Controversial rapper, Freeze Corleone, experienced another setback when Justice validated a ban on his planned concert in Lyon. The decision by the Rhône prefecture was made on Friday, ahead of the concert scheduled for Saturday. Earlier, a similar decision had been made in Lille. The administrative court of the city, in its judgment, pointed out that there was a high possibility of the rapper making remarks that could seriously undermine respect for values and principles, especially human dignity.
The court further mentioned that the concert was set to take place in an extremely tense context, particularly concerning the Jewish community in France. The Rhône prefect also highlighted this at a local level. The rapper’s lawyer, Me Adrien Chartron, was quick to criticize the decision, labeling it as “surprising”, and revealed plans to refer the issue to the Council of State to ensure the concert takes place.
The day prior, the administrative courts of Lille had also backed the prefectural ban on another performance of the rapper, scheduled for the same evening in the city. Although the Council of State was called upon to make an appeal in the Lille case, it did not make a ruling, due to the lapse of the scheduled show time.
31-year-old Freeze Corleone, whose real name is Issa Lorenzo Diakhaté, has been under scrutiny since last week following a preliminary investigation by the Nice prosecutor’s office for “apology of terrorism” relating to a song seemingly referencing the 2016 attack on the Promenade des Anglais. Both the Lille and Lyon prefectures have pointed to this song in their decrees. They also noted that several of his other songs contain lyrics that are openly anti-Semitic and express admiration for Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.
In 2020, Freeze Corleone faced an investigation for “provocation of racial hatred” due to song lyrics like “I arrive determined like Adolf in the 1930s” and “every day RAF (nothing to worry about) the Shoah.” The case was closed without further action. His label, Universal Music, terminated their collaboration citing “unacceptable racist comments”. The artist’s team, however, denied this on the X network, while the label clarified that legal proceedings concerning the distribution contract for the album “LMF” are ongoing.
Over the past few months, several prefectures have prohibited Freeze Corleone concerts. Administrative justice allowed two of his concerts to take place at the Zénith in Paris in November but upheld the ban on another planned concert near Nantes in December. The concert was postponed to February 28, pending a decision from the Council of State, which eventually permitted the rapper to perform in Rennes in March.
