Feu (album)

Feu
Studio album by Nekfeu
Released	June 8, 2015 December 4, 2015 (re-release)
Genre	French hip hop
Length	79:18 142:34 (re-release)
Language	French
Label	Seine Zoo Polydor Universal
Producer	BLV DJ Elite Nekfeu The ThundaCatz
Nekfeu chronology
Paris Sud Minute (2013) Feu (2015) Destins liés (2016)
Singles from Feu
"Égérie" Released: April 3, 2015 "On verra" Released: May 1, 2015 "Nique les clones, Pt. II" Released: May 25, 2015 "Tempête" Released: June 1, 2015
Feu (Réédition)
Re-release cover

Feu (French for Fire) is the debut studio album by French hip hop artist Nekfeu. It was released on June 8, 2015 by Seine Zoo, Polydor Records and Universal Music Group in France.^[1][2] A re-release of the album, entitled Feu (Réédition), was released on December 4, 2015.^[3]

Entering (and peaking) the French Albums Chart at number 3 in its first week,^[4] the album was certified gold in its third week with over 47,000 copies sold. In November 2015, Nekfeu announced that the album was certified platinum.

Singles

Feu has produced 4 singles:

• "Égérie" was released as the album's lead single on 3 April 2015. It peaked at number 49 on the French Singles Chart.
• "On verra" was released as the album's second single on 1 May 2015. It peaked at number 13 on the French Singles Chart, and at number 12 on the Belgian Ultratop 50 chart in Wallonia.
• "Nique les clones, Pt. II" was released as the album's third single on 25 May 2015. It peaked at number 57 on the French Singles Chart.
• "Tempête" was released as the album's fourth single on 1 June 2015. It peaked at number 21 on the French Singles Chart.

Reception

Critical reception and accolades

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Goûte mes disques	6/10[5]
Music Story	[6]
Sens Critique	5.6/10[7]
The Web Tape	[8]
2K Music	[9]

Feu received generally positive reviews from music critics. Grégory Curot of Ça Parle Hip-Hop wrote that the album had "a certain beauty, alive and sincere, without faff."^[10] Clément B. of Melty was pleased with the musical composition of the album, saying, "Out with the mechanical flows on the old boom-bap instrumentals. Even if he [Nekfeu] maintains this science of rhyme which fits perfectly, it is still in total harmony with the instrumental. The result? Unique tracks."^[11] Romuald Ollivier of Music Story commented that Nekfeu "carves rich texts, plays with language, words, works the form to serve the content."^[6] Julie Green and Eymeric Macouillard of SURL also gave a positive review, calling the album "friendly, incisive at times although a bit too controlled and punctuated by some sweet follies, Feu is indeed the album of a generation."^[12] Franckie Small of Baskets Blanches had a lot of positive comments on the album: "Before the release of the singles "Égérie", "Nique les clones, Pt. II" and "Tempête", I clearly neglected the arrival of Feu. Quickly though, I understood that the title of the album wasn't really chosen at random. … Nekfeu shows the extent of his talent on this album."^[13]

“I like it! I like the feel of it! If I could understand it, that would be even more [of a] plus, but the feel is there and the flow is there, the cadence is there, that's a trip … I don't know the language but I can still feel it. That's a trip.”

— American rapper Kendrick Lamar in an interview with Skyrock on 8 June 2015, after listening to a part of "On verra".^[14]

Costa of Le Bon Son gave a mixed to positive review of the album, writing, "We then note that one of the album's recurring themes is one on which it is extremely difficult not be simple: love. How can one talk about romantic relationships without repeating what has been said by hundreds of other artists of all the different genres?" However, he continued to write that "fortunately, love as it is treated in this album is not limited to romantic relationships, but goes into friendships and family relationships. … We'll conclude after listening that although he's made it, Nekfeu remains genuine."^[15]

