I was the penultimate child, and with younger brother we made up a party of small ones. Our older brother looked after us, he was partly a father to us. They told me: "Paul, go get this from my room." I went up to the room and forgot what I went for, sometimes this was repeated several times in a row. I was terribly lacking in concentration, I was terribly distracted. The same thing at school, they said about me that I was not stupid, but as soon as a fly flew by, I was already absent from the lesson. On the other hand, I did not miss the opportunity to explain myself, so that they would pay attention to me ... But I never put malice into it. My grades were always at the low limit, in my studies I kept to the required minimum. I am now a hyperperfectionist. From the people with whom I work, I demand the maximum, but I also ask them to be strict with me (I am strict with myself) and tell me directly to my face what they think. In this way, a healthy atmosphere is maintained.
Did you maintain a close relationship with your mother?
S.:
Yes, I left my native nest at the age of 26-27. I'm really a late teenager. In some matters of my personal life, her opinion means a lot to me. She taught me concentration, practical things. Family means a lot to me. I can even sometimes ask them questions related to my profession. And it is from them that I am ready to hear criticism - after all, they know me well.
Paul Van Aver(Paul Van Haver), pseudonym Stromae, was born March 12, 1985 in Brussels. His mother, a Flemish who speaks four languages, his father, an architect from Rwanda, who lived alternately in Africa and Belgium, died in 1994 in Rwanda during the genocide. Paul has three brothers and a sister, at the age of 11 he entered the de Jett Academy of Music, where he studied solfeggio and drumming. Having started rapping, he came up with the pseudonym Opsmaestro, which he later replaced with Stromae - a distorted Maestro in the French verlan jargon. At the age of 18, Paul, together with JEDI (Didier Jean-Longand), creates the group Suspicion. He is studying to be a sound engineer and works part-time at the fast food chain Quick to save money to release a four-song album. The first single Alors on danse was released in 2009, in 2010 he released his first album Cheese on the Universal France label, in 2013 his second album Racine carée. On December 12, Stromae will give only one concert at the Crocus City Hall.
Paul Van Haver, better known as stromae is a popular Belgian singer, rapper, musician and songwriter. Paul Van Haver is a musician of Rwandan origin. Paul Van Haver was born in the Belgian capital, Brussels, to a Rwandan and Flemish family. My musical career he started in 2000 under a slightly different pseudonym - then Paul Van Havera called Opmaestro. But this pseudonym was very similar to the pseudonym of another artist and Paul Van Haver modified it, choosing the original pseudonym Stromae (from the word "maestro"). Paul Van Haver studied National Institute of Cinematography and Radioelectronics (INRACI). He earned money for training on his own - for a year before entering, he worked in a chain of fast food restaurants Quick.
Stromae's musical career
At first, Paul performed together with the rapper JEDI(Didier Jean-Longand) , but after a while JEDI left the project and each of them took up a solo project. Among the first popular songs Stromae - duet with Melissa M(single Cette fois interpretation), as well as written together with Anggun song Si je t'emmene. The real popularity for Stromae came in 2009 with the release of the hit Alors on dance. The composition Alors on danse became the bestseller in his native Belgium, as well as France, Germany and the most recognizable hit of the Belgian rapper.
A number of videos can be found on the Internet called "Les leçons de Stromae", where Paul van Haver explains to the audience the construction of some of his musical compositions.
Stroma's personal life
Stormae do not chew. Among his girls is the former Miss Belgium 2004 Tatiana Silva Braga Tavares, whom he dated until the fall of 2012, is a stylist Coralie Barbier
