Strongly denounced in France for the fundamentally anti-Semitic lyrics of his songs, rapper Freeze Corleone will perform despite everything at the Olympia in Montreal on December 4th. The theater chose to maintain the concert in the name of “freedom of expression”.
However, some are of the opinion that the songs of Freeze Corleone go far beyond the acceptable framework of freedom of expression, and downright incite hatred towards Jews.
In his room N/A Congo, the French rapper of Italian and Senegalese origin declares, among other things, that he has “RAF (nothing to give a damn about) the Shoah”. He recurs in Red Stick, where he says he arrives “determined like Adolf in the 1930s”.
Freeze Corleone, who has spent part of his life in Canada, released his first album LMF (La Menace Fantôme) on September 11, 2020. A date that was probably not chosen at random, some have said in the French press, not failing to note the many allusions to conspiracy and radical Islam that tint his songs. .
Across the Atlantic, the controversy was immediate. The Universal Music giant quickly ended its collaboration with the sulphurous rapper. Then, an investigation was opened for “incitement to racial hatred” and “racist insult” in the fall of 2020.
“Despite the opening of an investigation in France, he has never been found guilty of incitement to hatred or anti-Semitism”, recalls by email the Olympia of Montreal to justify the maintenance of his show in the programming.
Just a provocation?
Note that the two owners of the Olympia are themselves of the Jewish faith. The latter are comfortable with the decision to present Freeze Corleone’s show, we are assured: “we consider that it is not up to the Olympia to judge the guilt of an artist in the face of a controversy “.
The performance hall does not produce the event, but it has agreed to be its broadcaster. Olympia claims to have received only one complaint since. On the contrary, since the tickets went on sale a week ago, we observe that the room is filling up “very well”.
The Olympia does not see in this success any adhesion to anti-Semitism, reiterating rather to trust the intelligence of the public. “Rap is a genre in its own right that is characterized by writing that aims to be provocative and denounce social facts. The artist is known in the community for his shocking formulas on many subjects and does not claim to be racist or anti-Semitic ”, we underline by email.
In France, it is common for rappers to be accused of hateful remarks, whether towards Jews, homosexuals or “French natives”. In the United States, rapper Kanye West has been banned in recent weeks after making anti-Semitic remarks.