The Northern prefecture banned the concert of controversial rapper Freeze Corleone at the Zénith in Lille on Thursday February 15.
Freeze Corleone will not perform at the Zénith de Lille this Thursday. The new prefect of the North, Bertrand Gaume, banned the rapper’s concert, which was almost sold out, reports France Blue North. At issue: the preliminary investigation opened for “apology of terrorism” against him. The lyrics of his song Haalandperformed as a duet with the rapper Luciano and released last week, seeming to evoke the attack committed on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice on July 14, 2016, which left 86 dead, had sparked a lively controversy.
“In defense I’m Kalidou, you’re Lenglet. Burberry like an English grandfather. I arrive in rap like a truck bombing hard on the…”, he raps, among others , without finishing his sentence, the end of which was not in doubt for the victims’ association Life for Nice, which had expressed its emotion, saying it was “horrified” and announcing that it had filed a complaint for glorifying terrorism, also reported France Blue on February 10. Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice and Eric Ciotti, LR deputy for Alpes-Maritimes and president of the Republicans, also reacted, expressing their indignation.
Freeze Corleone is not his first controversy. In 2020, he was already the target of an investigation for “provoking racial hatred.” The lyrics of his songs had already caused him to cancel concerts, notably in Rennes in March 2023 or in Nantes in November. The same month, he was able to perform at the Zénith in Paris, despite the controversies.