Trouble Fête
Description
Released on Batakari, a brand new collaborative imprint from Boddhi Satva and BBE Music founder Peter Adarkwah, “Belgican” (Belgian / African) vocalist Badi presents his album Trouble-Fête (Kill-joy / Spoilsport – literally ‘party disruptor’).
Trouble Fête is produced by Boddhi Satva, Afro-House pioneer and inventor of Ancestral Soul, an artist who cemented his formidable reputation through collaborations with Bilal, Omar and Oumou Sangaré, to name but a few. While Boddhi Satva’s beats invite the audience to dance ‘til the end of the night, Badi’s words stir the conscience and upset certainties. A facetious dandy, Badi questions the World and jostles with trends.
This Belgian speaks his mind. The kind who sings what others whisper, who says loudly the proletariat realities, Badi smiles but is not wrong. Over lush melodies, his lyrics underline the deficiencies of a failing society. This is perfectly evidenced by Mauvaise Ambiance, the opening opus on an album driven by extra-large convictions. Between ultimate disenchantment and absolute hedonism, cry of resistance and song of heart, Badi captures the mood of the times. In line with the Black Lives Matter movement, the artist raises his voice without violence excess. Far away from controversies, away from the statues, he debunks prejudices and fights against ignorance through this great song of defiance.
At a time when identity debates firmly oppose extremes, the singer addresses the spirits questioning his origins. Exploring his Congolese roots and his daily life in Tintin’s country, Qui es-tu? encourages diversity: cultural, sexual, social – and freedom of speech. Through these subjects, Badi puts a strong stamp of identity on the whole album.
From Abidjan nights to Kinshasa avenues, from Brussels paving stones to Paris fashion shows, this rapper’s story comes from a crossroads between continents. Between Africa and the Western World, he evokes Virgil Abloh in an eponymous track; a track approved by the designer himself. Artistic director for Louis Vuitton, this man is an haute-couture symbol; a realm where Badi also spends some time. Indeed, since 2019, he manages the creations of the BANXV trademark, a design label inspired by the mythic Article XV, imaginary legislation that leads every Congolese to hustle in order to overcome failures of the government. Badi’s passion for clothes also takes shape in the chorus to Kitendi, an ode to the SAPE (Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elégantes, literally the Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People) and a tribute to its protestor ethos.
Signed by BBE Music (home to Roy Ayers, Madlib, J Dilla, Will.I.Am, Laurent Garnier & Carl Craig among others), Badi’s album crosses borders and maybe danced to without a dictionary. If French is the mother tongue of the tracks, the rhythms in Trouble Fête are indeed universal. Rapper, entrepreneur and contemporary speaker, Badi gives the best of himself here, in continuous flow and without lockdown.
Release Date: October 30, 2020
Format: Digital