Goûte mes disques gave the album a largely negative review: "The first thing you notice in this record is its length: nearly an hour and a half. Consistency is appropriate and catchy headlines aren't lacking … However, it remains an unpleasant impression, already present when listening to the albums of his [Nekfeu's] different groups: this consistency is accompanied by a form of monotony." They concluded by writing, "Feu isn't awful. But why doesn't the rapper aspire to excellence? Overthought and overworked, this album lacks spontaneity, vigour, the very ones that so pleased in the beginnings of the rapper, who had shown some talent."^[5]

On 12 February 2016, Feu won the Victoire de la Musique award for Urban Music Album of the Year.^[16]

Commercial performance

Feu entered the French iTunes Chart at number one on 11 May 2015, 28 days before its release, and remained at number one until 17 May before returning to the top of the chart on 6 June, 2 days before its release, and remaining there for 3 weeks, its longest period at number one to date. As of 29 August 2015, the album has spent 51 days at number one on the chart in total.^[17]

Selling 18,844 copies in its first week, Feu had the highest number of first-week digital sales in history for a French debut studio album. The album ended up with a total of 35,944 copies sold in its first week.^[18] The album was certified gold by the SNEP in its third week with over 47,065 copies sold.^[19] On 21 November 2015, Nekfeu announced on Instagram that Feu was certified platinum; news he was apparently given about 2 months prior to the announcement.^[20] On 31 March 2016, it was announced that Feu was certified gold in Belgium, selling over 15,000 copies.^[21]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Martin Eden"	Ken Samaras Hugz Hefner	Nekfeu DJ Elite	4:55
2.	"Mon âme" (featuring Sneazzy)	Samaras Ludovic Reclus Mohamed Amine	Nekfeu DJ Elite	4:26
3.	"Le horla"	Samaras Matthieu Lalia	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:40
4.	"Nique les clones, Pt. II"	Samaras Enzo Serra	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:44
5.	"Rêve d'avoir des rêves"	Samaras Clement Loubens	Nekfeu DJ Elite	4:57
6.	"Tempête"	Samaras Hugz Hefner	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:18
7.	"Égérie"	Samaras Hugz Hefner	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:30
8.	"Reuf" (featuring Ed Sheeran)	Samaras Pierrick Devin Gabriel Legeleux Ed Sheeran	Nekfeu DJ Elite	5:27
9.	"La moue des morts" (featuring S-Crew)	Samaras Louis Courtine Framal Théo Lellouche Mekra	Nekfeu DJ Elite	4:32
10.	"Laisse aller"	Samaras Richie Beats	Nekfeu DJ Elite	4:34
11.	"On verra"	Samaras Benjamin Seletti	BLV	3:31
12.	"Ma dope" (featuring S.Pri Noir)	Samaras Romain Chaillol Kohôme Kordiko Xavier Mendes	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:47
13.	"Jeux d'ombres" (featuring Doum's and Amber-Simone)	Samaras Mamadou Coulibali Amber Simone McNeil Steven Vidal	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:49
14.	"Elle en avait envie"	Samaras Vidal	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:27
15.	"Princesse" (featuring Nemir)	Samaras Nemir Mohamed Serra	Nekfeu DJ Elite	4:26
16.	"Risibles amours"	Samaras Courtine Loubens	Nekfeu DJ Elite	8:46
17.	"Point d'interrogation" (featuring Alpha Wann)	Samaras Courtine Alpha Wann	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:39
18.	"Être humain" (featuring Amber-Simone)	Samaras Marwan El-Bergamy McNeil Chase Fontaine	The ThundaCatz	4:50
Total length:				79:18

iTunes bonus track
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
19.	"Nek le fenek"	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:08

Fnac bonus track
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
19.	"Au cœur du G"	Nekfeu DJ Elite	4:10

