Aya Nakamura brushes off far-right haters in new single

PARIS (AFP): French rap star Aya Nakamura pokes fun at the haters in her new single, “Doggy”, released Friday in the wake of far-right uproar over rumours she may perform at the Paris Olympics.

“I don’t have enemies, me / It’s them that don’t like me,” raps the French-Malian artist, the most popular French-language musician in the world.

“A load of enemies but I don’t even know them,” adds the 28-year-old, known worldwide for hits like “Djadja” which has close to a billion streams on YouTube alone.

Nakamura has been at the centre of a storm ever since a French magazine published rumours she was asked by President Emmanuel Macron to perform a song by French singing legend Edith Piaf during the Games in July.

Neither side has confirmed whether the report was correct, but it was enough to spark uproar from far-right politicians, including Marine Le Pen of the National Rally.

She told French radio: “It’s not a nice symbol, honestly, it’s another provocation from Emmanuel Macron”, before going on to complain about Nakamura’s “outfits, her vulgarity”.

Nakamura has shrugged off her critics, addressing them on social media earlier this month: “I have the impression that I’ve made you discover Edith Piaf and that she’s reincarnated in me. For the rest, whether they like me or not, that’s their business.”

But the polemic means many fans and political supporters are now adamant that she sing at the Olympics.