In the large office near the Saint-Lazare station, it is impossible not to be attracted by the mention “for the attention of Pauline Duarte”, under the many gold records of Kalash Criminal, SCH or even Beyoncé. “I’m going to put some on the ceiling soon”, laughs the interested party. Because Pauline Duarte, 42, has established herself as a clutch of French rap. Since 2020, she has been running the specialized rap and R’n’B label Epic Records, a subsidiary of Sony.
Other rewards could soon come to decorate his office. The first edition of Les Flammes, a competition that honors urban cultures, will take place at the Théâtre du Châtelet on May 11. Epic Records is competing in the Label of the Year category and dominating the nominations, with eleven of its artists. Les Flammes, created by the specialized media Yard and Booska-P, can be considered as a counterpoint to the Victoires de la musique, regularly accused of ignoring, even despising, rap and the artists who come from it.
At first marginal music, French rap is today the most popular genre. An evolution that Pauline Duarte followed very closely. Looking in particular at one of his four older brothers, Gilles, better known as Stomy Bugsy, a member of the Ministère AMER, a flagship hip-hop group of the 1990s. The latter remembers Pauline’s room, in the apartment in Sarcelles (Val-d’Oise) where his parents settled when they arrived from Cape Verde. “ Its walls were covered with posters of singers. I dragged my sister everywhere with me. When she was 6 years old, she accompanied me to the Sarcelles breakdance competitions »he says.
Original choices and expertise
She then found her vocation: to support artists in their careers. “She had to manage. I told her she had to fight on her own,” says Stomy Bugsy. “Anyway, as soon as I asked him for something, he said to me: ‘Go yourself'”, laughs Pauline Duarte. She goes through internships, is hired at Columbia Records. “ His energy appealed to me. She did not count her hours. She recognized the talents that came from different backgrounds. She knew how to anticipate what was going to work or not », remembers Jean-Charles Felli, the firm’s marketing director at the time.
There, she takes care of French-speaking variety artists, such as the Canadian Natasha St-Pier or the Australian Tina Arena. She stayed at Columbia for almost nine years, before joining Believe in 2012 to take care of rapper Youssoupha, among others. “There was no artistic director at the time, so in addition to marketing, I was looking for new talent”, says Pauline Duarte. She spots rapper Joke (now named Ateyaba), her first signing, who becomes Columbia Records’ biggest hit. The artist is quickly overwhelmed by contract proposals. He signed with the respected label Def Jam Recordings, owned by Universal. One condition: that Pauline Duarte accompany him.
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