Rapper Werenoi, France's biggest-selling record label, dies at 31

Montreuil rapper Werenoi, a highly secretive artist , has died at the age of 31, according to his producer. He was the best-selling artist in France in 2024, ahead of Indochine and Taylor Swift.

"Rest in peace my brother," wrote the producer, who goes by the pseudonym Babs, confirming press reports that the rapper had died in hospital after a sudden deterioration in his health.

Werenoi (pronounced ouairenoi), born to Cameroonian parents, achieved very rapid success: his first tracks date back only to February 2021. According to the national phonographic publishing union, in 2024 he was for the second consecutive year the artist who sold the most records in France. 276,968 copies of his album Pyramide were sold in stores or digitally. He was ahead of the rapper PLK, Indochine , Billie Eilish , Pierre Garnier and Zaho de Sagazan .

A little over a year after launching his own label, the artist signed in 2022 with Believe and Playtwo Live (Lara Fabian, Slimane, Vitaa, etc.) for his concerts. In May 2023, during the first Flammes ceremony, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, which crowned Aya Nakamura and Gazo artists of the year, Werenoi won the Flamme for male revelation. At the 2025 ceremony, on May 13, he was tipped to win album of the year.

His latest album, Diamant noir, was released in April 2025. A great silencer, he kept his distance from the media.