Abstract

This paper examines the work and situations of two francophone singer-songwriters from Africa, Tiken Jah Fakoly and Corneille, through the notion of displacement. I attempt to answer important questions regarding language, identity, and the social role of the African pop artist in France and the francophone world. Tiken Jah Fakoly and Corneille embody the mediation between publics from two continents and the global music industry in a particular geopolitical context. They also belong to a generation of artists whose productions signal a shift in French popular music representations of Africa and Africans. Discussing these artists’ choice to sing in French will also allow us to reflect on the position of the French language African artist in the English-dominated world of pop music.

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