Image via Colors x Reebok
The unassuming dome that protrudes out of Paris’ Espace Niemeyer museum is impossible to take your eye off. Built by world-renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, its forward-thinking structure fits like a jigsaw piece in the heart of the French capital, juxtaposed by the well-preserved and historically significant architecture around it. As you walk in, you’re floored by its minimalist grace; how each curve meanders into each other against the grey, granite walls.
The museum carries an air of sophistication and served as an appropriate location for Colors Studios’ second annual Colors Á Paris festival, in collaboration with Reebok—a five-day cultural cache of visual art and live performances by some of the world’s most promising artists. Having propelled several musicians to greater visibility around the globe in its six-year history, the Berlin-born platform has reshaped how artists of all disciplines are received today, emphasising live performance across music videos totalling over two billion views on its YouTube channel.
If you haven’t heard of Colors, you’ve definitely seen its now iconic one-colour backdrop gracing sets by everyone from Billie Eilish and Jorja Smith to Rema and Little Simz. Colors Á Paris shows this modus operandi remains just that, a key focus in its creative model. Consequently, we were treated to an immersive evening in the French capital last week.
Paying tribute to its host city, Colors showcased the very best of the fluid and varied French arts scene, from music to street performance, in a triumphant evening of cultural cross-pollination. Fresh-faced youth filled the Espace, all defined by distinct fashion senses and a common love of the culture on display.
As we entered, the vibes began immediately with several dance troupes gathered around the centre of the museum to break loose—and, boy, did they do that! Expressive and dizzying, the performances of more than thirty skilled dancers absorbed every passer-by into their orbit, proving an exhilarating opening act for what would follow later in the night.
Juxtaposing the dances were splinters of art and photography pinned to the walls, including an intimate collection of photos featuring French musical duo and twins Ibeyi—taken by the artists themselves—and a presentation that chronicled the queer community in Nigeria through the lens of prohibition, given that homosexuality is still illegal in the West African nation. Here, Colors made an admirable move to shine light on causes important to its wider community on a night that celebrated and connected people of all shapes and sizes.
As part of their partnership, Colors and Reebok launched its talent program, The Stage Is Yours, on the night, offering promising artists the chance to perform on a line-up headlined by Guy2BezBar, a prominent French MC. Ascending to the inside of the dome, we got a glimpse at the future of what is already a burgeoning local scene, with hip-hop, drill, R&B and neo-soul on hand for a flowing succession of performances. The set-up inside the dome was a joy to watch, as artists played on a stage that directly resembled the backdrop seen in every Colors set, changing colours as each new artist arrived—a branding masterstroke.
Lynn, one of France’s newer talents, was up first on the stage and she blessed the crowd with an alternative-slanting, late-night R&B set. Rapper Young Yoda stepped up next, bringing his bouncy trap flavours to the dome and geeing the crowd up that little more with every drop. Rising neo-soul singer Kiara Jones rounded out this portion of the night with a dance-focused set, balancing some serious moves with tender vocals. The prolific Guy2BezBar—a Colors favourite, who has millions of views to his name owing to two performances on the platform and a cult following growing by the day—returned to close out the event, bringing iced-out flows over rampant drill production and a poise that had the crowd in the palm of his hand.
As quickly as it began, Guy2BezBar’s set was over, such was the blink-and-you-miss-it, frenetic feel of Colors A Paris. But it left enough of an impact to carry into the rest of the night, which would descend further into a party atmosphere. A host of DJs, laying down everything from hip-hop to Amapiano, kept revellers entertained into the wee hours of the morning, but as we left the dome, the performances of the night from Lynn, Young Yoda and Kiara Jones were on everybody’s tongue. Each of them exuded a confidence in their ability that will take them far and wide.
Beyond music, though, a slice of French youth culture was presented by Colors—a milieu that is active and constantly moving as quickly as the wider world around it, making every player within it invaluable, from singers, rappers and producers to visual artists, dancers and DJs. Colors A Paris stressed the endearing element of discovery when it comes to the arts, that curiosity of finding what is new and fresh. As a result, we consider its second annual festival and its joint venture with Reebok a success, just the beginning of what will surely become an important arsenal for one of global music’s most forward-thinking entities.