He is one of the favorite personalities of the French which does not prevent him from not being unanimous. Yannick Noah spoke without language of wood for The Sunday newspaper from October 16, 2022 after three silent years, he who returns with a 12th album, La Marfee. This head of family as well as village, on his Cameroonian lands, notably returned to the criticisms he may have suffered, admitting to being sometimes divisive.
Yannick Noah says and does what he thinks. He admits having been at one time at war against a certain Parisian bourgeoisie, while taking care of his associations for underprivileged children (Fête le mur and Les Enfants de la Terre): “Between my image and my humanitarian convictions, something was wrong. I didn’t want to be the negro on duty anymore, I wanted to express things. I can be wrong, talk bullshit, but if someone asks me a question, I answer. And during this time, I get bored listening to people who always say the same things, starting with athletes. So I went from number one to… non-existent!“
The legendary tennis player had also detonated with a song, My anger, released in 2014 and which may have been poorly perceived by some of its audience. He decided not to perform it on stage anymore and explains why: “People are not ready, they suffer. When I made this song, I was the favorite personality of the French, I had the power to do good, to bring together blacks and whites, that’s my whole story. But I got screwed on social networks: suddenly, I was an African, I was invited to come home, I was called a tax exile… All these elements of language that have been coming back for twenty yearss.”
Father of 5 children and grandfather, the 62-year-old artist seems to be liberated and serene, even if certain things continue to affect him. Like not featuring much at the stadium where he saw glory in 1983: “Two years ago, I was at Roland with my children: in the stadium, there was nothing of me, except for a photo in a corridor. I say to myself: ‘When I’m gone, if my kids come to Roland, are we going to give them a ticket or not?’“He was therefore touched to know that Gilles Moretton, President of the Federation had planned something to mark the occasion next year for the 40th anniversary of his victory.