La Vie D’après

(No need to cry)
(‘Cause life is a carnival)
(And the sorrows fade away with singing)
(Ah, no need to cry)
(‘Cause life is a carnival)
(And the sorrows fade away with singing)

I’ll always write about love, even if it makes me look like a dreamer
For the happy, foolish artist
As a kid, I wanted to be a warrior
I grew up, I learned that those who seek peace are the bravest
It’s easy to set a forest on fire
So much easier than planting one
There are a thousand ways to be right
The first is to admit when you’re wrong

I promise, promise I’m still with you
Even if you see me in the VIP section at the club
I still hear your voices when I say “we”
I still feel the blues on Sundays in front of my pasta
It’s a lie when I say everyone can succeed
Well, it’s true, but it’s a lie, like saying cancer can be cured
But I focus on the best and screw the worst
Yeah, many lose, but many win
That’s what I wanted to say too, what does success mean?
Filling venues and not seeing your daughter grow up
I have plenty of friends who don’t dream of the Olympia
But of a nice home and a family meal

It doesn’t really thrill me to be the coolest
The most stylish kids from my high school have blended into the crowd
It doesn’t really scare me to be wrong
There are medals for everyone, we’re all strong

I’m at the age where you text your buddy after a fight
Where many places in the city are memories when I stroll through
The flames of my youth, I warm myself with these embers
I’m at the age where you can run into an ex without feeling awkward
Too easy to give up, it’s not a race but a hike
The mistakes we digest become advice to share
I trust life, I cry with open arms
In fact, I feel sorry for those who haven’t suffered

Come on, let’s keep believing we can do better
Being human without being humane is getting dangerous
Cheaters, that’s still not us
We’re gonna live so loud we’ll make all the dead jealous
You recognize the voice, so nice that I’m misunderstood
During breaks, I’d rap in the basement to never forget where we came from
I have a monumental mindset, I’m from Toulouse, not Atlanta
And when my life is shaky, my punchlines become mantras
My life, a fantasy because I’ve kept my cool
Become the boss if they say you don’t fit the role
I send the fire, the faith I’ve proven to you so many times
Otherwise, you’ll never fight your anxieties
Reminder of this battle
For my kind, those who see my contrasts
Those who drink my tears, who stand by me without asking why
And for all the people like you
(And for all the people like me)

Being old is the privilege of seeing others grow
Being alone is the chance to welcome
Being unwell is understanding we can feel better
Being different is a bit of all three at once
Different with Flo, I had a hard time accepting it
We insulted each other, almost hated each other
Too much pride to admit our faults
But our two views on life made us change ours

Do you hear it? My rage, the sound of my guts
How could I doubt? Of course, I deserve it
Of course, there are opinions, jabs, and critiques
But I can’t hear it anymore, it’s drowned out by the noise of my audience
The singers I listen to tell me how sad they are
I feel too happy to be a real artist
In the script of life, which season do I die in?
Is there a green screen at the end of the horizon?
I want more of the throne, a whirlwind of euphoria
To still be the soundtrack of your lives
To be reborn in the power of your screams
More laughter (more great melodies)
More stress, because it pushes me to give my all
More time because it helps me forgive
To burn again in the heat of your bodies
To hear all of you asking for more

(No need to cry)
(‘Cause life is a carnival)
(And the sorrows fade away with singing)
(Ah, no need to cry)
(‘Cause life is a carnival)
(And the sorrows fade away with singing)

Tell your buddy who doesn’t like Bigflo and Oli that it’s okay
That really, it’s better if he doesn’t listen
I’m tired of fighting, now everyone has their own path
I’m done trying to please everyone at all costs
And I don’t want to silence them anymore, I’m just gonna do it
I bury my doubts, visionaries stick together
We’ll do it quietly
With 40,000 in the biggest venue in Paris
And I don’t want to prove anything anymore, almost 30, I think I’ve found myself
I could have drowned in a nightmare
Go somewhere else, I grab Oli like a lifebuoy
In fact, I’m like an ambulance causing an accident
I’m both the problem and the solution
I thought I’d find all the answers growing up
Of course, I found even more questions

Fourth album, even more pressure
There it is, I’ve found the fire and the passion again
Before, I saw all this as a sort of mission
But maybe deep down, rap is just a bad addiction
And I admit all this has worn me out a bit
I didn’t think it would be so hard to suck
Always expected, always judged
In the end, problems don’t stop with success

But I don’t want to complain about my artist life anymore
To play the spoiled child
To sing my regrets from the past while enjoying my life now
And I don’t believe in good guys against bad guys anymore
I’ve changed my mind about a lot of things recently
I don’t believe there are strong or weak
I believe we all have the same problems but live them differently

Yeah, it’s me, the cliché of the conscious rapper
I drop truths while frowning
But I don’t care about being a cliché
If it helps all those who listen to me cope with their issues
Yeah, it’s me, the cliché of the conscious rapper
Every word is chosen carefully
Because if before I rapped for the impressionable youth
Today, it’s partly me who influences them

And I see the little sisters and the message they send us
But like an asshole, I just point out their clumsiness
Maybe because I’m afraid to face the truth
Or my male ego sees it as a threat
It’s not easy for the little brothers either
Since childhood, we’ve been told to be the strongest
The strongest in soccer, the strongest in bed, the biggest still
The strongest of the strongest of the strongest

I wanted to say I’m sincerely sorry
I don’t think I’ll be the savior you were waiting for
They’d like me to be an example for my generation
But I don’t want to be seen as a know-it-all
And I can’t do much besides songs
To accompany you during your panic attacks
Sing with me that the world is messed up
In truth, that’s all there is to do while we wait for it to pass (yeah)

So yeah, it’s fragile rap, for sad people
Rap for those who cry, for the overly sensitive, for the big-hearted
We take our emotions to fuel the engine
And I’ve also flirted with the abyss
Damn, I get butterflies when I write this

After we’re gone, what will remain?
I’m petrified at the thought of it all ending here
But it can’t end here
I want everything as if I just woke up from a coma
And I’m gonna live fully (live fully)
So much that when I leave, I’ll become a supernova
I want the sea foam under my bare feet
And to question the universe under the full moon
I learn, I try, I explore
I want more love that scares, because it’s so strong

I’ve traveled the valleys of distress to the point of making myself sick
Swallowed pills to bring calm like a junkie
And I think I was broken but souls don’t heal like a program
Only time heals
It’s the story of two brothers, it’s the comeback
Love always wins, we continue this fight
Anyway, tell me honestly
Who still listens to 7-minute rap songs without a hook?
Listen to me, bros
You better drop a big album
To crush it all and it’s the heart that speaks
There’s no, there’s no, don’t hesitate, now
At some point, don’t hesitate
Drop me something big, drop us something big.