Feu (Réédition) – CD 2[22]
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"7:77 AM" (featuring 86 Joon)		3:53
2.	"Plume"		3:53
3.	"La ballade du Fremont" (featuring Doum's)		3:54
4.	"Question d'honneur" (featuring S-Crew)		3:22
5.	"Deux-trois" (featuring 1995)		4:12
6.	"Les bruits de ma ville" (featuring Phénomène Bizness)		4:28
7.	"Pars avec moi" (featuring 1995)		3:42
8.	"Mal aimé"		3:51
9.	"Le horla" (Instrumental)	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:37
10.	"Martin Eden" (Instrumental)	Nekfeu DJ Elite	4:08
11.	"Nique les clones, Pt. II" (Instrumental)	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:42
12.	"Égérie" (Instrumental)	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:31
13.	"Reuf" (Instrumental)	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:53
14.	"On verra" (Instrumental)	Nekfeu DJ Elite	5:24
15.	"Ma dope" (Instrumental)	Nekfeu DJ Elite	3:53
16.	"7:77 AM" (Instrumental)		3:53
Total length:			63:16

Notes

• "Risibles amours" contains a hidden track entitled "Des astres" and produced by Hologram Lo'.

Chart performance

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23]	65
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24]	2
French Albums (SNEP)[25]	3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26]	5

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Belgium (BEA)[27]	Gold	15,000[21]
France (SNEP)[28]	Gold	50,000[19]
France (SNEP)[28]	Platinum	100,000[20]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
France[29]	June 8, 2015	CD LP digital download	Seine Zoo Polydor Universal
United States[30]	June 16, 2015	CD digital download

References

1. "Nekfeu - Feu". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
2. "Feu - Nekfeu - iTunes" (in French). iTunes. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
3. "Nekfeu donne rendez-vous à ses fans pour la réédition de Feu". melty.fr (in French). 21 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
4. "Nekfeu - Feu" (in French). ChartsInFrance.net. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
5. "Chroniques - Feu" (in French). Goûte Mes Disques. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
6. Romuald Ollivier (8 June 2015). "Chronique de Feu - Music Story" (in French). Music-Story.com. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
7. Sens Critique
8. "Review : Nekfeu – Feu". TheWebTape.net (in French). 13 June 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
9. 2K Music
10. Grégory Curot. "Attention, Nekfeu est bouillant !". Ça Parle Hip-Hop (in French). Retrieved 15 September 2015.
11. Clément B. (16 June 2015). "Nekfeu : Feu, notre critique de l'album !" (in French). Melty. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
12. Julie Green, Eymeric Macouillard (8 June 2015). "Nekfeu, Pompier Pyromane". SURL (in French). Retrieved 15 September 2015.
13. Franckie Small (18 June 2015). "[Chronique] Nekfeu sur le rap français…" (in French). Baskets Blanches. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
14. "Kendrick Lamar élogieux envers Nekfeu". Skyrock. Melty. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
15. Costa (7 June 2015). "Chronique : Nekfeu – « Feu »" (in French). Le Bon Son. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
16. "Victoires de la musique 2016 : Nekfeu livre un touchant discours sur scène (vidéo)" (in French). Non Stop People. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
17. "Nekfeu - 'Feu' - French iTunes Chart Performance". iTunesCharts.net. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
18. "Nekfeu : avec "Feu", le rappeur signe un record historique. Analyse d'un phénomène" (in French). ChartsInFrance.net. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
19. "Nekfeu est Disque D'Or en 3 semaines avec FEU". 13or-du-hiphop.fr (in French). 3 July 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
20. "Nekfeu : Feu est disque de platine". Melty.fr (in French). 23 November 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
21. "Nekfeu est disque d'or en Belgique !". Melty.fr (in French). 31 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
22. "@neklefeu on Instagram: "VOICI LA TRACKLIST DE « FEU RÉÉDITION » QUI SORT LE 4 DÉCEMBRE"" (in French). Nekfeu / Instagram. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
23. "Ultratop.be – Nekfeu – Feu" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
24. "Ultratop.be – Nekfeu – Feu" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
25. "Lescharts.com – Nekfeu – Feu". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
26. "Swisscharts.com – Nekfeu – Feu". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
27. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2016". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
28. "French album certifications – Nekfeu – Feu" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
29. "Feu". Amazon.fr. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
30. "Feu". Amazon.com. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.