This was Couleur Café 2024: the value of a diverse festival in French style

The passing of the hip-hop group on Sunday closed a chapter in a way. A story that tells the story of the success of hip-hop in Brussels and its many repercussions. But it also has room for commitment. Too often we have seen someone walking on stage filming with their smartphone and then immediately posting this content on the social media of the artist in question. The TikTok generation has left its mark, but you have also seen Palestinian flags. Meanwhile, the situation in less publicized conflict zones such as Congo and Sudan has been denounced.

Charlotte Adigiri dedicated “Blenda” to Tom Van Grieken. The track contains the now legendary lyric “Go back to the country you belong to / Siri, can you tell me where I belong?” With the consequences of the far-right in France in the background, it was more of a statement than ever. The Swing group also got more edgy when he sang in “Mafia” about “le quotidien d’un enfant d’la diaspora / J’ai moins peur de la mafia que d’la police”. Stekstoff also criticised racists and fascists, “real sons of bitches”, but at the same time, open to dialogue, he invited them to come and talk.

Final Contact

Leifwerk, the project of Niels Coppens and his Swiss partner in crime Roman Lauterbacher, also spoke in large letters on a shelf near the main stage. Their “campaign centre” was perhaps the most eye-catching stand at the festival (besides the construction sector wanting to hire new workers). The focus was on messages that had no hidden commercial motives or that visitors were asked to consume. The lines posted, about ten a day, were created based on conversations with passersby who came to chat.

According to Coppens, the essence of a democratic society is to leave room for uncomfortable truths that are not intended to influence. The conversations he has had on his platform with a view of the main stage have produced some poignant moments. A mother came to talk about her son who used to come to the Couleur Café all the time, but who died of cancer two months ago: “He’s not here anymore, but he would have definitely come.” With the phrase “Warri could have been here, that’s why he’s here,” this message was also “highlighted” and everything was said. But suddenly people started asking: is this Warri from the art school in Boxthal? More and more people flocked to the scene, crying and hugging each other, and finally took a photo with about fifty people in front of the scaffolding. This is also Couleur Café.

Shadow of Saint Kath

It couldn’t be more symbolic than that Coppens, who founded the non-profit Toestand, one of the remnants of the vibrant youth scene that once hovered around St. Cath’s ten to fifteen years ago, sat directly across from the main stage as the musical STIKSTOF performed the same scene, later that evening looking back on those early days. “We both championed the value of undefined public space. In September, we’ll be recreating Sint-Kateligen Square in the main hall of the airport building, followed by a youth and politics debate.

In addition to the synergy of the most diverse styles such as dub, funk, jazz, Latin, soul, R&B, hip-hop, afro, amapiano and more, the people remain the most important, and Café Color now allows you to do this in a more informal and unguarded way (à l’aise à la BXL) than other festivals. This is the real reason why all these young artists at different stages here have come to praise this festival.