Paul van Haver (Born 12 March 1985), better known by his stage name Stromae, is a Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter and producer. He is mostly known for his music blending hip hop and electronic music. Stromae came to wide public attention in 2009 with his song "Alors on danse" (from the album Cheese), which became a number one in several European countries. In 2013, his second album Racine carrée was a commercial success, selling two million copies in France. The main singles from the album include "Papaoutai" and "Formidable". Stromae also has a series of “leçons” that show how he makes his songs.

Paul van Haver was born in Brussels and raised in the city's Laken district, to a Tutsi father from Rwanda, Pierre Rutare, and a Flemish mother, Miranda van Haver. He said in an interview that he also has distant Somali heritage from his father's side. He and his siblings were raised by their mother, as his father, an architect, was killed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, while visiting his family. He attended the Sacré-coeur de Jette, a Jesuit school in Jette, the Collège Saint-Paul in Godinne, after failing in the public school system at the age of 16. He formed a small rap group with his friends while still in school. His early influences included Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel, son cubano and Congolese rumba.

In 2000, Stromae appeared as a rapper called Opsmaestro, though he later changed his stage name to "Stromae", which is "Maestro" with the syllables reversed following the French slang practice, verlan.

At the age of 18, he founded a rap group called "Suspicion", along with rapper "J.E.D.I." in Eichhof. They produced the song and music video "Faut que t'arrête le Rap..." before J.E.D.I. decided to leave the rap duo. To finance his private school education, Van Haver worked part-time in the hospitality industry, but his academic performance was not up to standard.[citation needed] It was only later, when he registered at the Institut national de radioélectricité et cinématographie, that he released his first EP "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic...".

In 2007, during his studies at the film school of Brussels, Stromae decided to concentrate fully on his musical career. This resulted in his debut-EP "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic…". In 2008, he signed a four-year record deal with "Because Music" and "Kilomaître".

In 2008, Stromae worked as a young trainee at the music radio station NRJ in Brussels. Vincent Verbelen, Music Manager, was impressed by the talent he perceived in Stromae's first single "Alors on danse" and decided to air it for the first time on NRJ.

Vertigo Records, a label of Mercury Records France (Universal Music Group), signed him for a worldwide licensing deal soon after this.

By May 2010 the track "Alors on danse" had reached number one in Belgium, France, Sweden, Greece, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Romania and the Czech Republic.

On 2 September, Stromae collaborated with Kanye West and Gilbere Forte in a remix of his hit "Alors on danse". In 2010, he was nominated for Best Dutch and Belgian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. ...

Source: Article "Stromae" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.