Calvi, Saturday August 2 last. In the middle of a showcase in Corsica, Jul lets go in his inimitable style: “The Twingo, the Twingo! And thank you the area!”
A few times earlier, he addressed his audience, hilarious and sure of him: “I’m on fire, I’m not lying to you, I’m on fire on Insta!” A more or less subtle way of responding to the controversy that ignites the networks since the release of its last title, You and me.
Between kendji and self-mockery
Released on August 1, the song took everyone on the wrong foot. Flamenca guitar, gipsy atmosphere, romantic lyrics and this punchline that has become viral – “With your eyes as black as my Twingo”: Jul adopts an unexpected posture that recalls… Kendji Girac. It didn’t take more for Internet users to rename the rapper “Kendjul”, mocking a song “Gipsy Kings way” which, according to some, is not very Jul – neither on the bottom, nor on the form.
What if everything had been generated by AI?
Even more than the musical turn, it is the rumor of a piece entirely generated by IA which quickly fueled the debates. On X (formerly Twitter), a beatmaker claims that You and me would have been produced via Suno, an artificial musical intelligence tool.
He points to several technical anomalies: choirs “Robotics”low audio quality, strange transitions. His video has been seen more than 800,000 times, relaunching the suspicions of a digital hoax.
Jul blurs the tracks (and have fun with the buzz)
Jul, faithful to his style, did not respond head -on. But he feeds the buzz in his own way. On Instagram and Tiktok, he publishes visuals generated by IA where he appears guitar in hand, in open shirt, surrounded by white caravans. In legend, the hashtag #Iasports. Neither admission nor denial. Just a wink that maintains confusion.
In concert, the Marseille rapper has fun. He sends dedications, talks about Instagram, evokes his Twingo, and launches to his audience: “I want to leave with stars in my eyes, like you”.
Difficult to know if You and me is an artistic experiment, a giant joke or a real attempt to reinvention. But one thing is certain: Jul knows better than anyone how to feed the buzz – with or without artificial intelligence.
