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Amanda Gorman, henceforth nicknamed ‘the beloved poet of the Bidens’ since she recited her poem The Hill We Climb in Washington at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, moved the whole world. The Belgian artist of Congolese origin Lous and the Yakuza was asked to translate this touching poem into French.
The Hill We Climb, which calls for unity in the US, refers to the Capitol Hill that Trump supporters stormed on 6 January. Undoubtedly, Editions Fayard made the right choice with the poetic happy-and-sad pen of Lous and the Yakuza – or Marie-Pierra Kakoma as she is really called – the female discovery of the year at the Victoires de la Musique 2021. In the autumn, the publisher will release the full collection of poetry, The Hill We Climb and Other Poems.
The life of author-composer-interpreter Lous and the Yakuza, rapper, model and currently translator of 23, has not always been easy. She fled the war in Congo and lived as a homeless person in Belgium, rejected by her family who wanted her to become a doctor, and definitely not an artist. She certainly owes her strong personality and her powerful writing style to this chaotic and difficult past. Her songs express her various identities, giving a raw look at the world and the bleak times that have shaped her.
