Bordeaux: An electric first day for the Hypnotize Festival, awaiting the legend Booba

Ten thousand people gathered at the Parc des Expositions in Bordeaux on Friday, September 5th, for the first day of the new Hypnotize rap festival. Most of them were eagerly awaiting the performance of French rap legend Booba.

The bass was pounding, very loudly, on the evening of Friday, September 5th. At the Bordeaux Exhibition Center, the first day of the brand new, exclusively rap-focused festival, Hypnotize, was held. It was organized by the group Fever, already behind the Initial Festival , which took place two weeks ago. And for this first day, the event had decided to bring some heavy music.

Maydo, Favé, and Leto played back-to-back concerts on the main stage, the Notorious Arena, with an audience already on their side, dancing and singing along to their hits, which have garnered tens of millions of listens on social media. Some, a little more enthusiastic, even attempted a few pogos.

On the small stage, the local – with Maydo – Aupinard, cleverly mixing rap and bossa nova, gave it his all; even proudly brandishing his first gold record for "Quel type de vibe?" in front of his Bordeaux audience. "I love his world, with his very calm side, it's a bit of a change," says Mathis.

But the 10,000 people who bought their tickets, the youngest as well as the first graying heads, were only thinking about seeing the 1.92 meter of the self-proclaimed godfather of French rap, Booba, expected around 11 p.m. A true living legend of hip-hop, the hits of the 48-year-old artist, now classics ("Scarface", "Boulbi", "DKR"...) were eagerly awaited.

"He's the boss, quite simply," says Inès, 33, who came with her friend Manon. "My stepfather listens to him, my mother too, along with some others; he really created the scene. You had to see him at least once." As a true expert, the thirty-year-old, with glitter in her eyes, analyzes the success of new stars, like Favé and Leto, as following in his footsteps. "It's a little different; they're very active on social media, but they're a bit like his enfants terribles. When you hear their music, you feel his influence."

Ricardo and Lucas, both 26, even came from Orléans to attend the show, before spending a weekend in Bordeaux. "I wanted to see Leto, I like his vibe, but we made the trip for Booba. I've been listening to him since middle school, easy! He's only done classics."

The Hypnotize Festival continues this Saturday with other French rap giants, SCH (9 p.m.) and Vald (11 p.m.), who will take to the Notorious Arena, following Maureen (7 p.m.) and Prince Waly (5 p.m.). On the second stage, fans will be able to enjoy performances by Jasem, Souffrance, Jolagreen23, and Dalì.

Some tickets are still available at: https://hypnotizefestival.com/bordeaux