October 22, 2024
Planet Afropop: Yamé: From the Paris Underground to the World Stage

Yamé is a French artist of Cameroonian descent who artfully merges R&B, hip-hop, and jazz in his music. On the strength of his breakout single “Bécane,” with a video shot in Cameroon, this young artist held firm at #1 on the Global Spotify Viral charts, accumulating over 68-million streams to date, and winning the attention of the producer Timbaland. Like Stromei before him, Yamé has made the unlikely journey from Paris’s underground jam-band scene to global fame in record time. In this episode, producer Elodie Maillot recounts the journey in conversation with the man himself, and we hear from another boundary-crossing Paris cosmopolitan, Lebanese trumpet maestro Ibrahim Maalouf.

Produced by Elodie Maillot

Specia thanks to Festival de Jazz à Vienne and Transmusicales de Rennes for support of this edition.

Related Audio Programs

The (New) Sound Of Afro Paris
Afropop Classic December 21, 2017
The (New) Sound Of Afro Paris
In this program, we explore the new "Afropolitan" sounds of Paris, from concert halls to studios, from the heart of the city to immigrant neighborhoods in the banlieues.

Related Articles


Afropop Weigh in on Afropop's digital future and download an exclusive concert from the archives—free!